This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My school considers itself a college preparatory school with optional programs ranging from aviation to tourism. While this is impressive in its own right, my high school has been labeled a "striving school" by the district, which means it is considered one of the poorest achieving schools, albeit in one of the poorest achieving districts in the country.
As a teacher, I try to give my students a way to achieve their dreams. Sadly enough, as proven by my beginning of the year survey, many of my students dream of having the opportunity to leave the very place they have grown up in.
Through my Spanish class I try to open up my student's eyes to a life of possibility, of curiosity, and of understanding for differences. I mainly teach 11th and 12th graders that are beginning to realize the opportunity that learning a second language can afford them.
My situation is very difficult. Every day is a struggle to engage my students in my lesson and the only way to do that is to differentiate my lessons and remove distractions. Removing distractions is more difficult than it may sound. My classroom is a sectioned off portion of the school auditorium. My room has no walls and three other classes also occupy other parts of the auditorium. Among those other classes is theater, which uses the stage that is directly behind where I teach from in order to practice.
What I need is a mobile whiteboard. At the moment I am using over a hundred copies a day of guided notes to help my students learn Spanish grammar. My students are seriously struggling with Spanish grammar because I have no means to model it for them. Without a whiteboard I am left to lecture a lesson on grammar, when really my students need to see my lessons rather than hear it. Along with helping my students understand grammar concepts better, differentiate instruction, a mobile whiteboard will help my students stay focused on the class rather than on the distractions elsewhere in the auditorium (i.e. the stage). It will partially serve as a wall, but more importantly a medium for my students to see my instruction rather than just hear it.
With your help, I can give my students the hope and opportunity to succeed. Many of my student dream of going to college, and once they get there, studying abroad is a viable possibility. In order to go abroad, see the world, and change their lives, my students need a solid foundation in Spanish. If you could just support me in whatever way possible, you could make my students dream a reality. Within 2 months of practice and giving lessons with a whiteboard, my students confidence withe Spanish will skyrocket and surely see that by learning this language, they can change the course of their lives; not just through travel and seeing the world, but through making themselves a better prospect for the diversifying job market within the United States.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Burns and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.