My students are high school seniors who are simultaneously excited for and terrified by the prospect of college. In order to help them prepare for the academic demands of college, I have placed a heavy writing requirement in our ELA class spanning essays, poetry, and memoirs.
My students are the definition of survivors.
They have grown up in some of the toughest neighborhoods in New York. They fight the norm that surrounds them every single day by making the decision to stay in school and better themselves - both academically and emotionally. This group of students has made it to their senior year of high school - a milestone that too many of their friends, family, and former classmates have not yet been able to achieve. They have big plans for college and want to go on to become doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers, teachers, and investment bankers. They have only a short year until they will have to navigate the world outside of the school that many of them have known since sixth grade. I want to ensure that they are all given the resources necessary for them to transition from high school to college and beyond.
My Project
Last week, I had all of my outgoing seniors fill out an end-of-year survey for our ELA class.
Every single senior, male and female, wrote that reading and discussing "We Should All Be Feminists" was the most important unit within their entire high school experience.
The students wrote that reading this book opened up their eyes to the male and female experience worldwide and also within their individual homes and lives. They wrote about the experience of strangers coming up to them on the subway to ask them questions about the book and being told that their generation is going to push feminism forward. They wrote about how they feel proud to identify as feminists.
They also stated that the being able to keep and annotate directly in the book was transformative in how they were able to interact with the text.
After receiving this incredible feedback, I hope to teach this book again next year!
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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 Ms. Vora and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.