Help me give my students the wiggle room to be comfortable, relaxed, and ready to learn with giant comfy pillows, a carpet, and jumbo bean bag chairs to create a flexible seating area.
Our school is located in a low socio-economic area, where students often come from difficult family backgrounds. In my time at AHS I have been witness to heartbreaking home conflicts that these students have experienced and my classroom has often become their home away from home. The majority of my students suffer from anxiety, depression, other mental health issues, learning disabilities, or any other combination. This never seems to hold these students back from succeeding academically.
Special Education is still stigmatized with some educators still saying "Oh, that child is smart for a SpEd student" and I refuse for this to poison the amazing work ethic of my spectacular students!
These students rise above and often just need some love and words of encouragement to feel like they are worth it and good enough! Working with students with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities opens the mind to realize that a student is never really acting out because they want to, but because they are working through other issues. My students are creative, funny, and smart kids! They advocate for their success and enjoy being apart of their education.
My Project
As an ED Resource English Teacher in a Tier 1 school, I have noticed that my students are often crammed into small desks which are in even smaller rows. From day one I wanted to change this routine for them by providing round tables and lessening artificial lighting in the classroom. This is an easy start but the finish line still seems to be out in the distance! My project is providing my students with an area that feels comfortable to their minds and bodies in their fidgeting. By utilizing bean bags, rugs, and giant pillows I am able to construct a flexible seating space for students to perform better, and lessen behavioral issues for my ED kiddos.
Throughout the school day, these teenagers are forced to sit in cramped areas, and this cramps their ability to ease their anxieties and dive into the material being provided to them.
My students often walk to school from the surrounding areas, work jobs outside of school to help provide for their families, and stress about issues that students should not have to worry about. By allowing my classroom to be transformed into a welcoming and comfortable learning environment, I am able to reach students where they are to construct a beautiful, student-centered, classroom culture.
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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 Ms. Caldwell and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
