"I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand."
-Confucius
My students are natural inquirers about their world. They have bright, curious minds, and they love to learn. Science is the perfect subject in which they can nourish their curiosities and explore answers to their questions. This is best accomplished by teaching in an interactive manner, but can be difficult when supplies are limited.
My school is located in an extremely rural, high poverty community. The closest city and university is approximately one hour away. Most of my students are from low-income families, several of which qualify for free or reduced lunch. Due to financial limitations, the school has restricted funding that may be provided for teachers to enhance their lessons. In order to bring science to life and engage students' minds, it is imperative that we acquire the necessary supplies to make their learning as hands-on as possible.
In today's globalized economy, science offers opportunity to those who pursue it, and opening those doors to my students could expand their lives beyond this small town, or even bring innovation back to it.
My Project
My juniors and seniors are enrolled in environmental science, where they learn about Earth's natural resources, and how the human population affects our planet. As students explore the various resources at our disposal, we heavily focus on arguably one of the most important: water. Students learn about water availability, water quality, and water conservation.
Students need to understand the value of water, and what life is like for those who have limited access to it.
To do so, I would like for students to have the opportunity to read "A Long Walk to Water," which chronicles the story of two children living in Sudan. In this story, the characters discuss the arduous task they must endure each day to retrieve water, something we rarely think of when we can access it with the switch of a faucet. By reading this story, my goal is to make students more aware of the value of water, and the importance of conserving this precious resource.
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 Mrs. Frey and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.