My students have high hopes and dreams for their futures. Many of them want to be doctors, nurses, scientists, and teachers when they grow up. However, the communities they come from are severely under-served. Many students come from single parent households or are being raised by other family members. Some students go to bed hungry while other students don't go to bed at all.
I believe that no matter where they come from or what they go through, all of my students deserve a chance.
They deserve a chance to learn in an environment that makes them feel loved and safe. They deserve a chance to learn in a classroom where there is a teacher using the best practices possible for them to learn. They deserve a chance to forget about what they are dealing with at home and just be kids.
My Project
While cleaning out my classroom library this summer, I noticed a lot of my books did not represent the population of my students. Our elementary school is beautifully diverse and I am so blessed to work with students from so many backgrounds. I am requesting books that have characters they can identify with.
When a child sees characters who look like them or speak like them or live in environments like them, they begin to place themselves in those stories.
This forms positive perceptions of themselves as relates to the message in the story, whether depicting beauty, strength, intelligence or indeed, the racial identity of heroes. Seeing themselves in books helps children with the vital skill of reading with comprehension and establishes an affinity with reading – the more children enjoy reading, and find meaning there, the more they will come back to books.
I would love to give my students the experience to not only see themselves in these books, but to also be inspired by these characters. I want them to fall in love with reading as well as themselves and their identities.
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. Tylenda and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
