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 Students
Our students are a phenomenal group of young people.
Our scholars are an intriguing, intelligent, wise, witty, and pleasant group of young people with a passion for pursuing their purpose.
While the aforementioned superlatives are rarely assigned to middle school students in the impoverished region of Georgia that my students call home, these attributes accurately describe my young scholars.
This year our scholars are taking on the charge of becoming the change they want to see in the world. They will realize this charge by not only being learners of science, but leaders in science. Our scholars will take the plunge into closing the chasms in the public health issues that have plagued their communities in the past and present. Although over 75% of our scholars receive free or reduced lunch, they are seizing opportunities each day to ensure contemporary misfortunes will not foretell their futures. Since our scholars are tomorrow's leaders, they should proceed along the path of responsibility today.
My Project
The ball is on your court is a phrase that is often used to describe the power that individuals have to influence the situations they are a part of. The aforementioned statement is true with regard to the game of basketball and the game of life. Imagine if you didn't realize the power of your life. Many of our scholars are unaware of the myriad of choices they make nor do they realize the impact of these choices. Through the game of basketball, our children will learn life lessons that will enable to become difference makers on and off-court. We will teach them how to pivot when their way is blocked so they can drive towards their goals.
Our scholars will use the basketballs to engage in a variety of basketball skill-building exercises such as dribbling, passing and shooting.
After performing each activity scholars will be evaluated by their peers and then coaches will offer feedback on the feedback that was given. This will allow us to build our kids' meta-cognition and propel them to be more conscious of the choices they make. Currently, we don't have enough basketballs for every member of our team. Increasing the number of balls we have will enable us to be more efficient. We will extend the theme of consciousness building to their lives off the court by using the opening of our practice to have players reflect on the choices they made during the day. Athletes will be asked to share how they pivoted when obstacles were in their way.
Through this project, we are working to build our students to become basketball players and better community members through conscious decision making. We hope you will partner with us to help our students realize the ball is on their court.
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 Mr. Miller and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.