Click Me- The Teacher 8 My Homework
When Mrs. Grant left, she warned me that I would have to spend a lot of money just to make my class run. She said, "When I first started teaching I thought that teachers made pretty good money. After seeing how much I have had to put in my class, I realize just how little teachers make." I thought it was a funny comment because teachers in Utah don't really get paid much in the first place.
I have seen the reality of her comment. There are so many things my class could use. There are so many things I need. But the reality is that I have to buy EVERYTHING my class needs. Right when I started, my school notified the teachers that any money set aside for teacher's classrooms was being taken away. They also told us they were limiting the amount of printing we could do and cancelling all field trips for the rest of the year. It's crazy.
I told my brother-in-law, who is also a junior high principal, that I have to buy a table for my classroom if I need one. He told me that couldn't be true. Schools are supposed to provide any furniture needed in the classroom. I thought I would listen to him and just request a kidney shaped table to work with small groups. The school told me to go ahead and put in a request, but that the chances of me ever getting one was slim.
I use music in my classroom for transitions throughout the day. It is an easy way to let students know it is time to turn in papers, get ready for recess, and clean up. RBH donated speakers to our classroom. I am so grateful. They are perfect for our classroom. The students love them too. The first day I brought them in, they danced with each transition. I was hoping to get an IPod for the classroom, but the chances of that are next to none.
There are a lot of parents at my school that make donations to their children's classroom. In fact, a first grade teacher at my school just received a donation to buy seven IPods for her class. I am amazed because I had a hard time getting parents to help pay for the Chinese New Year Party we had and that was $50 for the entire class.
Almost all the teachers at my school have ELMOs in their class. My class, of course does not have one. An ELMO is a document camera that allows the teacher to show papers, books and other items. They can be used to show science experiments, show and tell, and anything else a teacher might need for their lesson. It makes it so that teachers do not have to write everything on the board and helps them refer back to things that they covered without re-writing it all back out on the board. This is a big thing for me because I have arthritis and it is hard for me to write too much at a time. They can also be used to show science experiments and show student's work.
My brother-in-law pointed me to a site where teachers request school materials and donors help donate toward the needed supplies. I have put in a request for a document camera. They only allow one teacher request at a time, so I decided that I have greater need for a document camera than a table or Ipod. It is still in the approval process. Soon, hopefully, it will be on their website and can be found on www.donorschoose.org. The title of my request is "The Teacher 8 My Homework." If anyone would like to help meet the needs of our classroom, they can visit the site and make a donation.
Now I don't want people to donate because they feel like they have to. I mention it here to get the word out. I am hoping people will let others know about my request on this website. If you know anyone that would be willing to donate, or have the funds to help out, tell them about my class.
The Teacher 8 My Homework
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1 comment:
This website is a pretty good idea...my husband's class very rarely has parents that are willing to donate money or equipment for anything, though every once in awhile he gets lucky... He has "paid" for a lot of the equipment in his classroom through grants he's gotten from a local university, which requires him to do these fairly elaborate projects and then do presentations for college students; he also has to be willing to take on student teachers, but it works out in the end--he's gotten some computers and a "Smart board" which is similar to the gadget you were describing from the University. He gets books from the library's store where they sell the old library books for a dollar or less. There's also someplace here called "schoolhouse supply" where businesses donate stuff they don't want anymore, most of it is junk, but every once in awhile he strikes gold. When a teacher retires or quits, he bargains like crazy with them for whatever stuff they don't want anymore--he's gotten almost all of his bookshelves and tables this way. He has other ways of getting stuff too, but they're not entirely respectable, so maybe I'd better not go into that too much. But seriously, just like you say--you can put in a request for something, but the chance of getting it within the year are slim to none. Boy, I could go on and on. I won't. Sorry this comment is too long already!
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