Every school day teachers are tasked with teaching classrooms filled with students with widely varying personalities and abilities, who all learn in different ways, at different paces and who have different needs mentally, physically and emotionally.
Finding ways to best teach all students, while making learning fun and engaging, often means thinking outside the provided desks, curriculum, and technology. Teachers may enhance curriculum and learning with added activities, games, books, hands-on projects, immersive experiences, and technology. They may also try to create a classroom environment in which they feel children will better learn.
Besides paying for those items out of their own pockets, the way teachers often acquire those items is through the top rated non-profit DonorsChoose, designed specifically for community to help teachers.
Guthridge fifth grade teacher Ryan Willis has had several STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) projects supported by people giving through DonorsChoose.
“These projects included different types of robots that the students built and could control with apps on their phones, solar powered robots, and a cyborg hand that could do different things,” Willis said. “The students loved building these projects.”
(Pictured: Students in Ryan Willis' class hold up a robotic hand they built. this STEM kit was provided through a DonorsChoose project.)
Walk into Parsons Middle School teacher Brittiney Beery’s sixth grade math class, and one will see alternative seating in her classroom, all of which was provided by a DonorsChoose project that was complete last year.
“I got two futons and three saucer chairs,” Beery said. “Flexible seating allows students to have a different learning experience. They are comfortable where they are learning and are more willing to come to my classroom every day. It makes them feel more at home and makes the learning environment more enjoyable. I've actually created another project for more of the same furniture.”
Garfield second grade teacher Sherri Tierney had her first DonorsChoose project funded over Christmas break. She will be receiving 10 sets of Wiggle Wobble Chair Feet for her class.
“I purchased a set to try with my students and they were so popular that I bought a second set. I decided to try DonorsChoose as a way to get more because I feel like so many students can benefit from these,” Tierney said. “They turn their regular school chairs into chairs that wiggle, wobble and bounce softly. They allow movement without causing distraction to those around them.”
(Pictured: Students in Brittiney Beery's class work on their classroom assignments while sitting in the comfortable furniture provided through a DonorsChoose project.)
New Guthridge Special Education teacher Anthony Danker has a current request listed on DonorsChoose. He is hoping people will support him in providing more choices for students to choose from in grade level reading. Coming into the job at the start of this year, he said the library of books available for his students was very small.
“I need help to fill my library with leveled readers that are appropriate for my students' reading level. This will provide my special education students with a love of reading through the use of leveled readers that are accessible to them. In my classroom, I have 14 students who are under grade level in reading,” Danker said.
There are other Parsons teachers seeking support for their projects presently. Every month, those wishing to support education can find causes they deem worthy of donations, and donations of any size can be made to a project. Teachers are only given a few months to raise the funds they request for a project. The teachers only receive the donated money if their projects are fully funded, so teacher’s usually try to keep their requests reasonable, and affordable, while still providing for needed items for their students and classrooms.
DonorsChoose has the highest rating on Charity Navigator. DonorsChoose empowers public school teachers from across the country to request much needed materials for their students. You can help bring their requests to life with a gift of any amount.