Just because you don't teach science doesn't mean you can't be a mad scientist! History has been taught the same way for a long time and, frankly, that way doesn't always work. I see my classroom as a lab where my students and I can experiment without fear of failure.
We are a very low-income school about an hour away from a major city.
We have a significant free and reduced lunch rate, a transient student body, and many students that are here because they weren't wanted elsewhere. We have a great collection of teachers at the middle school that care for these kids and believe they can succeed. Our teachers also want to prepare students for a changing world. However, we have a bit of a technology deficit. And, although technology isn't everything, some students' only extended contact with technology is between 7:45-3:00 (strange as that may sound).
My Project
Another teacher and I have been approved to teach a course called History Lab next year. We will be combining the core subject area of history with STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics). We want to offer an opportunity for a few lucky students to explore humankind's history through hands-on experimentation and problem solving. Imagine 7th graders learning to code and build high-quality websites, creating virtual museums, building Da Vinci's inventions and testing whether they would actually work, Skyping with students in Britain while learning about the American Revolution. We imagine 50 minutes of 21st century learning everyday.
By donating Chromebooks for this project you are helping an impoverished rural school with a big heart and tiny budget get technology into the hands of students and helping our new course become a reality.
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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. Shomaker and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
