Funded Aug 9, 2022It was a real honor to receive all the supplies for the students. I cannot even begin to say how wonderful your kindness was and how greatly that it impacted student lives! The students all received a wonderful journal (and more than a few have received replacement ones given that some were lost and others ripped). But that is the nature of how things go and there were more than enough to replace the few that had this happen. Many of the students come from families who are suffering under the highest inflation experienced in the past 40 years within the United States. Others' have parent who lost their jobs. And a few have told me that they are currently living in shelters. These students have benefitted tremendously from not having to expend the very limited resources from their family's budgets on school supplies. Further, the fountain pens have been a great tool for many students, especially the disposable fountain pens that come in a rainbow of colors! Within our society, so many schools have moved away from not only grammar, but indeed through the removal of penmanship. The fountain pens have allowed students to slow down their writing process and improve their spelling, sentence structures, and writing at large. Students have reported that they love to write out their journals and find the use of great stationary as a great way to really engage in the learning process.
To turn to a particular story: One of my students recently told us how happy she was that she could do her journals in pen! The student had been practicing her penmanship and was thrilled to be able to use a colorful fountain pen to illustrate her work! In addition, she was thrilled to illustrate some physics concepts in her journal! One student said to me, "thank you so much Doctor Weber, you really are so kind and encourage me to and graciously provided the materials for us to use." I kindly disclosed to him, that it was me he should thank, but indeed the wonderful people who went online at Donors Choose, and choose to take their hard earned money to donate to our school community. In response to his questions, I further explained the concept of Donor's Choose to this young man, and we agreed that it was a wonderful resource in the educational community! This is particularly true as school budgets have been very restricted in this new school year. He was very thankful for your donation!
To really create an atmosphere of rigor, we had the students craft foldables with the donated resources. The students were given several models of work and asked to use them in order to design an engaging resource which they would be able to use during a project. The students wrote down the laws of motion and then were able to craft definitions. When students are engaged in a kinesthetic project, many often deeply focus on the task at hand. We observed that the students take ownership, and seek to show their artistic talents. This allows for a higher sense of validation from students who normally do not have the chance to feature their art-based talents outside of the art room.
In total, the resources have provided really have been of such great use. They have helped so many students engage in the reflective process of journaling, and this has been transformative. A million thanks!”
With gratitude,
Dr. Weber