Review of the three Donors Choose Applications

The post titled "The Joy of Painting" is a donors choose request to pay for high school students' art supplies using media that the students haven't explored yet. The teacher emphasizes that not all students have the capability to purchase these art supplies. I do think it would have helped if the teacher included data on the student demographic. How many are on free and reduced lunch? Is this a private school where parents are somewhat wealthier? Does the school fund any supplies for students already, or do they make students buy their own supplies? I do like that she focused so much on the passion that the students have, and how beneficial it would be for them to explore new media outlets. However, the request would be much more powerful if it were demonstrated why and to what extent students couldn't afford these supplies. 

The post titled "Calculating Success" asks for scientific calculators for high school students. The teacher states that 50% of her students qualify for free and reduced lunch which strengthens her need for supplies with factual evidence. She also describes why the students need these calculators, and how it is affecting them currently not having these calculators (those who cannot afford it). She brings up the great point about having to use the school computer calculators during assessments, and the distractions that come with it. This creates an identifiable problem and solution that can be achieved through donating. This post is, in my opinion, the best and most convincing.

The third post, titled "Absences Go Here!" is a teacher asking for funding to create a more organized "turn in" box for students. The one she is currently using is simply a bin, and wants something more organized to keep her class on track. This post also has a clear problem and solution to be achieved through donations. What she does well is not only does she focus on the issue of disorganization in the classroom, but how it affects her students. The teacher expresses that it stops class when work is mixed up or missing, a student is absent, etc. But if they have an organized bin to turn in work and pick up missed materials from an absence then more time can be spent on the curriculum. One thing this teacher could have done, however, is explain just how class gets interrupted so that we can imagine the situation and then visualize how her request with solve this.

I did not know of Donors Choose prior to this activity. I enjoyed that there are many teachers who are willing to find any way to give their students what they need, especially if they are not receiving it from their schools and districts. I like that Donors Choose allows any public school teacher to apply and allows anybody to donate if they would like. I can see how keeping the descriptions for the projects short in order to give a quick overview. However, I think the teachers could benefit from being able to share specific activities that would represent how the donations would impact their classrooms and students. I chose three projects that focused on elementary classrooms but whose projects would serve completely different purposes. 

The first project focused on a classroom in which the teacher wants a class set of headphones to allow the students to focus on their daily tasks. I thought it was important that students are given the opportunity to individually be able to focus on their assignments. However, the project had a shorter description and did not seem to share how the headphones would help students beyond their reading and math activities. I know it would increase the donation amount but I also worry about the sanitary issues as the headphones will be a classroom set. The project does not state whether the students will keep their headphones. 

The second project asks for manipulatives for a math classroom. I really enjoyed this project because it provides more specific uses for the different manipulatives asked for donations. I liked that the teacher explained how manipulatives allow students to explore mathematics in their own way. I agree with the teacher that the manipulatives will help ELLs in their visualization of mathematics but it does not address if they will help with their language comprehension and communication of the mathematics they will be visualizing. 

The final project was also not specifically related to enhancing student learning but on helping classroom management. The teacher is asking for a rug for her students to be able to engage in classroom interaction at the front of the room. I thought it was good that the teacher provided specific ways the rug would help her students. I know the use of rug time can be beneficial for young students so the project really put into perspective how the rug can change the classroom focus for students and the teacher. The teacher also provided a lot of detail about the community of her students and the school. I believe the detail is important for donors to decide their reason to donate but it seems odd that teachers have to include that their students are from low-income households in order to possibly get donations for their classroom projects.