Blankets for everyone
Donation protected
I teach at a school where most kids have been in trouble for some reason or another. Expelled for drugs, or battery on staff or peers, fights or threats or any other number of things. We are their "second" chance to salvage some credits towards graduation even though they have been kicked out of mainstream schools.
I run an incentive program to aid the students in good behavior. Each week the students earn tickets every hour for doing what they are supposed to be doing. The tickets are put into a container for a chance to win one of two different items every Friday. Most of the time these are small items such as home baked goods or 5 dollar gift cards for various places.
A couple weeks ago, we had a small fleece blanket donated to use in the drawing. Not a big thing to most people.
I had a student approach me in private asking about the blanket. He said he hoped he won it because his cousin stole his blanket and he had nothing to sleep on. This is a 16 year old kid. How can he not have a blanket. (I felt really horrible especially when I thought of the three blankets we put in our dog cages)
Hubby and I went that night and bought a blanket. I took it the next day and told the student I couldn't guarantee he would win the blanket and so we "just had one" and brought it to him. He was very grateful.
HOW can someone not even have a blanket to call their own.
As part of our program, all kids are required to take a "group class" it is a therapy type class taught by a social worker. We are going to get yards of that fleece material and next year, towards Thanksgiving, we are going to teach the students we have then how to make their own blankets and they can pick out the colors they want. Then they can either keep it for themselves or give it to someone they love at Christmas.
We are going to look for grants to help pay the cost of the material because the cheapest price we have fount is 3.98 a yard. Each blanket takes 4 yards. We could have anywhere from 10 to 30 students.
I just could not believe it. And then people wonder why students do horrible on tests.
I run an incentive program to aid the students in good behavior. Each week the students earn tickets every hour for doing what they are supposed to be doing. The tickets are put into a container for a chance to win one of two different items every Friday. Most of the time these are small items such as home baked goods or 5 dollar gift cards for various places.
A couple weeks ago, we had a small fleece blanket donated to use in the drawing. Not a big thing to most people.
I had a student approach me in private asking about the blanket. He said he hoped he won it because his cousin stole his blanket and he had nothing to sleep on. This is a 16 year old kid. How can he not have a blanket. (I felt really horrible especially when I thought of the three blankets we put in our dog cages)
Hubby and I went that night and bought a blanket. I took it the next day and told the student I couldn't guarantee he would win the blanket and so we "just had one" and brought it to him. He was very grateful.
HOW can someone not even have a blanket to call their own.
As part of our program, all kids are required to take a "group class" it is a therapy type class taught by a social worker. We are going to get yards of that fleece material and next year, towards Thanksgiving, we are going to teach the students we have then how to make their own blankets and they can pick out the colors they want. Then they can either keep it for themselves or give it to someone they love at Christmas.
We are going to look for grants to help pay the cost of the material because the cheapest price we have fount is 3.98 a yard. Each blanket takes 4 yards. We could have anywhere from 10 to 30 students.
I just could not believe it. And then people wonder why students do horrible on tests.
Organizer
Pamela Dawson
Organizer
Wichita, KS
