Mr. Kolker's classroom
Donation protected
Hello! My name's Seth (it's Mr. Kolker to my students), and I'm about to enter my second year of teaching high school math at a public school in Rhode Island. I'm asking for your help to fund some classroom essentials :D
Let me tell you a little bit about the setting: we're the district high school for the the smallest city in the smallest state in the country. It's a beautiful, close-knit community with 103 countries represented in a single square mile.
The school also faces plenty of challenges: the lowest income levels in Rhode Island, not enough training for staff to work with the quarter of our students who need special education services and the other quarter who are English Language Learners, and some dysfunctional systems that weren't exactly improved by firing (then having to rehire) every teacher about five years ago.
During my first year, these kiddos inspired me with how hard they worked when they were up against so much - made me love them and believe in their limitless potential, even as I struggled to come to terms with the social structures that kept trying to get in their way.
I've spent the summer gearing up for Year 2, when I'll be teaching Geometry, Algebra 2 Inclusion, and Algebra 2 ESL. Now I want to ask for your help to fund these items:
- 120 quad-ruled notebooks so each of my students can have one. I've found that students really appreciate the gift, and it allows me to teach them how to take notes, study for tests, and develop their own unique ways of learning. Walmart has these for $1 each; I just have to convince the manager to order a few more than they usually have on hand :)
- 4 floor lamps from IKEA. Unfortunately, I haven't got windows in my new classroom, and for some reason the skylight got boarded up when they repaired the leaky roof - so we've got no natural light. Especially for my kiddos who struggle to concentrate because of anxiety, ADHD, or the latest high school gossip, I find that lamps can really calm kids down and help them learn. My lamps from last year got broken during summer school so I'm in the market for new ones.
- Dry erase markers! They're surprisingly expensive, I'm an over-energetic whiteboard user who likes to color code everything to make it more accessible, and apparently my new room's whiteboard stains with the "low odor" markers I've currently got.
- Rewards for students' Kolker Kash. I'm quite proud of my "token economy" - students have online bank accounts, receive direct deposits for classroom job salaries and Kash for going above and beyond, learn to save with my generous 229% interest (for Room #229), avoid credit card debt, cajole each other into taking on payday loans, and much more. I like to sell things like phone cases and ice cream parties with what they earn.
- If I'm lucky enough to reach or exceed my goal, the funds will go to paint (I've inherited kind of McDonalds-style yellow walls), calculators, field trips, or other classroom expenses down the line.
I will be incredibly grateful of any and all support that I get from friends, family, and strangers! It's my first time using GoFundMe, but I assume I can send some updates about how the year is going to everybody who contributes. Thanks for being a part of it all!
Let me tell you a little bit about the setting: we're the district high school for the the smallest city in the smallest state in the country. It's a beautiful, close-knit community with 103 countries represented in a single square mile.
The school also faces plenty of challenges: the lowest income levels in Rhode Island, not enough training for staff to work with the quarter of our students who need special education services and the other quarter who are English Language Learners, and some dysfunctional systems that weren't exactly improved by firing (then having to rehire) every teacher about five years ago.
During my first year, these kiddos inspired me with how hard they worked when they were up against so much - made me love them and believe in their limitless potential, even as I struggled to come to terms with the social structures that kept trying to get in their way.
I've spent the summer gearing up for Year 2, when I'll be teaching Geometry, Algebra 2 Inclusion, and Algebra 2 ESL. Now I want to ask for your help to fund these items:
- 120 quad-ruled notebooks so each of my students can have one. I've found that students really appreciate the gift, and it allows me to teach them how to take notes, study for tests, and develop their own unique ways of learning. Walmart has these for $1 each; I just have to convince the manager to order a few more than they usually have on hand :)
- 4 floor lamps from IKEA. Unfortunately, I haven't got windows in my new classroom, and for some reason the skylight got boarded up when they repaired the leaky roof - so we've got no natural light. Especially for my kiddos who struggle to concentrate because of anxiety, ADHD, or the latest high school gossip, I find that lamps can really calm kids down and help them learn. My lamps from last year got broken during summer school so I'm in the market for new ones.
- Dry erase markers! They're surprisingly expensive, I'm an over-energetic whiteboard user who likes to color code everything to make it more accessible, and apparently my new room's whiteboard stains with the "low odor" markers I've currently got.
- Rewards for students' Kolker Kash. I'm quite proud of my "token economy" - students have online bank accounts, receive direct deposits for classroom job salaries and Kash for going above and beyond, learn to save with my generous 229% interest (for Room #229), avoid credit card debt, cajole each other into taking on payday loans, and much more. I like to sell things like phone cases and ice cream parties with what they earn.
- If I'm lucky enough to reach or exceed my goal, the funds will go to paint (I've inherited kind of McDonalds-style yellow walls), calculators, field trips, or other classroom expenses down the line.
I will be incredibly grateful of any and all support that I get from friends, family, and strangers! It's my first time using GoFundMe, but I assume I can send some updates about how the year is going to everybody who contributes. Thanks for being a part of it all!
Organizer
Seth Kolker
Organizer
Providence, RI
