Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education.
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My students live in a very isolated and economically depressed community. Few of them travel beyond the border of our state and even fewer leave our country. Our community is nearly 90% Caucasian and Christian, and to say that my students share a single perspective on most issues would be a gross understatement. With all this in mind, however, I still believe that most of these young people are truly good at heart, and want to grow to be sophisticated and responsible adults. Unfortunately, their economic circumstances rarely afford them the opportunities to experience live outside their small town or to meet people of different backgrounds.
I want to give my students the opportunity to experience new people and places, and to understand that there are fundamental human truths and conditions no matter the setting or culture. Most will never be able to do this on a large scale. Last year I made a point to spend a small amount of my budget on multicultural reading material and asked my high school students to read these books. Many responded that the characters were "very much like us" in their wants and needs. Other students remarked that they "had no idea" that countries such as the Sudan and Armenia had such political turmoil that might affect people their age. The reading assignments were enlightening in a number of ways.
I am hoping to bring this concept into the current school year on a larger scale with newer titles and more current authors. I want my students to thirst for knowledge of the world outside their tiny town, and continue to seek out more stories about those who are both so fundamentally different but also ironically, underneath it all, with whom they can relate.
About my class
My students live in a very isolated and economically depressed community. Few of them travel beyond the border of our state and even fewer leave our country. Our community is nearly 90% Caucasian and Christian, and to say that my students share a single perspective on most issues would be a gross understatement. With all this in mind, however, I still believe that most of these young people are truly good at heart, and want to grow to be sophisticated and responsible adults. Unfortunately, their economic circumstances rarely afford them the opportunities to experience live outside their small town or to meet people of different backgrounds.
I want to give my students the opportunity to experience new people and places, and to understand that there are fundamental human truths and conditions no matter the setting or culture. Most will never be able to do this on a large scale. Last year I made a point to spend a small amount of my budget on multicultural reading material and asked my high school students to read these books. Many responded that the characters were "very much like us" in their wants and needs. Other students remarked that they "had no idea" that countries such as the Sudan and Armenia had such political turmoil that might affect people their age. The reading assignments were enlightening in a number of ways.
I am hoping to bring this concept into the current school year on a larger scale with newer titles and more current authors. I want my students to thirst for knowledge of the world outside their tiny town, and continue to seek out more stories about those who are both so fundamentally different but also ironically, underneath it all, with whom they can relate.