But What Can I Do?
Can we all agree that education for our children is the bedrock of our nation? Without a good education experience the next generation will allow our country to regress, to be less than the greatest nation on earth. You might even believe, as I do, that we are already moving in that direction.
When I was a child I lived in a small, poor town in mid-America. I knew that I and my friends were the world's most important people because my town built a schoolhouse that was sheer luxury compared to where I lived. It had indoor restrooms, water fountains, central heating, a beautifully finished wood floor in a large gymnasium where we could play, etc. By contrast virtually no house in town had more than an outhouse for a "restroom", water came from hand pumped wells or, in my case, a rain water storage cistern, and floors were crude boards, painted or covered with cheap linoleum. We were clearly the most important people in town.
We no longer seek to make our schools luxurious compared to our children's homes. We complain when taxes go up to support our schools. But, there is at least one way we can still demonstrate that nothing is too much for our children's education.
Donors Choose is a website where we can help enhance the classroom experience for one class at a time, by donating as little as $5, all of which can go to fund a specific project requested by a teacher in a poverty area of our country. You can chose from hundreds of projects to donate to, and when you do, you quickly find that your donation is greatly appreciated. Some of us have persuaded our hobby groups to "adopt" one or more of the projects, and all donate to be sure those are fully funded. I am an enthusiast for planted aquariums, so I got one of the on line forums devoted to that hobby to adopt and fully fund 6 projects to date, with a 7th now being donated to. But, church groups, scouting groups, social groups, etc. all could do this equally well. The reward you get in how well you feel about yourself makes it a bargain for the money.
Please, just click Donors Choose and see if this arouses your generosity as it did mine. Our country can only benefit by your doing so.
When I was a child I lived in a small, poor town in mid-America. I knew that I and my friends were the world's most important people because my town built a schoolhouse that was sheer luxury compared to where I lived. It had indoor restrooms, water fountains, central heating, a beautifully finished wood floor in a large gymnasium where we could play, etc. By contrast virtually no house in town had more than an outhouse for a "restroom", water came from hand pumped wells or, in my case, a rain water storage cistern, and floors were crude boards, painted or covered with cheap linoleum. We were clearly the most important people in town.
We no longer seek to make our schools luxurious compared to our children's homes. We complain when taxes go up to support our schools. But, there is at least one way we can still demonstrate that nothing is too much for our children's education.
Donors Choose is a website where we can help enhance the classroom experience for one class at a time, by donating as little as $5, all of which can go to fund a specific project requested by a teacher in a poverty area of our country. You can chose from hundreds of projects to donate to, and when you do, you quickly find that your donation is greatly appreciated. Some of us have persuaded our hobby groups to "adopt" one or more of the projects, and all donate to be sure those are fully funded. I am an enthusiast for planted aquariums, so I got one of the on line forums devoted to that hobby to adopt and fully fund 6 projects to date, with a 7th now being donated to. But, church groups, scouting groups, social groups, etc. all could do this equally well. The reward you get in how well you feel about yourself makes it a bargain for the money.
Please, just click Donors Choose and see if this arouses your generosity as it did mine. Our country can only benefit by your doing so.
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I agree 100% with you Hoppy!
I do believe it is education that is the true bulwark of democracy and liberty for the common man and woman and their families.
Thanks for posting this! I will definitely contribute!
April 22, 2009 6:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you Oleeb! That website is one of the best designed and implemented websites I have seen. It makes giving easy, and you get almost instant feedback. Plus, the total price for any one project is low enough that any donation is a significant one to the teacher involved, making you feel even better.
April 22, 2009 6:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for putting this out there, Hoppy. I saw this a couple of years ago, I believe, and it just had a few projects. I thought it was the best fund-raising idea I had seen. You're right that people talk a lot about providing our kids a good education, paying teachers a commensurate salary, etc. but balk at tax increases to do it.
Teachers pay for many things out of their own pocket. Kids are continuously fund-raising for their club or project or field trip or uniforms or instruments, and most of the fund-raising businesses (with ready made sales programs for the kids) profit much, while the kids profit little for their hard work. And of course, there's a great inequality in the schools in wealthier districts where donations are easier to come by.
On top of that, in a state like mine (Texas) the state government has set up the system to benefit suppliers and other businesses that serve schools. The money being made from textbook alignment, ancilliarary materials and guides and consultants for the standardized testing that Bush pushed is obscene (his brother making $millions). And they change the program name, starting from scratch again every seven or ten years, requiring all new materials. Textbooks are too expensive to allow out of the classroom now, meaning homework has gotten lighter and lighter.
The State won't even consolidate the considerable buying power of the state school system, much less the regions or individual districts, in order to obtain products, materials and supplies at wholesale costs! Also, many State, Federal and private grant monies are wasted because they are not closely overseen or targeted to real needs.
But Donors Choose is a great program because, besides the fact that choice sells, people can target their donations to what they think are worthwhile and valuable projects and towards classrooms that are really in need.
April 22, 2009 9:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hoppy, I agree with you. However, as long as we let the theives on Wall Street make their millions/billions while teachers make a pitance, well, its gonna be an uphill fight.
April 22, 2009 9:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Apples and oranges. The thieves on Wall Street certainly are well along in cornering the market in money, with much of it staying in their bank accounts, but the thousands of schools in low income areas of the country still need a hand. None of us is going to stop the accumulation of money by the thieves, but all of us can give a hand to the schools, and do it very easily. That is what Donors Choose is really about, in my opinion.
April 22, 2009 11:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Did you see where the high school basketball player recently quit high school to play basketball in Europe?
The program you are advocating is great. It will make a difference.
April 23, 2009 11:05 AM | Reply | Permalink