I have amazing collegues.
A couple of weeks ago, our National Honor Society hosted a dress exchange. Basically, girls donate gently used formal dresses and we sold them for $5-$20. This is our third year and we do it for multiple reasons. We are hoping to provide low cost, nice dresses for the girls at our school that may not be able to afford them otherwise. We donate the money to the local woman's shelter. When it is over we keep the really good ones for the next year, the rest we donate to Goodwill or the Adoptive Family Network. And my students get a chance to lead and organize a project.
Anyway, back to my collegue. The left over dresses are in my back room. So I had a fellow teacher come in and ask if she and a student could go through the dresses. This student had been unable to make the dress exchange, and......didn't have any money to buy a dress. After trying on a few dresses, she found one she loved. My friend and collegue told this beautiful young lady that she should have the dress she loved, and that she would buy it for her. Meanwhile, she picked out another dress for another student who needs one. This wonderful woman, who is a single mom herself, is so generous and gracious that she is willing to buy dresses for her students so that they can have a nice time at the prom or sno-ball.
For the record, I also know these young ladies and probably would have given them the dresses. And the money doesn't go to me or even to the National Honor Society. It goes to the women in our community who need a safe place to stay. So, whatever she gives me for the dresses is fine, I told her it was up to her.
This is what I am talking about when I talk about how much teachers give. It's not just about the reading, writing, and 'rithmatic (and let's face it....the super cool science!), it's about the students. It's not just paper, pencils, and school supplies that we dip into our pockets for, it is coats, shoes, and in some cases, prom dresses to make sure that our students are warm or have a complete high school experience.
I would also be remiss if I didn't give kudos to one of our special ed teachers who is developed a soup kitchen with her students. These students are using practical skill that they will need to survive in the real world. They are learning cooking skills, math skills, and communicating skills. They come and sell the soup to the staff every week. The money they earn (I think) helps them to purchase Christmas gifts for their families and pay for tickets for them to go to prom. These are student who do not have much. They would never be able to afford these things on their own. I think this is amazing.
Thirdly, our school also had a dinner last week that was a fundraiser for juvenile diabetes. It was planned and organized by two classes of students. Their teachers (one of which is a friend of mine) did a great job of helping them learn planning and preparation skills.
I know there are so many other things that are going on in our school and so many other teachers that are giving so much to our students, more than an education, but a chance. In a place where more often than not, we wonder what is going on and how we are ever going to make it through another day, it is nice to remember that we have an amazing staff that does amazing things with our students.
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