This week, we're helping to provide “fast plants” to help an Arkansas middle school study genetics. We’ll also help fund both safety equipment and materials to explore the properties of light for a middle school in North Carolina. We hope that readers who support quality public school education will help these teachers and students by sharing or supporting our featured projects.
The Inoculation Project is an ongoing, volunteer effort to crowdfund science and math projects for public schools in low-income neighborhoods. As always, our conduit is DonorsChoose.org, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that facilitates tax-deductible donations to specific, vetted projects in public schools.
Our new project today will allow Arkansas middle schoolers to use fast-growing plants to study genetics, with help from matching funds: Donations to this project are now being matched, thanks to support from Economics Arkansas. The mission of Economics Arkansas is to promote economic literacy and the economic-way of thinking to PreK-12 students in Arkansas by empowering educators to teach the fourth “r," real life economics. (Continues at link.)
MAIN PROJECT
Resources: My students need Wisconsin Fast Plants to study genetic differences in DNA.
Economic need: More than half of students from low‑income households
Location: West Fork Middle School, West Fork, Arkansas
Total: $296.49 (matching offer from Economics Arkansas)
Still Needed: $296.49 Completed! Please consider long-term project below.
Teacher’s Comments from Mr. Crane:
My Students: Science is often a challenging subject for middle school students, yet, when given the right materials, it is the most fascinating and engaging subject of them all! Who hasn't made a vinegar and baking soda volcano at some point in their lives? We attend a small K-12th grade school located in a rural town in which there are just as many dirt roads as there are paved.
Many of my students are under resourced 7th and 8th graders who have a passion for learning about the world around them.
Limited only by their own understanding and previous classroom experiences, these young people thrive in an exploratory atmosphere. Many of them have had limited opportunities to receive high-quality science exposure due to the heavy emphasis on mathematics and literacy in the early years. Economic backgrounds and limited school resources have inhibited opportunities for them to learn kinesthetically, and develop their scientific communication skills linguistically. My students have had minimal exposure to project-based learning tasks which use real-world applications.
My Project: My middle school learners will construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how nutrients influence the growth of Fast Plants. Students will gather evidence and use scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction. They will develop and use a model to describe why reproduction in Fast Plants results in offspring with variation. These understandings will help my students better understand the financial decisions of farmers as they consider what plants to graph or duplicate for maximum production of their product in order to obtain maximum profits for their company.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
From nomandates last week: Our new long-term project will provide not only lab and safety equipment but also some laser prisms for a never-before-funded teacher at a middle school in a small North Carolina school district. According to the 2000 census, median income for a family in Lexington is $32,339, with 31.7% of children living below the poverty line. What struck me, though, was that only 1 woman is listed among the city’s notable people.
LONG-TERM PROJECT
Resources: My students need basic laboratory and safety equipment. I have purchased all I can out of my pocket but we are still in need of basic exploration supplies.
Economic need: More than three-quarters of students from low‑income households
Location: Lexington Middle School, Lexington, North Carolina
Total: $493.06
Still Needed: $328.12 $211.06
Teacher’s Comments from Ms. Thomas:
My Students: In Lexington, the population is very diverse in terms of ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status. Approximately 95% of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch in our Title I middle school. Our district is also very small, with only one middle school and one high school.
My students have many challenges, but can achieve incredible things if given the tools and support they need.
The school house is sometimes the only safe place for these children. Many of our families have been in Lexington for generations and some have told me of their concerns that their children are not able to have the same opportunities as others in surrounding areas.
I believe that my students have enormous potential to achieve and that they deserve every opportunity to do so. Engaging my students in science now can put them on the path to colleges and careers that may have seemed impossible to them before.
My Project: Being such a small and low-funded district, I am doing what I can to ensure that my students are engaged and learning every day. I strive to have hands-on labs at least one or two times every week. I believe that it is especially important for the struggling student to be able to not just learn about the scientific process, but to actually be involved in it as well.
Science without hands-on experience is no way to prepare our children for life in the 21st century.
Without proper science equipment, I am restricted on the types of activities I can perform with my students. As of now, they have to take turns and share safety goggles since we have less than a dozen pairs for all 100 students on our team. They spend their family's hard-earned money on clothes for school that also need protection for all the fun, messy things we do in science class.
Beyond the basics, my wish is to have a set of light exploration tools, which is why I am requesting the Laser Exploration Kit. What better way to explore the properties of light, such as reflection and refraction, with results they can clearly see?
These tools do not have to stay exclusively in my classroom. There are two other teachers in my grade level that would benefit from these tools as well. All of the science teachers in the school have pooled together what resources we have to share among each other, but it is not enough. My contribution will help the 100 students on my team, but it will actually go so much farther.
Donations of ANY size can make a BIG difference!
Last week, we completed our main project, Future Architects of the World. South Carolina kindergarteners will get the opportunity to learn more about local birds and explore architecture with an eye to designing and building birdhouses.
Mrs. Carpenter writes: Thank you so much for your generous donations that helped our project get funded! I can't wait to see my students in action using the items we receive! So much learning and exploring is bound to take place! My students will gain so many wonderful skills from hands on learning and exploring that would not have been possible if not for your amazing donations. Thank you again for your kindness!
Our Dollars at Work
In June, we helped Ms. Crenshaw, a fifth-grade teacher in Dallas; she’s been teaching her students to build simple circuits, but could afford only enough materials to have them work in groups. Now the class has enough supplies for all students to build on their own. The project was 5th Grade Mustangs Are Electric About Circuits! (More photos at the link.)
For the past 5 years as a science teacher I have had to teach my students about electric circuits with enough materials to build 5 kits for 25-30 students per class. It has been a tremendous challenge especially when this concept requires that all students get hands on experience. EVERY student will be able to build his or her own circuit! I can't wait to see their excitement when we execute this project!
I am overwhelmed at the generosity and compassion displayed by you as a donor. I appreciate your support of my project and I am inspired by you as a donor to continue providing experiences for my students. Thank you so much!
Founded in 2009, The Inoculation Project combats the anti-science push in conservative America by funding science and math projects in traditionally red-state classrooms and libraries. Our conduit is DonorsChoose.org, a crowdfunding charity founded in 2000 and highly rated by both Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau.
Every Sunday, we focus on helping to fund two science or math projects in red states, preferably in neighborhood public schools where the overwhelming majority of students come from low-income households. We welcome everyone who supports public school education — no money is required!
Finally, here’s our list of successfully funded projects — our series total is 612! The success-list diary also contains links and additional information about DonorsChoose.org.