Charities

So Jim is on this overnight field trip. They are doing a lot of things and taking the kids places that they have never been before even though some of them are only an hour away. Experience makes such a difference in children. When I had my first teaching position it was in a fourth grade classroom in a Title I school. Some of the students had never even been in other areas of the city because they didn't really leave their neighborhood. I couldn't give homework assignments that required a computer because I only had one student who had an computer (even though they all had game systems). My kids didn't know how to use a telephone because mom and/or dad only had prepaid cell phones that they didn't let the kids touch. They had all seen the latest movies but had never set foot in an art museum (even though admission to the art museum was cheaper than the movie). I couldn't give assignments that required going to the library because mom and dad didn't have time to go to the library and even though there was a library branch within walking distance, most of the kids were not allowed to cross the busy street the library branch was on. We took the kids on a field trip and had a parent decide to chaperon because she was scared to have her child ride across the interstate bridge that went over the Tennessee river. The bridge was only about 10 minutes or so outside of the city limits and you had to cross the river to go anywhere west of the city.
Anyway, I say this because this lack of experience makes a difference for learning. How can you ask a child to understand a story about a child in another place if they have only ever experienced one place with people who are "culturally" all pretty much the same as their family?
It's hard to take on someone else's perspective or to see the importance of something if you don't "get" how it relates to your life because your life is so "contained."
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I also mention this because if you are looking for a good place to give tax deductible money where every single little penny goes to "help" (rather than having 5%, 10%, or even 25% of it going to support an office staff)...give money to a school for field trips. Funding field trips is difficult for low income families and there is not only the admission price of where ever they are going, but the school also has transportation costs. Jim is fortunate to have a principal who realizes that field trips equal experience which will help students learn better. However, this field trip almost did not happen. They were short 6 students and in the end each of the teachers going on the trip pitched in money to lower the cost of the field trip for the students so that more students could afford to go.