Welcome back friends. So now its time to take a trip down memory lane for just a minute. Today I pose one simple question: When did you know you wanted to be a teacher? Were you one of those people who was playing school with your stuffed animals when you were a child? Or were you one of those people who never really thought you could be a teacher but had a life changing moment that changed the course of your life forever. Whatever the case maybe we all have one thing in common. We all want to change the world and show our students that they can be a part of it.
So my education story is much like the second scenario in the first paragraph. People all around me always told me that I would be a great teacher but I had other plans. I told people that I was going to be a medical examiner. (Yes folks me. The 4'8" person cutting up dead people for a living. That is what I wanted to do with my life.) When I was a freshman in college I got the opportunity to travel to Guatelmala over spring break to do a week long service project at an orphanage. Throughout this week I got the opportunity to interact with the children at the school. I discovered that they had a love of learning that went way beyond the classroom walls. By the time the plane landed in New York City I know that teaching was what I wanted to do with my life.
Fastforward now to today. We were asked this week to search for an educational grant that we would want to apply for. Taking my eduactional journey into consideration I decided to focus my grant search on volunteerism science and global awareness. With that all in place I came across one grant that fit all of that criteria. The grant I chose is called the Academic Enrichment Grant. The grant is sponsored by the McCarthy Dressman Education Foundation. This grant awards ten thousand dollars per year for a maximum of three years to programs that provide opporunities for programs that foster understanding, deepen the student's knowledge and give them chances to expand their global awareness.
So now that I have your attention how do I apply for this grant? This grant is very straight forward. You must fill out the application between January 15th and April 15th of that year. (Sorry folks I could not fill out the application seeing that it is November and not January.) But more specifically they are looking for educators who have regular contact with K-12 students in a low income area. The only downside I found to this grant is that you have to be willing to work with the foundation on your project. Many teachers I know may not want to give up their power when it comes to their project.
Overall my friends I encourage you to take a look at educational grants. Many of them are not hard to qualify for and can actually be fun. Until next time have a Happy Thanksgiving and keep teaching.
