Randomly Relevant

dionthesocialist:

The right wing absolutely disgusts me.

barackobama:

THE PRESIDENT: A few months ago, just up the road, in Westerville, Governor Romney said, if you want to be successful, if you want to go to college or start a business, you can just — and I’m quoting here — “borrow money if you have to from your parents.”

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE PRESIDENT: When a high school student in Youngstown asked him what he would do to make college more affordable for families like his, Governor Romney didn’t say anything about grants or loan programs that are critical to millions of students to get a college education. He said nothing about work-study programs or rising college tuition. He didn’t say a word about community colleges or how important higher education is to America’s future. He said, the best thing you can do is shop around.

AUDIENCE: Booo —

THE PRESIDENT: The best thing I can do for you is to tell you to shop around.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: That’s it!

THE PRESIDENT: That’s it. That’s his plan.

positivelypersistentteach:

Positivelypersistentteach’s wishlist is here.

Girlwithalessonplan’s wishlist is here.

Listenlearninspireteach’s wishlist is here.

Thinkbrit’s wishlist is here.

Novicephoenix’s wishlist is here.

Diaryofafyt’s wishlist is here.

HeyMissAt’s wishlist is here.

Msleahhbic wishlist is here.

Donteatthepaste’s wishlist is here.

Hithertokt’s wishlist is here.

Annaslibrary’s wishlist is here.

Texasfirstyearteacher’s wishlist is here.

Allisonunsupervised’s wishlist is here.

Pablophonic’s wishlist is here.

Wiinga’s (formerly Bettyinthebush) wish list is here.

VWalker’s wishlist is here.

RevolutionizeEducation’s wishlist is here.

Denisea’s adopt-a-classroom is here.

Incognerdo’s wishlist is here.

Reblogs are appreciated.

I’m sure there are more (and you’re welcome to add yours in a reblog), but these are the ones I was able to find with some stealth research or were provided to me by fellow teachers.

I think that people outside of teaching might be surprised by how much teachers spend in their classroom.  At the first school I taught at, I even had to supply the tables my students sat at.  I’ve found that even among teachers, we are surprised by what colleagues in other grade levels or districts have to purchase.  I spent over $2,000 in my first year of teaching (I also taught in a economic disadvantaged area and at a charter school that didn’t even supply books for my students to use).

I now teacher Pre-K at a different school, and while our school has a school library, my students are not permitted to borrow books from it (only K-5 are).  Since early literacy skills are very important, I work hard to cultivate a classroom library with quality books (in decent conditions) for my students to borrow each day.  Sometimes the number of books I have goes down due to a mishap with a little brother, or when I give a book to a child because his family is moving to another state (or in some cases to another country).  

There are theater teachers that must buy tools for setting up the stage, art teachers that buy paints, most teachers buy construction paper, and on and on.

I don’t wish to ask that other teachers spend money on myself or those listed above, as I know they have their own items to buy for the year.  But, I did want to put out the wishlists that I know of out there, so that if there are any generous people out in the tumblr sphere with a passion for education and some spare change, they’d know where to look to get things done.

Pro-Tip: If you are buying from multiple wishlists, you must do them separately in order for it to allow you to choose the wish list addresses (I think).

Sometimes orders from wishlists do not show who the sender is.  With that in mind, I’d like to thank anyone who donates on behalf of the teachers who receive items.

(via dionthesocialist)

barackobama:

beardedmanchilddd submitted:

I was born into the lower middle class, and have been there my entire life. I have 3 older siblings who all began getting into legal trouble at a young age. Any savings my parents had went to help paying off their court fines.

My dad was laid off when I was young and my mom worked 3 jobs to keep food on the table. Although my dad ended up finding work eventually, we never really fully recovered from the financial blow.

Halfway through my senior year, my dad died, leaving my mom and I with no savings. College seemed like it was out for me. That’s when my guidance counselor informed me of Financial Aid and Student Loans to help me cover the cost of tuition. Thanks to the loans, it helps me pay my tuition, books, and I have money to afford to live during the school year.

I’m investing in my future by taking out these loans, and if the interest rate is doubled, I’m going to be like my parents—working hard with nothing in return. I’m going to college to avoid that. I thank Obama for his efforts in keeping interest rates down for student loans—without him on my side, I don’t know how I’d be able to afford schooling.

Student loan interest rates go up in 6 days if Congress doesn’t act. Tell them to get to work.

barackobama:

themedusa submitted:

I was an unexpected child born to two teens. My mom went back to get her GED when I was five and my dad got on at TWA. It seemed that things were going well and we moved into a house in a safer part of town and one more room to accommodate our family’s new addition, my sister. After 9/11, my dad was laid off and was unemployed for almost an entire year. My mom had to give up her love of hairstyling and get a “real” job working the phone lines of an insurance company. Several family tragedies later and years of trying to keep our house and my parents trying to work out their now-abusive marriage, my parents finally divorced, filed for bankruptcy, and our house was foreclosed on. I spent months living with relatives and hopping from bed to bed (often couch to couch) until I was able to land a job and move out on my own.

I took a chance when I chose to attend one of the best schools in St. Louis. I graduated high school with a 4.2 GPA and felt that I deserved to go to a good school, even if it meant paying for it. I received one of the highest academic scholarships offered, but it still wasn’t enough to cover everything. Federal and state grants have allowed me to get the most out of my education and return every year with lower debt than I could have ever expected. Because of the aid I’ve received, I’m even going to be able to study abroad next year!

And sure, I work 40 hours a week at 19 years old and I’m taking the maximum credit hours available per semester, but I’m loving every minute of it! I know that I’m ultimately a harder worker and better person because of these grants and I feel that finally, finally all my hard work is paying off!

Needless to say, I’m proud that my first vote cast in a presidential election will be for President Obama because I know that he’s looking out for people like me.