Christine, an elementary teacher from New York, shared the following story with us in her submission for our Flash Drive Giveaway Contest:

Special education has taken a damaging hit to all students in New York public schools. The media and our own board of education have forgotten about the daily struggles teachers face when trying to reach special student populations. Why would teachers need contracts, raises or even some money for supplies? Isn’t every public school well equipped? Well, the answer is no.

Basic needs such as pencils and paper are purchased by teachers. I alone spend hundreds of dollars a year making sure my students have supplies. I work at a struggling elementary school that has been hit by budget cuts despite students’ high needs. Most are low income and see school as a place to eat, find warmth in the winter and obtain safe haven from the streets.

I have an additional struggle of teaching special populations where one on one teaching used to be possible but now am faced with a class of 30 students. Illegal you think? Absolutely not. When there’s no money to open classes, we are faced with combining classes and ignoring student needs.

One way I have tried to enhance student learning in my large class is by breaking students into small groups to create projects on the three working computers in my classroom. I have used my own jump drives for students but often struggle finding work quickly. I would love to be able to provide each student with their own drive to save work on. This reduces the need to buy paper, erasers and pencils monthly.

Though my students struggle socioeconomically as well as have special needs, they can be given the power of technology where their skills can shine. Technology is their future. Help me help my students reach their fullest potential despite the current struggles.

Thank you, Christine, for sharing your very emotionally touching story. We commend you for the incredible work and effort and compassion you pour into your students. I can only imagine how challenging it must be for you to serve special needs students in a group setting. We wish you the best! Thank you again for entering our contest.

If you’d like to enter our monthly custom USB drive giveaway, pop over to FreeFlashDrives.net and submit the entry form. We ask that, in doing so, you share with us how your group would use the free flash drives if you were selected as our next monthly winner.

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