KAILUA-KONA — Sometimes the best way to learn is to get your hands dirty and make a mess.
Whether that mess is made cutting paper for a special craft for mom and dad or spreading brightly colored frosting over a sugar cone to create a Christmas tree for the holidays, doing something physically has more impact than just reading from a book or listening to a teacher.
“If you’re making a mess, you’re learning, and if you’re making a mistake, it’s a lesson,” said Kealakehe Elementary School Student Services Coordinator Jeanne Hart.
That was the case Tuesday for Navia Nash, 5, who said the sticky frosting, candy and cone helped her learn. Not only did the kids in Crystal Kawai’s kindergarten class make sugary holiday items, they also used the items to create a graph of what they had to work with.
“It’s fun and it helps her learn,” said mother, Sunnie Nash, who along with a handful of other volunteer parents helped make the trees come to life. “It’s very important. And it’s awesome that many of us can come in and be a part of it.”
However, funding for items like construction paper, glitter and food items to make “messes” and “mistakes” are sometimes not provided for in the school’s budget, which leaves a gap that someone is left to cover — whether it be teachers, parents, volunteers or the community. Each year, teachers spend a good chunk of their own money to ensure their pupils have the resources they need to succeed in school.
Now, the community can step up and support private, public and charter school educators by contributing funds to purchase much-needed classroom materials through group-funding platforms like AdoptAClassroom.org and DonorsChoose.org, among others.
AdoptAClassroom estimates 15 million children don’t have the resources they need to succeed in school, and teachers spend annually more than $500 each, or $15 billion nationwide, stocking classrooms. Since 1998, the nonprofit has connected thousands of donors with 110,000-plus classrooms raising more than $24 million.
“The community should get involved because hundreds of thousands of teachers are asking for help. They are telling us they do not have the materials they need to get the job done,” said Melissa Hruza, program coordinator for the Minneapolis-based organization. “The problems we face in education are large and complex, but teachers can’t wait for those problems to be resolved in order to teach.”
Jennifer Poggensee, the school’s Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation coordinator and a former teacher at Kealakehe, estimated she spent at least $75 each month to supplement her classroom as a fourth- and fifth-grade teacher. Hart said, when she was a teacher, she used to spend about $3,000 per year (about $250 monthly) on her “kids” because she did not have children of her own.”
“That’s probably an underestimate,” Poggensee admitted. “It just depends on the teacher.”
On Tuesday, Hart got a boost for teachers’ classrooms across the campus thanks to a $2,250 education grant from Farmers Insurance Hawaii.
The contribution was made in conjunction with AdoptAClassroom.org through Farmers’ Thank America’s Teachers program, which gives back to teachers each year, providing school supplies for the classroom. In addition to Kealakehe, Farmers will award $2,250 to a classroom at Hilo High School this week, as well as five other schools across the state.
Hart said the funding will go toward purchasing healthy snacks to keep kids going between meals and supporting classroom activities that require a little extra funding to make happen, such as science projects, cooking experiences and field trips.
“It’s going to increase their opportunity to dig their hands in and get dirty,” she said. “You do learn by reading, but you learn more by putting it into action.”
Department of Education Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi commended the generosity of the businesses and community members for their “critical role” they play in the schools.
“We are very grateful to (Farmers Insurance Hawaii) for their monetary donation to Kealakehe Elementary,” she said. “The funds will be used for learning materials, field trip costs, healthy snacks, and classroom furniture for special needs classrooms.”
