You've probably heard of Bing, but what about Bing's Teacher Appreciation Website? As the name suggests, this is where you can express your appreciation for a teacher who has touched your life or the lives of your kids. For every teacher appreciation that you submit (up to 5), Bing will give you $5 to donate to the project of your choice at DonorsChoose.org. And, if you haven't heard of that site, it's an online charity that lets teachers all over the country post their "wish lists" for a special classroom project, and then anyone can make a donation to any project to help make it happen. Bing has made a commitment to donate $500,000 to DonorsChoose.org to provide both kids and adults with a way to express their thanks to a teacher and help another teacher in the process.
So, for instance, I have already posted 5 teacher appreciations. First was Mr. James, who taught senior AP English at my high school. Mr. James was the first teacher I ever had who treated us (almost) like adults. For instance, he didn't take attendance. He knew that if we didn't show up, we were the ones missing out. (Needless to say, we never missed a class.) He also never made us sign out books. He said that if he made us fall in love with a book (even Moby-Dick) to the point that we wanted to steal it, then he'd done his job. Mr. James really prepared me for Wesleyan, where open thinking and discussion enhanced our learning and development. The other 4 appreciations I did were about my kids' teachers—the kindergarten teacher all 3 kids had, the first-grade teacher Pete and Julie had, the fifth-grade teacher Steph and Pete had (and I hope Julie will have!), and the learning center teacher who helped Steph so much with math—and everything else!—in sixth grade. These are people who made a huge difference in my kids' lives.
Mom Central invited me to participate in this effort by giving me an additional $100 to donate at DonorsChoose.org. I chose a classroom in a high-poverty district right here in Massachusetts. They need books! Books! Can you imagine a classroom without books? I hope that my donation will help fill this classroom with books.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Bing and received a $100 DonorsChoose.org giving code to facilitate my review. Mom Central also sent me a thank-you gift certificate.
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