Prof writing & proposal Devel(DSRT)

Pracitcal Connections

"Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think" (Grier, 2018,

p.5). Albert Einstein said these words, one of the most influential mathematicians and educators

humankind has ever known. This statement emphasizes the importance of and education is more

than learning material, yet it is a training, an ever-evolving process. As an educator, this holds in

many ways every day. However, when one thinks of today's educational system, thoughts of a

teacher standing in front of a class delivering knowledge is that typically comes to mind. The

truth remains that an educator's job is much more than just teaching. Endless paperwork, from

grading and writing feedback for students, sending letters and emails to parents, and writing

grants and professional documents, is all part of an educator's world. While many educators

understand how to write effectively, knowing the difference, and being able to adapt to the

different levels of writing is of vital importance. Every day, teachers produce some form of

written communication. This course has assisted in understanding the level of writing needed for

each style and the information required to communicate the true intentions successfully.

Knowing the difference between professional writing and grant writing is one of the most

influential and useful knowledge many educators could learn. Sadly, this knowledge was lost and

held small importance until this class. As an educator in a small, rural public school system,

financial support is limited and gaining access to funds for different programs is at a premium.

The goal for any educator is to provide the best environment possible for students to achieve at

the highest level they possibly can. The fact that to obtain this goal requires a hefty sum of

money tends to be lost on many outside the world of education. Whether it be supplies,

equipment, technology, physical upkeep to buildings, or items to meet basic student needs, all

these are needed and require funding. As an educator, much of this funding must be found

outside of the system through grants.

Grants provide access for educators to receive money for resources that go above and

beyond what their system may be able to offer. To unlock this access, one must understand that a

difference exists in the style of writing required for grants as opposed to that of professional

writing. For years, I have applied for grants through various organizations, and only once ever

received the minimal amount available. I truly feel the reason for this is due to the style in which

I was presenting the information through my writing style. Now that I have learned the

difference between styles and gained an understanding of how to identify how to present the

data, the particular grant is asking for, and things have changed. This application of

understanding grant writing is apparent in the events since COVID 19 has begun.

The system in which I have worked for years has been struggling to find a way to provide

one to one access to personal laptops for all students grades three through twelve. With COVID

19 completely turning the education world on its top, this need has become more apparent now

than ever before. Beginning in May 2020, myself and a team of teachers in our system began

searching for grants that would assist us in having the capacity of being entirely online. Thanks

to federal assistance from the Tennessee Department of Education, much of the funding for

personal laptops have been made available but not the entire amount. Taking a different

approach and utilizing the knowledge learned on the true grant writing style, multiple grants

were studied and applied for by the team.

Due to legal issues, the name of the grant in which we have applied for can not be

revealed. However, one of the applications has been approved for further review for full funding

available. If we are lucky enough to receive this funding, not only will our system have the

means to provided each student their laptop at the beginning of the school year, a couple of other

goals can be met as well. Each teacher will have access to a computer program that will allow

them to teach and upload lessons each day online utilizing Google Classroom. Those students

who have internet access will be able to access Google Classroom and the video lessons to

recreate the classroom setting as much as possible during these uncertain times. Students who do

not have internet access, due to the remote and sever poverty levels of our system setting, will be

provided flash drive with their laptops that will contain the same recorded lessons available. All

of this will be fully funded through the previously discussed grant. Thanks to this course, we

now have the knowledge and ability to access these funds with a better percentage of success.

This can truly be a game-changer for our students, our faculty, school, and the overall

community.

References

Grear, A. (2018). Powerful Understanding: Helping students explore, question, and transform

their thinking about themselves and the world around them (p. 5). Ontario, Canada:

Pembroke Publishers Limited.