I wrote my very first grant application about 18 years ago. It was a $5,000 mini-grant for technology equipment for the classroom. I requested a video disk player (remember those really big video disks that were as big as old record albums?), a big screen TV, and some science-related video disks.

The entire application was 5 pages long and it took me several days to get it right. The hardest part was writing the goals and objectives. I was trained as a teacher, so writing behavioral objectives was not new for me, but writing behavioral objectives linked to the use of the stuff I was asking for was definitely a challenge.

I remember being so excited about the program design, and I was really looking forward to using the new equipment in my classroom. When I sent off the application, I was excited and nervous. It seemed like forever while I waited to get the results four weeks later.

I got the grant! It was thrilling! I filled out the paperwork, ordered the equipment, and waited some more.

When the equipment arrived, my principal confiscated it and said it wasn’t fair for it to go in my classroom. She said it should go in the multi-purpose room where everyone could use it. I strenuously objected because the proposal was written as classroom-based proposal. It didn’t matter. The equipment was placed in the muulti-purpose room, and I rarely got the chance to use it. It wasn’t because other classes were using it, but because the multi-purpose room was so overbooked with other activity (play practice, band, lunch, rainy day activities, etc.).

In the end, the equipment I was so excited about was used very little. I was very disappointed, but it didn’t stop me from pursuing other grants in the future.