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My grandfather was a teacher in Appalachia during the Great Depression. He didn't get paid a dime for well over a year. He kept teaching (and driving a school bus he'd found junked and which he got running) because he believed kids needed to learn.
A few extra supplies is nothing compared to the example of that man. I am in awe of his dedication. (I had the opportunity to meet some of his students. Sixty years later they still remembered what he did for them. It makes me weep just thinking about it.)
My son's school supplies were about 40$ (I forgot the tissues still have to get those). I'm a teacher and yes stuff goes into a closet in my room for use later in the year. I need to have my room up and ready to go before the first day of school, so yes I use folders and notebooks I buy, or that are left over from the previous year to set up my room. I will swap that stuff out with what the students bring in if it is comparable. For example our science notebooks are green. If the child does not bring in a green notebook they still need one, so they use the one I provide. Why should I not be able to use the 5 red notebooks that child brought in for other students? Some will say what's it matter if the notebook is green? I'm teaching students how to get organized, and color coding is one way to do that. I find the fact parents get so unset about community pot school supplies silly. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter. I don't care or even remember who brings in what I'm just happy they bring supplies. As for putting the child's name on every single pencil I cringe. Nothing like teaching a child not to share.
This school does 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade supply list.
Ours does grade specific supply lists for 5th, 6th (middle school) and 7th, 8th (jr high), but our teachers work as teams so the supplies get to the student and the student takes them to all his or her classes. The generic stuff like tissues is shared by the team.
When my daughter went to kindergarten, she was the poor minority kid. I made sure she had everything on the list, all good quality...plastic folders, real Crayola markers, etc. The teacher did not want us to label anything and had us dump the supplies in tubs. The folders my daughter brought home were the paper ten cent folders, not the plastic ones I'd paid $2/each for. I had to replace all the folders the first month of school. My daughter also ended up with generic crayons and markers instead of the ones I had bought.
By first grade, I knew to write her name on everything, even each individual marker, and on the inside and outside of every folder I had to send in. I don't mind providing school supplies, I just want my child to get what to use what I've sent in.
I also made a habit of asking the teachers once a month what they needed for the classroom, and sending it in. If they didn't need anything, I would send them a homemade treat (and my cookies are legendary).
That's the nice thing about switching to online school...I don't have to get school supplies or worry about any of the rest of it.
Yes, homeschooling has it's pros and cons but not having to deal with back to school shopping, crazy supply lists, and wondering if your child will get to use what is on said list is definitely a pro
The people who complain about communal supplies did not grow up in the *old days.* Back when I went to school, the only things I bought were my own pencils and notebooks. Everything else (crayons, scissors, markers, etc.) were supplied by the school and were communal. You sat at a table where the box with the supplies was passed around from student to student or if we were working at individual desks, we walked over to the supply box and got what we needed. When the project or work was done, we put the supplies back in the teacher's box.
I'm the non squeaky "squeaky wheel"
Maybe because I came from the corporate world..I'm alt certified you see.
No tissues..go to the bathroom and get a roll of toilet paper for the room.
That's exactly what I do.
No pencils..I have a supply but it will cost you $.10 otherwise you can go down the hall and pay $.50 in the machine. I use that money to buy more pencils. Some kids buy 3-4 at a time even.
Ditto. I buy the huge econo-pack of mechanical pencils, sell them for $0.25 and also use the proceeds to buy more.
No pencil sharpener in the room..go down to the office and use theirs (that one got me an electric sharpener within 2 weeks).
I sell the mechanical pencils because I absolutely hate the pencil sharpener I have. Most kids will get the idea that it suck pretty quickly and use a mech one.
No paper..borrow from another student.
Ditto.
No toner for my copier (computer tech class)..will have students print out their exams on front office copier so they can be graded. Got my toner week before exams.
This is one we are furnished with... but only the black. If we want color, we pay for it ourselves.
Sure I've spent some of my money for them but not for supplies they are supposed to have every day and not for supplies the school is supposed to have on hand.
I don't deny the kids. I put the burden back on the school and parents.
I also have to deal with a small clique of teachers that make sure they never run out of anything to the detriment of all the other teachers.
I have been very fortunate to never run into this situation (hoarding) in my 20 years. (19 yrs at the same school I'm currently teaching at.) But as a science teacher, i get very upset with the lack of funding for the equipment needed for the required labs. And as we aren't allowed to require lab fees, this can become problematic. Although, If I beg real nicely (and grovel somewhat) there's some sympathetic Asst. directors at our central office that can help out. They get real nice Christmas cards!
Don't teachers still get a deal at Staples on things like 1 cent pencil boxes, rulers, etc. so they get one for every kid in the class and only spend a couple bucks?
When I lived in Ohio the Wal Mart had a display of all supply lists. Grab one for the school and grade of your child and get it all in one trip.
As for putting the child's name on every single pencil I cringe. Nothing like teaching a child not to share.
It's not about not sharing, it's about making sure that the marker is returned after it is borrowed. It's also about making sure that if I paid $4 for a box of crayola washable markers, my kid ends up with those markers, not the 50 cent generic markers that will run out after the first month and stain her clothes in the meantime. Or if I buy plastic folders (and all in exactly the specified colors), that my child ends up with those folders, not the 10 cent paper ones that will have to be replaced in a few weeks.
The people who complain about communal supplies did not grow up in the *old days.* Back when I went to school, the only things I bought were my own pencils and notebooks. Everything else (crayons, scissors, markers, etc.) were supplied by the school and were communal. You sat at a table where the box with the supplies was passed around from student to student or if we were working at individual desks, we walked over to the supply box and got what we needed. When the project or work was done, we put the supplies back in the teacher's box.
I'm 42 and we always had to buy school supplies. I've never had where we had a supply in the classarom except for things like construction paper. I live in Illinois.
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