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Sadly, it's not too difficult to believe. Why else would schools and/or teachers create such ridiculously long and brand-specific supply lists? When as little as 20 years ago, a first grader could get by on just a pen, a pencil, one notebook per subject, and a set of folders, all off-brand stuff from K-Mart. Now, who got their paws into the school supply racket today? Seriously, I want to know.
This ties in to the first quote. Instead of creating a problem of school supply lists and then seeking donations to fix the problem, why not eliminate those supply lists in the first place? Hmm? You know, treat the cause, not the symptoms! Like by allowing or requiring teachers to change their methodology, so that their students won't need to bring in 40 pencils and 40 glue sticks each. I wish parents could picket the schools that have those supply lists. But that'll never happen, because "Somebody think of the children!"
Also, teachers shouldn't have to spend their own money on classroom supplies. But if they're creating those lists on their own accord, it's hard to sympathize. It's like pulling a casserole out of a hot oven without wearing oven mitts, and then demanding burn relief ointment.
Said the guy who has sworn off women and says he will never have kids.
So, other than sitting in a desk for twelve years, you have no experience with parenting or sending kids to school.
Note this statement on the kinder list:
*PARENTS PLEASE EXPLAIN TO YOUR CHILD THAT
THE SUPPLIES WILL BE PLACED FOR ALL TO USE.
DO NOT PUT NAMES ON ITEMS"
In some grade levels, boys bring one thing and girls another, presumably also for communal use:
1st grade: Boys: gallon zip lock bags; Girls: sandwich zip lock bags
Also note second box of Kleenex is requested for specials (art, music, etc), health room and the office!
Last time I had to buy school supplies for one of my kids, the full list cost at least $300.00.
Granted, that included a scientific calculator.
I've no idea what the requirements are in our district any more but I do know my grand-kids' school has an arrangement with a supplier that charges a flat rate for a supply package by grade.
All the parents have to do is pay whatever fee in advance - for kindergarten this year it is $30.00 - and the supplies are on the kid's desk on the first day of school.
I tease my daughter that she's missed out on the mania that is school supply shopping but she's not convinced.
The cost of school supplies comes up occasionally on this forum and the wide variety of what various districts require. Since our local schools just released their list, I thought it might be interesting to post what one grade in middle school is requiring (here it differs by grade and school so there is no commonality).
2 boxes Kleenex
1 hand sanitizer
Paper towels
paper
Pencils
3 Highlighters
8 Colored pencils
Sharpener
Headphones
2 2" Notebooks
3 1" Notebooks
3 Sets of dividers
Colored ink pens
4 Folders
Index cards
Dry Erase Markers
Graph ruled composition book
Non spiral composition book
Diary of Anne Frank (those poor kids)
3 packs graph paper
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coney
No TI scientific calculator? It's usually on the 6th grade supply list. Never had to supply paper towels.
It was on my daughters list. Thankfully she has kept it in good shape and it does not need to be replaced yearly.
I took my kids shopping this week. 1st grade and 8th grade. Spent roughly $150 on school supplies which did not include actual book bags or clothing items. That was just the pens, pencils, crayons, binders, folders, glue, pencil cases, ziplock bags, paper towers, hand sanitizers, kleenex...and the rest of the lengthy list.
We re-used items from year to year if they were in good condition. Rarely did school supplies cost more that $50. The one cost that did take my breath away was the graphing calculator once my kids began advanced math, but they were all smart enough to ask for it as a birthday present from generous grandparents.
Two years ago, my daughter entering 6th grade, needed a Wifi enabled tablet, or smartphone to use only on the school approved network. She already had an iphone, but at orientation I expressed concern about how they were going to keep the kids from switching to data on their phones. They had no answer. Sure enough it was a disaster with kids on social media and playing games all day long. The next year the school provided school issued tablets that all ran on the same system, to easily regulate what the kids could view.
I went ahead and purchased the Edukits for my rising 3 and 4th graders. I paid $86.75 and that includes ear buds and headphones. I will also get some tissues and clorox wipes to send in as well.
I guess we're lucky with the local elementary school. For every grade at the school, the supply list is "bring $10 to the Meet the Teacher Night to cover your child's supplies." I assume they get good discounts buying for a few hundred kids at once, as it's more than $10 worth of items at retail prices. It's certainly a lot more convenient. Some teachers do have "wish list" items like Clorox wipes, hand soap, Lysol spray, Kleenex etc. for general classroom use and we usually send some of that stuff in.
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