Annual school supply vent

[City Mouse]

I want to point out that the technology at most schools is bought using grant money not using general funds. Grant money is very specific and has to be used exactly as it was written or it has to be given back. It is not like a school could choose to use iPad money to buy school supplies.

[Dad 4 Boys]

Yes.

 

There are schools that can't afford toilet paper, air conditioning, or textbooks.

 

This is probably very obvious, but something is really messed up.

[happypamama]

I want to point out that the technology at most schools is bought using grant money not using general funds. Grant money is very specific and has to be used exactly as it was written or it has to be given back. It is not like a school could choose to use iPad money to buy school supplies.

This is a good point, but it strikes me as so sad that there grants for iPads but no grants or whatever to buy pencils, paper, and crayons. I think there is room for both tech and good old fashioned supplies. I'm even totally cool with kids using whiteboards for practicing stuff in the classroom; math alone generates a ton of paper just for the practice work. But there's still a place for pencils and notebook paper and crayons, especially for young children.

 

Maybe the iPads instead of textbooks make some sense in some ways. I mean, I can see the appeal of having kids carrying a tablet in a padded case instead of several heavy textbooks; plus, it's only one thing for the kids to remember, not four or five textbooks. And as expensive as textbooks are, if a student uses a tablet as an e-reader for several years, it's probably not that all different in cost. Plus then kids have the option to zoom in on diagrams, and they can do text searches. And, in theory, as long as the tablet technology isn't totally obsolete (I say this while typing on my iPad 2, which certainly isn't obsolete at four years old or whatever it is, even if it isn't the newest model), science text manufacturers could issue supplements and updates instead of entirely new editions, at a lower cost to the school, and the school could update the iPads instead of buying full new texts frequently OR having outdated science texts. And there could be some advantages in saving paper on handouts, or making things easier for kids with dyslexia or the like. (The heavy use of screens concerns me, of course, and I don't think they should replace the necessary sensory aspects of writing and paper books and all of that, but I do see why they could be a very useful tool for some areas, especially upper grades.)

 

I just polled my three big kids, grades 8, 5, and 1, about the communal supplies idea, and they were horrified. "I wouldn't mind donating some supplies for kids who couldn't afford them, but I'd want to use the stuff I brought!" That came from my tender-hearted teenager, who can't stand the idea that a child would go without something, but who also recognizes that her colored pencils are very important to her, and she takes care to keep them tucked nicely into her box when she's not using them.

[vonfirmath]

I just polled my three big kids, grades 8, 5, and 1, about the communal supplies idea, and they were horrified. "I wouldn't mind donating some supplies for kids who couldn't afford them, but I'd want to use the stuff I brought!" That came from my tender-hearted teenager, who can't stand the idea that a child would go without something, but who also recognizes that her colored pencils are very important to her, and she takes care to keep them tucked nicely into her box when she's not using them.

 

I have NEVER heard of communal supplies at the 8th grade level. It is elementary level, and particularly the youngest grades, where that is the big concern.  When teachers do not want to penalize kids for childish mistakes. Except, of course, all grades use communal supplies to an extent -- shared science equipment. Shared art supplies, etc.  We don't tend to think of them as "communal supplies" when they are not purchased by the parent before the year begins but rather by the teacher/district.  Even, when I was a kid, the textbooks that would be "Checked out" to the student for the year were really communal supplies, shared over the years instead of within one year.

 

Libraries, too, are "communal supplies." Books for the common good.

 

My expectation is, even if my kid was in a class where they pooled some of the school supplies purchased, I could buy a second copy to give him individually. Either to use at home, in the extremity. or for him to keep in his desk/backpack to be used at school when the common supplies are not good enough. (my son is left handed. So some special left handed supplies are occasionally useful)

 

 

[MBM]

Are there really schools that can't afford toilet paper?

 

Some of the schools in Chicago have had to do tp drives. I don't know all of the details.

[Seasider]

I want to point out that the technology at most schools is bought using grant money not using general funds. Grant money is very specific and has to be used exactly as it was written or it has to be given back. It is not like a school could choose to use iPad money to buy school supplies.

 

Are the salaries of the tech staff covered by such grants? Our local district high schools added five full time tech support staff members when the ipad initiative was introduced. 

[Wildcat]

Are there really schools that can't afford toilet paper?

 

I'm sure they could afford it if money was budgeted/spent wisely, but yes, some schools have TP on their lists.

 

 

Not alone! I supported it earlier too.

 

I almost mentioned, our own school district is on a plan to have NO textbooks in less than 5 years. I don't know exactly how that will look. I am a little afraid, but cautiously trusting. But I can imagine it working considering my second grader (will be third in the fall) has not brought a single textbook home in his school career yet.  They are going to have tablets (sounds like probably ipads?) For every student that will have school work on them (I imagine on the tablet itself--or at least able to be loaded on the tablet when at school-- since they cannot be sure every student has Internet access at home), After a certain number of years, students who take good care of their tablets will be allowed to keep them. (incentive to take good care of it) After all, tablets get outdated over time and need to be replaced anyway. This is evidently cheaper for the district than constantly replacing textbooks.  (or at least, they are thinking it will be cheaper)

 

A neighboring city went to laptops for all high schoolers and tablets for all middle schoolers and poo-poohed the outcry of 'not everyone has internet at home' and 'my kid does homework on the bus so how is that going to work'. Their solution was that each child who was on the free/reduced lunch plan got internet PROVIDED at their homes ('cause you just KNOW no one else in the house would be using it! :rolleyes: ) and they put thingies on all the buses so the kids have internet on the buses.  Of course, with all this technology, they now have an IT department at each school for all the issues that pop up. And yet, they ask parents to buy TP on the supply lists.

 

How did I ever learn without technology? Sheesh.

[mommymilkies]

A school should not use that much lose leaf paper anyway. There are tons of paper wasted for all the stupid worksheets and handouts, and handing students something printed on paper does zero for retention. Let's go back to teachers writing on boards and students taking notes by hand and to using notebooks and proper textbooks instead of a collection of lose printouts. The stacks of paper always bugged me when my kids attended school.

I wonder how  we managed to get a great education before copy machines and printers.

Most schools here use iPads instead of paper work, anyway.  Two girls I'm tutoring didn't have any math papers to show me so I could check their abilities because it's all on the iPad.  Not a single freaking one. And since the school gets the iPad at the end of the year, they couldn't show me that.

 

What bothered me about it is that they aren't giving the non-consumables stuff back at the end of the year. My son has been using the same pair of scissors since we started homeschooling and the same binder since 4th grade. I resented the idea that I had to buy new stuff every year. It also doesn't explain why they need 30 pairs of brand new fiskars scissors when they have bins of nearly a 100 usable pairs from the last few years.

 

Exactly.  I know some get broken, stolen, and lost, but tons are just tossed at the end of the year or fill up huge bins of leftover supplies. 

Lucy, the waste is staggering! A friend of mine's father is a custodian for a building in the next district over that was being closed and put up for sale. He was told to throw away the contents of all of the closets. Since friend was homeschooling young students, he saved out all kinds of manipulatives, art supplies, student clocks, books, you name it. Friend estimates that he gave her $500.00 worth of supplies. It was a "drop in the bucket" compared to what was thrown into the dumpster. No sale. No offering it to the parents. No donations. Nothing. Just heave it in the garbage. He could have been fired if they had known he saved out supplies for her because his exact instructions were that all of it must be thrown away.

 

I do not have any respect for that kind of waste. None.

Yup.  One school shut down here, and let's just say it was eye opening.  They have to just throw away most things but some employees can't stand that-understandably, so they will arrange auctions or give away old desks, chairs, books, and supplies. 

 

 

 

This is reason #437 that we hs. I'm not into socialism, where everyone gets the dregs because no one owns anything and no one takes care of it all. 

If I had a kid in ps, I would buy her supplies and they WOULD stay in her desk for her use. And I'd sue the pants off of any teacher who attempted to steal them. My kids have all loved school supplies and have taken very good care of them. I've never minded spending the $$ because I know they will take care of them. 

Socialism or Communism?  Remember a lot of us here are socialists and communism is a different beast. You'd sue a teacher for using school supplies?

 

I have never seen a county or state budget that paid for union dues.

 

Nope.  Union members pay.  And union reps for the schools here don't get paid by the school last I checked (a friend is a Union rep).

Are the salaries of the tech staff covered by such grants? Our local district high schools added five full time tech support staff members when the ipad initiative was introduced. 

Usually the school district employs them and I'm pretty sure it's not grant but maybe subsidized by the state at two I have experience working for. 

[unsinkable]

Truly appalling. How can they not see that, and why aren't the taxpayers rioting en masse about that stuff? UGH!

I'm sure if a perk like that exists, it is written in his contract. Around here, im pretty sure contracts to supers are offered by the school board, which is elected by the taxpayers.

[SKL]

What bothered me about it is that they aren't giving the non-consumables stuff back at the end of the year. My son has been using the same pair of scissors since we started homeschooling and the same binder since 4th grade. I resented the idea that I had to buy new stuff every year. It also doesn't explain why they need 30 pairs of brand new fiskars scissors when they have bins of nearly a 100 usable pairs from the last few years.

 

My kids' school sends it all home at the end of the year.

 

Some of it I wish they didn't, but I'd rather deal with sorting it out than buying all new every year.  I am able to re-use quite a bit each year.

 

[LucyStoner]

Lucy: My experience has been that whether the supplies were communal changed on a class to class basis. Kindergarten was communal. I believe the spare supplies were sent home at the end of the year, divided up. But I don't remember.

 

Most of the first grade supplies were not. (I'm sure stuff like tissues were shared.) AND they brought home a lot of spare supplies.

 

2nd grade did not have general communal supplies, but DS brought home very few spare supplies.

 

Like I said though, I am not in a rich area and our supply lists are quite reasonable.

 

Third Grade:

1-scissors

1 glue (4oz liquid)

1 glue sticks (28 oz) -- Most likely means 2.8 oz. Ran into this last year and that is what they said to get when I could not find it

2 composition notebook

1 ruler, standard/metric

3 tissues

4 pencils (10 pack)

1 pencil sharpener with canister

1 crayons, 24 count

6 pocket folders with brads, specific colors

1 colored pencils (24 ct)

1 markers, lrg tip, washable, 8 ct

2 notebook paper (wide ruled)

red pens

2 highlighters

1 school box

1 eraser, pink (2 pk)

 

Starting in 4th grade, they need a binder and 5 tab set Dividers. But no specific colors needed for the plastic folders anymore so I suspect they will start keeping paper organized in the binder in 4th grade. This is the first year for notebook paper and the amount of packages needed increases every year to 5th. So I also suspect I am seeing a corresponding decrease in handouts.

My niece had all communal supplies until 5th grade and my nephew still has all communal supplies in 4th grade. It seems pretty common here in the public schools for all supplies to belong to the class and not the student. We are considering 1st grade in a different district (we don't live in the city anymore) for my son and I will be curious about what they do here.

 

One thing I noted is that there are all these backpack and supply drives for low income kids (my niece and nephew are well below the poverty line) and they don't take into account the required list at all. You get a backpack full of stuff, which may or may not be on your list. So last year, my niece and nephew got a ton of great usable supplies but because they don't match the lists, I still had to take them out and get them things. Not every poor kid has an aunt to take them school shopping so I wondered about that. Most of the supplies they got from the charity stayed home and became art supplies. Still beneficial for them, but not what the donors intended.

[Word Nerd]

My kids' school sends it all home at the end of the year.

 

Some of it I wish they didn't, but I'd rather deal with sorting it out than buying all new every year.  I am able to re-use quite a bit each year.

 

 

Same here—but as I already said, the only communal supplies I'm asked to provide are Clorox wipes and Kleenex, and they don't have to be brand name. DD never goes through all the pencils they're supposed to have available, so we've even had full boxes of those returned. 

[FaithManor]

Are there really schools that can't afford toilet paper?

Sadly, yes. I wouldn't say so much that they can't afford it, the waste in some of these departments and budgets is extraordinary, but they choose not to provide it, and if the parents don't will ask the parents for it.

 

Sickening, but true!

 

Again, this particular superintendent had a quarter million dollar salary, was given a Cadillac that easily cost $80,000 or more, and then was PAID to drive to work...federal mileage.

 

Dh has never been paid to drive to work a single day in his life. Yes, if he had to travel a significant distance to a conference or something and they weren't flying him, then mileage was paid. But, never just to get to the office.

 

CRAZY!

 

He also was given a "Cadillac" health plan that was twice as expensive as what the faculty and staff received. Apparently this perk was also needed in order to attract a "quality superintendent". He was of such quality that they ended up paying a quarter million dollars to get him to leave his contract early because he'd run the district into the ground.

 

And no, there was no outcry from the public unless you count dh, my dad, the local priest, and me as "public outcry". People here just go with the flow!

[ChocolateReignRemix]

My niece had all communal supplies until 5th grade and my nephew still has all communal supplies in 4th grade. It seems pretty common here in the public schools for all supplies to belong to the class and not the student. We are considering 1st grade in a different district (we don't live in the city anymore) for my son and I will be curious about what they do here.

 

One thing I noted is that there are all these backpack and supply drives for low income kids (my niece and nephew are well below the poverty line) and they don't take into account the required list at all. You get a backpack full of stuff, which may or may not be on your list. So last year, my niece and nephew got a ton of great usable supplies but because they don't match the lists, I still had to take them out and get them things. Not every poor kid has an aunt to take them school shopping so I wondered about that. Most of the supplies they got from the charity stayed home and became art supplies. Still beneficial for them, but not what the donors intended.

Here we can either donate supplies to various groups which then package the materials based on the school lists (at least in theory) or you can sponsor a child directly through some school programs which will then get the needed supplies.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

Our union rep does her union thing ON school time, therefore she is paid by the school district.

 

Yes, if a teacher attempted to take my child's supplies, I'd blow. That's theft. When I worked at the district, we had a number of parents who said that no, these were my child's supplies. They'd contribute to the communal pot as far as they felt led, but if their child wanted unbroken crayons, the child would pull out his own. Considering that I've been told that fully 1/3 of the parents DON'T contribute, I see their point. We never had communal stuff when I was in Catholic school. Didn't bring your supplies, then you went without. Over and over, I hear parents in WM say, "No, we're buying the cheap stuff, as YOU won't get to use it. It will all be thrown in one bin." I support the parents who say, "Here's the good stuff. Take care of it." Even read "Tragedy of the Commons"?

Being paid by the school district to do work related activities (and under federal law union representation is a work related activity) is significantly different than your claim that school budgets pay union dues.

[PeachyDoodle]

Here we can either donate supplies to various groups which then package the materials based on the school lists (at least in theory) or you can sponsor a child directly through some school programs which will then get the needed supplies.

 

What a good program! We usually contribute to the local school supply drives (our church is hosting one now), and I try to pick out things that I know end up on most lists, at least at the elementary level. Pencils, glue sticks, crayons, etc. I suspect those are the things most people donate. It's stuff like tissues, antibacterial wipes, and dry-erase markers that probably get left out.

 

Around here, Walmart and Target often have the lists for different grades at the various local schools, so if you were industrious, you could make your donation based on those. Most folks who are just dropping a few things in the box at the end of their shopping trip won't think to do that, though.

 

I would love to sponsor a particular child, but I've never seen an opportunity to do so.

 

[vonfirmath]

Our church does backpacks for a specific elementary school close to us. They give out a "Generic list" to folks who come to VBS. But when the backpacks are put together, they are geared to a specific grade level and put together as complete as possible from the donated supplies. I do not know if the incomplete ones are topped off at the end or not as I am not part of that process.

 

(And honestly. At least around here? You are not going to be pushed out of the classroom for not having every single supply. The schools do a great job as well of helping to make sure every kid is prepared. Not because the taxpayers pay for it. But because, even in low income schools, you have parents who care and an active PTA that keeps a fund for making sure every kid is provided. We could NOT buy every supply for every kid. But we can top off and fill out lists where things are missing. There is a principal discretionary fund and PTA grants available to the teachers to help supplement.)

[Lang Syne Boardie]

FWIW, I do contribute to the backpack drives at church and in the community. I don't stock the classrooms nor the janitorial closet, but I contribute what I can afford (crayons, pencils, paper, markers, scissors, glue, non-graphing calculators). The other homeschooling moms in my church contribute, as well.

 

Of course, all the homeschoolers understand that public and private schooled children need school supplies. Everybody knows that. We don't think they should be using slates and slate pencils, and drawing with sticks in the dirt.

 

 

[Arcadia]

This is a good point, but it strikes me as so sad that there grants for iPads but no grants or whatever to buy pencils, paper, and crayons.

 

The grants for tech equipment partially comes from the common core testing which is computer based.  The schools kind of expect teachers to use DonorsChoose.org to fund their classroom supplies. My boy's room parents routinely collect $5 or more per child (optional) from parents during Christmas and Teacher appreciation week to buy a Target gift card for the teacher.  So we end up giving the teacher at least $200 in Target gift card twice a year.

[Wabi Sabi]

My kids are the type who only like good pencils (Ticonderoga), Fiskars scissors and keep their crayons, markers, etc. in perfect condition, so the communal supplies would drive them crazy. Before we started homeschooling my oldest attended a Montessori that had communal supplies, but they were provided by the school, were very high quality (like Prismacolors for the kids), and kept in good shape so it was never an issue. 

That said, I just can't get too worked up over four 24 packs of crayons. Like others have said, favorite colors wear down, even careful kids break crayons, etc. At this time of year the Crayolas are 25-50 cents a package at most bog box discount stores, so for kids attending a private school, a couple bucks in crayons isn't going to make or break anyone. 

Eighty dry erase markers, on the other hand, seems totally nuts!

[HeWillSoar]

In my kids old school, they had whiteboards but they were paid for by the PTA. 

 

Also, in defense of the parents buying the cheap stuff, I will admit I just thought a pencil was a pencil.  It wasn't until reading these boards and through homeschooling that I became a pencil snob.

[Zinnia]

Are there really schools that can't afford toilet paper?

 

Yes.  And paper towels.  And hand soap.  And copy paper.  And snacks (because the day goes until 4:10, and lunch is over before 12:45, so little kids are hungry and not learning well in the afternoon).  

 

We live in a district that is just so, so corrupt.  They call our school district building "the palace," and the talk around town is that everyone hired there comes through the "friends and family program."  Once you get on as a F&F member, you won't get fired unless you are in jail.  Even then,  it is difficult.  It's a crazy, corrupt county unlike any other I've lived in.

[Annie G]

Just looked at the list for our school district. Ours requires the kids bring a new pair of tennis shoes to be kept at school all year for PE. I forgot about that- I remember a lot of parents being annoyed by that. 

Things I was surprised to see:  One box each of quart and gallon ziploc bags,  2-3 packages of 2" post it notes, and 2 packs of dry erase markers (but no board so I assume they're for use on the classroom whiteboard). 

 

I was pleased to see the list say to label with your kid's name, as that seems to imply the supplies aren't going to be communal. 

[vonfirmath]

My son's primary grades had individual white boards even though we did not have to supply them. We did need to supply whiteboard markers.

 

[Reefgazer]

Are you sure you don't live in Norfolk, VA?  This must be pretty common, because we had the exact situation with our super last year.  He left with his golden parachute in June, so we are rid of him now. 

Sadly, yes. I wouldn't say so much that they can't afford it, the waste in some of these departments and budgets is extraordinary, but they choose not to provide it, and if the parents don't will ask the parents for it.

 

Sickening, but true!

 

Again, this particular superintendent had a quarter million dollar salary, was given a Cadillac that easily cost $80,000 or more, and then was PAID to drive to work...federal mileage.

 

Dh has never been paid to drive to work a single day in his life. Yes, if he had to travel a significant distance to a conference or something and they weren't flying him, then mileage was paid. But, never just to get to the office.

 

CRAZY!

 

He also was given a "Cadillac" health plan that was twice as expensive as what the faculty and staff received. Apparently this perk was also needed in order to attract a "quality superintendent". He was of such quality that they ended up paying a quarter million dollars to get him to leave his contract early because he'd run the district into the ground.

 

And no, there was no outcry from the public unless you count dh, my dad, the local priest, and me as "public outcry". People here just go with the flow!

 

[LucyStoner]

Are there really schools that can't afford toilet paper?

Read some Johnathan Kozol. There are schools that can't afford bathroom stall doors.

[Reefgazer]

My Dh thinks a pencil is just a pencil and thinks we are odd obsessing over the silver Ticonderogas.  But he doesn't write with a pencil all day, either.  It was on this board that I first learned of those silver treasures!

In my kids old school, they had whiteboards but they were paid for by the PTA. 

 

Also, in defense of the parents buying the cheap stuff, I will admit I just thought a pencil was a pencil.  It wasn't until reading these boards and through homeschooling that I became a pencil snob.

 

[TechWife]

Just looked at the list for our school district. Ours requires the kids bring a new pair of tennis shoes to be kept at school all year for PE. 

 

Back when my son was in private school they required this the year they moved into a new building because they didn't want to get the gym floor dirty. At the end of the year, when he brought the shoes home, they were obviously not worn. I asked him about it and he said that they told them just to take off their shoes when they played in there (it was second grade, so they had their free play recess in there when it rained). Wasted money. 

[Annie G]

Back when my son was in private school they required this the year they moved into a new building because they didn't want to get the gym floor dirty. At the end of the year, when he brought the shoes home, they were obviously not worn. I asked him about it and he said that they told them just to take off their shoes when they played in there (it was second grade, so they had their free play recess in there when it rained). Wasted money. 

 

That would bug me! Our elementary schools have multipurpose rooms so it's just linoleum, not a polished wood floor. And....the kids play outside most days.  I'm not sure why they require a pair of shoes to be left at school all year, but I do remember that from the stint our middle daughter did at our local school. I remember because she went to school one winter day in snow boots but forgot to take shoes to wear when she got there. She decided to put on her gym shoes but was told she couldn't, so wore her snow boots all day.  

 

I'm probably just shoe-impaired when it comes to my kids. Once I drove 45 minutes to a science museum for a class, dropped off my two younger kids, and drove away to run errands. And as ds walked into the museum, I noticed he was wearing slippers. He was 7.  

[Word Nerd]

Just looked at the list for our school district. Ours requires the kids bring a new pair of tennis shoes to be kept at school all year for PE. 

 

We did that even when I was a kid. 

[TrixieB]

It makes me wonder who paid for Kleenex and paper towels when I was in school?

 

Tax dollars.

[TrixieB]

If a parent doesn't have $20-$40 to spend in school list supplies, will a child get turned away from class on the first day?

 

No, that is when the child receives a backpack full of supplies from a charitable organization's school supply drive.

[Wildcat]

Just looked at the list for our school district. Ours requires the kids bring a new pair of tennis shoes to be kept at school all year for PE. I forgot about that- I remember a lot of parents being annoyed by that. 

Things I was surprised to see:  One box each of quart and gallon ziploc bags,  2-3 packages of 2" post it notes, and 2 packs of dry erase markers (but no board so I assume they're for use on the classroom whiteboard). 

 

I was pleased to see the list say to label with your kid's name, as that seems to imply the supplies aren't going to be communal. 

 

Don't be so sure about the supplies not being communal. A couple of my kids' teachers over the years used the labeled supplies to create a list of names to determine who did and didn't send in supplies---- those who didn't got letters saying something to the effect of "I'm sure you forgot to send in your supplies...".  These were form letters, so obviously they were encouraged by principals/whoever to send them out. I learned to wait to buy most supplies because here it is the central office employees who determine the list, not the teachers, and I learned that a lot of what was on the list wasn't desired/needed by the teachers and then THROWN OUT at the end of the year so I would wait until the first day of school to find out what the teachers really wanted, plus most had a separate list, so people would buy the published list AND the extras. (sorry for that horrid sentence structure) Because of that, I received several of those not-so-subtle letters reminding me to turn in supplies. Everything WAS communal in the end. It really annoyed my kids and me. It's another reason we liked homeschooling---- no broken-on-purpose-into-inch-long-pieces crayons, no marker tips colored over with black rendering the marker unuseable, no one writing all over the scissor blades with sharpie (which then got all over anything they tried to cut, etc), and no shortened to nubs on purpose pencils.

 

Oh, and the boxes of baby wipes we had to send in were used to wipe sharpie from the floor when the unruly kids would use them to draw on the floors. The shaving cream we had to buy was used to wash markers off the desk tops. The schools my kids attended didn't have soap in the bathrooms because the kids would spread it on the floors and add water, creating a slipping hazard, so each day just before going to lunch, one child was the 'hand sanitizer-giver-outer' and another was the 'paper-towel-giver-outer' ... they would stand outside the bathroom giving each exiting child a single pump of sanitizer and a single paper towel if needed. It made me physically ill to imagine what all WASN'T washed off. Other bathroom trips were worse, as there was no sanitizer handed out/allowed and no one doling out paper towels.... they just used water to rinse their hands, then shake off the excess or wipe it on their clothes. Cold water only because hot water was shut off to the bathrooms. Oh, the reason there were no paper towels to dry hands off is because kids would throw them in the toilets, plugging them. They used TP to do that, too, when my kids were there so I wonder if TP is even allowed now or if it is doled out in a certain number of squares before going in?

 

The zip lock baggies were used/wasted to send home the most ridiculous things --- it's all so kids don't lose papers, etc. Stupid. Whatever happened to learning to take care of things and being responsible for things?

 

I think the most ridiculous things we had to buy were tennis balls (4 for each child and we had to send them in pre-cut to be fitted over the feet of the chairs to avoid scraping noises) and a large package of men's white athletic socks. Apparently those are used to wipe the dry erase boards then thrown away at the end of the day.

 

And don't get me started on the mandatory snacks for the entire class because they don't want Johnny to feel left out if he has something different. I used to send those "packages of pure preservatives" as ordered for the class, but my kid wanted an apple. I sent a small apple. After two weeks I got a note home requesting that I stop sending the apple because it took too long for my kid to eat. :huh:  I know my kid, and that thing would have been gone in four bites. I suspect it was because other kids wanted apples, too, rather than yet another package of Goldfish crackers or neon orange crackers with fake Peanut Butter. I started sending grapes already pulled from their stems and a strongly-worded letter and never heard another word. I also offered to send bags of small apples for the entire class, already washed and ready to go but was turned down because "food from home wasn't allowed to be shared in the classrooms".  :glare:

 

I'm so glad we found homeschooling. So glad. SO GLAD.

 

Sorry for the rant. The education system here in the states bothers me for so many reasons, I can't help but get off on a tangent, which is why I try not to post in threads like this.  I get so aggravated that I even write in run-on sentences! :lol:

[vonfirmath]

Wildcat: I wonder if the soap thing is why the sinks, soaps, and paper towels here are OUTSIDE the restroom?

[Brit29]

I get the tennis shoe thing, actually. I used to have kids show up to my sports class (basketball and flag football) in flip-flops, high heeled Easter type shoes, and crocs. It was dangerous and the parents could not have cared less. 

[AnnE-girl]

I get the tennis shoe thing, actually. I used to have kids show up to my sports class (basketball and flag football) in flip-flops, high heeled Easter type shoes, and crocs. It was dangerous and the parents could not have cared less.

DS had shoes for PE on his list for first grade, but kids who made sure to wear gym shoes on PE days were fine to not have the extra pair. I figured his teacher probably preferred not taking the extra time to switch shoes if it wasn't needed. I think it's a little different when you have girls wanting to wear fancy shoes to school. I was a mean mom and pretty strict about not letting dd wear impractical shoes to school either.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

Don't be so sure about the supplies not being communal. A couple of my kids' teachers over the years used the labeled supplies to create a list of names to determine who did and didn't send in supplies---- those who didn't got letters saying something to the effect of "I'm sure you forgot to send in your supplies...".  These were form letters, so obviously they were encouraged by principals/whoever to send them out. I learned to wait to buy most supplies because here it is the central office employees who determine the list, not the teachers, and I learned that a lot of what was on the list wasn't desired/needed by the teachers and then THROWN OUT at the end of the year so I would wait until the first day of school to find out what the teachers really wanted, plus most had a separate list, so people would buy the published list AND the extras. (sorry for that horrid sentence structure) Because of that, I received several of those not-so-subtle letters reminding me to turn in supplies. Everything WAS communal in the end. It really annoyed my kids and me. It's another reason we liked homeschooling---- no broken-on-purpose-into-inch-long-pieces crayons, no marker tips colored over with black rendering the marker unuseable, no one writing all over the scissor blades with sharpie (which then got all over anything they tried to cut, etc), and no shortened to nubs on purpose pencils.

 

Oh, and the boxes of baby wipes we had to send in were used to wipe sharpie from the floor when the unruly kids would use them to draw on the floors. The shaving cream we had to buy was used to wash markers off the desk tops. The schools my kids attended didn't have soap in the bathrooms because the kids would spread it on the floors and add water, creating a slipping hazard, so each day just before going to lunch, one child was the 'hand sanitizer-giver-outer' and another was the 'paper-towel-giver-outer' ... they would stand outside the bathroom giving each exiting child a single pump of sanitizer and a single paper towel if needed. It made me physically ill to imagine what all WASN'T washed off. Other bathroom trips were worse, as there was no sanitizer handed out/allowed and no one doling out paper towels.... they just used water to rinse their hands, then shake off the excess or wipe it on their clothes. Cold water only because hot water was shut off to the bathrooms. Oh, the reason there were no paper towels to dry hands off is because kids would throw them in the toilets, plugging them. They used TP to do that, too, when my kids were there so I wonder if TP is even allowed now or if it is doled out in a certain number of squares before going in?

 

The zip lock baggies were used/wasted to send home the most ridiculous things --- it's all so kids don't lose papers, etc. Stupid. Whatever happened to learning to take care of things and being responsible for things?

 

I think the most ridiculous things we had to buy were tennis balls (4 for each child and we had to send them in pre-cut to be fitted over the feet of the chairs to avoid scraping noises) and a large package of men's white athletic socks. Apparently those are used to wipe the dry erase boards then thrown away at the end of the day.

 

And don't get me started on the mandatory snacks for the entire class because they don't want Johnny to feel left out if he has something different. I used to send those "packages of pure preservatives" as ordered for the class, but my kid wanted an apple. I sent a small apple. After two weeks I got a note home requesting that I stop sending the apple because it took too long for my kid to eat. :huh:  I know my kid, and that thing would have been gone in four bites. I suspect it was because other kids wanted apples, too, rather than yet another package of Goldfish crackers or neon orange crackers with fake Peanut Butter. I started sending grapes already pulled from their stems and a strongly-worded letter and never heard another word. I also offered to send bags of small apples for the entire class, already washed and ready to go but was turned down because "food from home wasn't allowed to be shared in the classrooms".  :glare:

 

I'm so glad we found homeschooling. So glad. SO GLAD.

 

Sorry for the rant. The education system here in the states bothers me for so many reasons, I can't help but get off on a tangent, which is why I try not to post in threads like this.  I get so aggravated that I even write in run-on sentences! :lol:

 

Are teachers not allowed to supervise class trips to the washroom these days? I remember elementary teachers standing at the door (bathroom door, not stall doors), holding the door open, hollering at people to behave themselves and move along...

[MomtoCandJ]

Gym shoes are on dd1's list but they are not to stay at school, it's just a reminder to parents to buy sneakers that can be used for gym.

[Pippen]

Tax dollars.

 

Or teachers.

[HeWillSoar]

My Dh thinks a pencil is just a pencil and thinks we are odd obsessing over the silver Ticonderogas.  But he doesn't write with a pencil all day, either.  It was on this board that I first learned of those silver treasures!

 

On no!  Do I need to get the silver ones?  I have the black, which look so nice in my pencil holder. 

[PeachyDoodle]

Are teachers not allowed to supervise class trips to the washroom these days? I remember elementary teachers standing at the door, holding the door open, hollering at people to behave themselves and move along...

 

When I was in sixth grade, all the girls would spend too long primping in the mirror at our after-lunch bathroom break, so my teacher started holding the door open and yelling, "Pee and get off the pot!" (It was the bathroom door, not the stall door, so no one could see anything.) We were all so mortified, we tried to go as fast as we could so we wouldn't be in there when she did it!

[shawthorne44]

Last summer the big stores had displays of school suppl;y lists.  So, you could pick up the XYZ First Grade list.  I love school supplies and I picked up what would have been DD's list.  I was shocked and I added it as #147 to my Reasons To Homeschool list.  

 

DH has nieces and nephews and wasn't shocked.  

 

The things that really got me was 30-40 glue sticks.  I was less shocked when I started helping in the Sunday School class.  But in a year, do the kids use a glue stick 30-40 times in the year?   

[vonfirmath]

Last summer the big stores had displays of school suppl;y lists.  So, you could pick up the XYZ First Grade list.  I love school supplies and I picked up what would have been DD's list.  I was shocked and I added it as #147 to my Reasons To Homeschool list.  

 

DH has nieces and nephews and wasn't shocked.  

 

The things that really got me was 30-40 glue sticks.  I was less shocked when I started helping in the Sunday School class.  But in a year, do the kids use a glue stick 30-40 times in the year?   

 

In first grade? easily.

[Cafdog]

A school should not use that much lose leaf paper anyway. There are tons of paper wasted for all the stupid worksheets and handouts, and handing students something printed on paper does zero for retention. Let's go back to teachers writing on boards and students taking notes by hand and to using notebooks and proper textbooks instead of a collection of lose printouts. The stacks of paper always bugged me when my kids attended school.

I wonder how  we managed to get a great education before copy machines and printers.

 

It's the worksheets.  I put my kid back in PS this past year.  She dutifully brought home several thick "home copy" textbooks, and hardly ever used them. Math class was especially weird.  I bet she had homework assigned out of the book less than 5 days the entire school year. Pages and pages of xeroxed worksheets every weeks.

 

 Science was nearly as bad. Not sure if this a Core Curriculum thing (we'd been homeschooling the previous three years), or what.   :confused1:

[Arcadia]

But in a year, do the kids use a glue stick 30-40 times in the year?

Some of the curriculum's workbooks have a lot of cut and paste pages. The parent volunteers help with the cutting and the kids do the pasting. Besides the glue sticks do not stick as well as the Elmer glue but some teachers prefer that because glue sticks are less messy.

[DawnM]

This is the first year we are sending a child to school.  There is a list, but since this is for high school, things like crayons, hand sanitizer, and Kleenex are not on the list.

 

However, I have spoken to a couple of parents whose children go there and they told me NOT to worry about the list, half the stuff they don't need.  One mom said specifically, "DO NOT do what I did!  Do NOT buy the $100 calculator.  They have them available for class use for free and you can download the app on their smartphones for $2."

 

Good to know!

 

When I taught in CA, we weren't allowed to give our lists.  All education, including supplies, was to be 100% free.

 

 

[Cafdog]

Are there really schools that can't afford toilet paper?

 

Yep.  My FIL volunteered with the South Carolina public schools at the state level, and he would tell me about "TP Drives" that were held mid-school-year, as they had completely run out.  Awful.

[MooCow]

Kind of off topic..... when my youngest was in public school, I would get emails, phone calls etc because he would have a b.m. and was using too much time in the bathroom. I was like, really??!

 

Eta: all this toilet paper talk got me thinking

[LucyStoner]

I get the tennis shoe thing, actually. I used to have kids show up to my sports class (basketball and flag football) in flip-flops, high heeled Easter type shoes, and crocs. It was dangerous and the parents could not have cared less.

I remember needing gym shoes but we were expected to bring them on gym days (and they were supposed to never be worn outside.) I bet they started expecting them to be left because people would ignore the rule about no outside shoes.

[Reefgazer]

I have never used the black ones, just the silver ones, on someone's recommendation here.  Perhaps the black ones are just as good?

On no!  Do I need to get the silver ones?  I have the black, which look so nice in my pencil holder.