Dmmetler Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 When my DD was in K, I couldn't believe the number of glue sticks they needed-except that they were doing Sing Spell, Read and Write and Saxon math K. Both of which taught my DD cutting skills, but little else. I swear they did about 10 cut and paste sheets a day, between those two programs and the other cut/paste stuff. However, they only used one bottle of liquid glue all year, and half of it came home. She's also still using the box of oil pastels she had to have in K for art class, and she's going into 6th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndTheBoys Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 It makes me wonder who paid for Kleenex and paper towels when I was in school? I don't ever remember those being on the supply list. When I taught school in the mid-nineties, *I* bought the stupid Kleenex, paper towels and dry-erase markers on my $22K income. And THAT'S one of the many reasons I taught for only 2 years, then went back and got an accounting degree. I also used to charge kids 25 cents if they didn't have a pencil--they could buy one from me--and they could bring in up to 3 rolls of paper towels or boxes of kleenex per semester for a few bonus points. That helped with the supplies a little bit. Ridiculous. The school should buy that. b 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Our local high school is giving MacBooks to all entering 9th grade next year. Hopefully they got a great deal on those. To me the worst part of this system of generic school supplies being shared by everyone is that manufacturers have just about stopped making cute school supplies. For those of us addicted to office supplies, this is a travesty. :crying: This year's school supply shopping trip was depressing. This is why I go out of my way for school supplies from a Japanese office/stationery store. They have the cutest supplies ever and they're well-made to boot. I don't remember mother having to supply anything. When we got to class the first day there was a little brown box at your desk with everything you needed. Some teachers include a piece of candy. I do remember begging mother for a pencil case when I was in upper elementary. Today. 36 pencils? My nieces daughter's list specified 24 "sharpened".?! What's with the pre-sharpened pencils? I am genuinely puzzled. :confused1: I thought whiteboard pens were for the teacher as well until I went to one of the "sit in for a class" days our local schools all host. It turns out the kids here have their own whiteboards they work at (to save paper...?) and need the dry erase markers for that purpose. Also, the classrooms have no blackboard (or whiteboard) space at all for the teachers. If they have blackboards (or, well, you know), they carefully cover them up with paper so nobody is tempted to use them. If that room didn't have opened windows I would be too high from the fumes to learn or to teach! I also used to charge kids 25 cents if they didn't have a pencil--they could buy one from me--and they could bring in up to 3 rolls of paper towels or boxes of kleenex per semester for a few bonus points. That helped with the supplies a little bit. I just remembered our elementary school library had a basket of pencils for 25 cents each, but if you read a book you could have one for free so frequent readers could stockpile and then we had a serious black market for pencils. The heavy readers were in charge and the kids who be in trouble if they asked their parents for even one more pencil were the buyers. The currency was mainly in cookies packed in lunch boxes. :) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 This is why I go out of my way for school supplies from a Japanese office/stationery store. They have the cutest supplies ever and they're well-made to boot. What's with the pre-sharpened pencils? I am genuinely puzzled. :confused1: When you buy pencils for your home use, don't you make sure they are sharpened before starting the day? Ready to go? You don't put a handful of unsharpened pencils in the can in the center. In the same way, a teacher wants her pencils ready to go. If you prefer to buy them unsharpened, please sharpen them before sending to school so the school does not have to waste time sharpening the pencil before it can even be used. In many schools, instead of sharpening pencils in class (which can turn into a time wasting exercise), used pencils go in a can and the student grabs a sharpened pencil and keeps working. These pencils are placed in the office in the teacher's cubby and Parent-volunteers come in and just sharpen pencils. Then put them back in the teacher's area. The newly sharpened pencils are then available to use again. The prevalence of this has probably come partly because of the quality (or lack of quality) of pencils out there now. Some pencils take FOREVER to sharpen. Even with a good electric sharpener, I can go through 1/3 a pencil trying to get a usable point on one! If it goes down short enough, I just throw the pencil out and keep going. If the pencils come in already sharpened, they know they get at least one good use out of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 When you buy pencils for your home use, don't you make sure they are sharpened before starting the day? Ready to go? You don't put a handful of unsharpened pencils in the can in the center. I do, but we only have a few pencils sharpened at one time. 600 pencils or whatever seems excessive. I remember showing up to school with 2 pencils and sharpening them. We also sharpened in class. I guess I'm old-fashioned. If 2 pencils is good enough for something as important as the SAT, I don't now why it's not good enough for elementary school. :) Gotta go yell at some kids to get off my lawn.... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Why don't they just use mechanical pencils? Parent volunteers have to come in and sharpen pencils? This might be the origin of helicopter parents! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Why don't they just use mechanical pencils? I've tried with my son (at home) The lead breaks too easily. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 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 We have had students miss very long lengths of class time due to bathroom visits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 'Ya gotta be kidding?!?!?! 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 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 I got a phone call once for dd1 for going to the bathroom too many times (legit concern). I picked her up because I just knew she had the flu that everyone else already had. Even if I didn't know of the flu that was going around, I would have picked her up because her school doesn't call unless it's an actual concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Dd1's school request not sharpened pencils because of issues on the bus with public school kids. The public school kids like to blame the private school kids for all kinds of things, so the private schools request unsharpened pencils so the private school kids can't be blamed for stabbing another student with a pencil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooCow Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 'Ya gotta be kidding?!?!?! I wish I was. This was the teacher that publicly humiliated him in second grade, and when the principal refused to change teachers, we pulled him to homeschool. The new school counselor ended up getting fired over it. Quite frankly, they all should have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 When I was teaching, I actually went to buying/obtaining ballpoint pens for the kids to use to avoid sharpening pencils. The wall mounted pencil sharpener was noisy enough to be a big distraction, the little hand sharpeners, even the ones designed to catch the shavings ended up with shavings everywhere, and inevitably an electric would burn out in about a week. So, I used ink for all the writing, even in a K-6 school. Which actually worked well-my youngest kids weren't writing much in music class anyway, and the older ones weren't allowed to use ink in their class assignments otherwise, so the pens didn't vanish. They quickly learned to line out mistakes (and I think were more careful). And yes, I was the one buying them. My budget for 800 kids was $100/yr, and I learned quickly that I was much better off collecting the loss leaders from stores and buying them out of pocket, and using my budget for stuff other than paper and crayons. One thing I also lucked out with-I made friends with the Office Max copy and print center manager, so my kids often ended up with stuff photocopied onto the back of misprinted letterhead, with ballpoints that smeared in the print process, put in folders that accidentally got printed upside down. Hey, it worked! Although at least once a year I'd have a parent complain that they didn't want their child using "trash". Sigh... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 I just remembered our elementary school library had a basket of pencils for 25 cents each, but if you read a book you could have one for free so frequent readers could stockpile and then we had a serious black market for pencils. The heavy readers were in charge and the kids who be in trouble if they asked their parents for even one more pencil were the buyers. The currency was mainly in cookies packed in lunch boxes. :) I remember reading a story recently about a teacher who bought a whole bunch of "I love Justin Beiber" pencils. Anyone who didn't have a pencil had to use one of those. It was very effective! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 When you buy pencils for your home use, don't you make sure they are sharpened before starting the day? Ready to go? You don't put a handful of unsharpened pencils in the can in the center. In the same way, a teacher wants her pencils ready to go. If you prefer to buy them unsharpened, please sharpen them before sending to school so the school does not have to waste time sharpening the pencil before it can even be used. In many schools, instead of sharpening pencils in class (which can turn into a time wasting exercise), used pencils go in a can and the student grabs a sharpened pencil and keeps working. These pencils are placed in the office in the teacher's cubby and Parent-volunteers come in and just sharpen pencils. Then put them back in the teacher's area. The newly sharpened pencils are then available to use again. The prevalence of this has probably come partly because of the quality (or lack of quality) of pencils out there now. Some pencils take FOREVER to sharpen. Even with a good electric sharpener, I can go through 1/3 a pencil trying to get a usable point on one! If it goes down short enough, I just throw the pencil out and keep going. If the pencils come in already sharpened, they know they get at least one good use out of it. Interesting. Sharpening a pencil is a great fine motor exercise. It would benefit all of the kids by helping them with finger and hand strength. Not only that, but it is a way to let them be self-reliant. Although every class will have it's allotment of dawdlers, I don't see sharpening a pencil as a big time waster at all. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 I do, but we only have a few pencils sharpened at one time. 600 pencils or whatever seems excessive. I remember showing up to school with 2 pencils and sharpening them. We also sharpened in class. I guess I'm old-fashioned. If 2 pencils is good enough for something as important as the SAT, I don't now why it's not good enough for elementary school. :) Gotta go yell at some kids to get off my lawn.... Kid spend 1,260 hours in school during an elementary school year. The SAT lasts 3.75 hours or .3% of that time, so it makes sense to me that even though the SAT might be more important (although, I'd argue with that), a year of school takes more pencils. Also, hopefully by the time they take the SAT, most kids have "mastered pencils", and aren't pushing too hard and breaking the lead, the way new writers do. Now, if the school is asking you to bring in 25 pencils a day, that's a whole different story. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Wildcat: I wonder if the soap thing is why the sinks, soaps, and paper towels here are OUTSIDE the restroom? Could be. I think that is a fantastic idea! 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... IME the teachers send the classes to the bathroom on their own (with one student acting as tattler, er, monitor) then catch up with them for the walk to the lunch room. In the three elementary and one middle school I have personally volunteered in, the lack of supervision in all areas was absolutely astounding. If I didn't know better, I would say it was because there were so many troublemakers, that the teachers simply stayed in their rooms so they didn't witness anything and have to deal with it. Seriously. It was appalling. And these are high-achieving, highly-ranked districts, too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 I'm astonished. We never had group bathroom breaks except in pre-k and kindergarten, and maybe in 1st grade before trips. We were expected to go on our own, but to pick a partner from the class to go with us. I never knew who to pick, so I just held it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 I'm astonished. We never had group bathroom breaks except in pre-k and kindergarten, and maybe in 1st grade before trips. We were expected to go on our own, but to pick a partner from the class to go with us. I never knew who to pick, so I just held it in. We had one boy and one girl each week who were the partners for everyone. Each child did that twice a year. I moved to that city in the middle of second grade and the first girl I met at my new school was the one who was assigned to partner with girls for the restroom that week. We are still friends today! :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 What is the purpose of the bathroom partner? As a teacher, I'm not sure I understand. Sending second grade boys to the bathroom with a friend of their choosing seems like something that should be on the "Lighthearted Thread: Things that are just a bad idea" thread. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 What is the purpose of the bathroom partner? As a teacher, I'm not sure I understand. Some elementary schools have an open site plan and the general public walk through the school grounds as a shortcut during the day even if they are not suppose to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 I think the ostensible goal was that if we misbehaved, our partner would tattle on us. But for that to work, the teacher has to pair up the students, and make sure they get paired with somebody they dislike - not with a friend! Some elementary schools have an open site plan and the general public walk through the school grounds as a shortcut during the day even if they are not suppose to. Not in Brooklyn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckles Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 I teach First grade at a private school. I have 23 students. This is how I manage my classroom supplies. Each student has their own pencil box. I have debated getting rid of these because they refuse to leave them alone, and they get knocked on the floor all the time. Inside their box they keep two pencils, their eight count box of crayons, scissors, pink eraser, and a glue stick. They need the primary colored crayons for Saxon math. The 24 count crayons, map pencils, and markers get dumped in separate containers for each table. I have six tables in my classroom. I've homeschooled and taught in public and private schools. Of course when my kids were at home they had their own supplies, but when you have limited time and 24 six year olds fighting for "their" stuff it has to function differently. We talk about being a "class family." They have things that are just theirs that get sent home at the end of the year and other things that must be shared. I went to the store today to buy a class set of black dry erase markers for the students to practice writing on individual white boards during our literacy block. It cost me 25 dollars out of my pocket. I wish I could ask for one from each student. I make less than 35000 per year,and it costs me 200-300 dollars every year to restock and buy supplies for my classroom. The sharpened pencils are requested because we have so much to do to get ready at the beginning of the school year, It really does save the teacher hours of time to not have to sharpen that many pencils. On the notes home about time in the bathroom, we goe as a class. I might be waiting in the hall for 15 minutes with 23 kids waiting on one student. If the student goes with a buddy, that other student is missing the lesson. In the classroom, we don't have the time or luxury to reteach lessons for one student in the bathroom. If it is a real medical need, and not students messing around, accommodations can be worked out with the school nurse. I've requested wish lists for colored copy paper, supplies for special crafts, etc... Items are rarely donated. It comes out of my pocket. Just my perspective. :) edited because I can't type on my iPad 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 I went to the store today to buy a class set of black dry erase markers for the students to practice writing on during our literacy block. It cost me 25 dollars out of my pocket. I wish I could ask for one from each student. I make less than 35000 per year,and it costs me 200-300 dollars every year to restock and buy supplies for my classroom. The sharpened pencils are requested because we have so much to do to get ready at the beginning of the school year, It really does save the teacher hours of time to not have to sharpen that many pencils. I've requested wish lists for colored copy paper, supplies for special crafts, etc... Items are rarely donated. It comes out of my pocket. Have you tried Donors Choose and/or the Reddit teacher gift exchange? Here's the 2014 link for the reddit donations. I haven't seen a 2015 link yet but they should put it up in August. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckles Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Idnib, That is so cool! Thanks for the links. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 The sharpened pencils are requested because we have so much to do to get ready at the beginning of the school year, It really does save the teacher hours of time to not have to sharpen that many pencils. But why don't the students sharpen the pencils as they use them? It makes no sense to do this simple task for them. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckles Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 TechWife, because they don't just sharpen the pencils and get back to work in the First grade. They play with the sharpeners, dump the shavings all over the floor, decide to sharpen the crayons, decide to sharpen their neighbors pencil and crayons. Ask me how I know. LOL 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 But why don't the students sharpen the pencils as they use them? It makes no sense to do this simple task for them. Why can't the students be the one to sharpen them at home? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckles Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Daria, they can if they want to. They just need to be turned in by the first day of school sharpened. I think for me it comes down to managing 23 six year olds by myself vs. managing a small number of children. It's a challenge to get homework returned the next day, let alone random pencils. We go through a massive amount of pencils during the school year. Sharpened pencils are not mandatory, but it sure is nice when we get them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 We have had students miss very long lengths of class time due to bathroom visits. Yeah, my daughter truly takes forever to poop. There isn't much we can do about it. I used to get comments too from the 1st grade teacher. I assured her that it was biology and not some ulterior motive keeping my kid in the bathroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valley Girl Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 This thread is making me think back to our pre-homeschool days. I recall one year when the supply list required each child to bring in a roll of waxed paper for art. I always wondered what the school actually did with those hundreds of rolls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 TechWife, because they don't just sharpen the pencils and get back to work in the First grade. They play with the sharpeners, dump the shavings all over the floor, decide to sharpen the crayons, decide to sharpen their neighbors pencil and crayons. Ask me how I know. LOL Huh, I wonder when this type of behavior became the norm? It simply would not have been allowed when I was in school. Of course, that was back in the dark ages! :lol: 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 For my daughter, sharpening pencils is like my coffee break. Need to get up and do something away from the work! Her teacher does not love this about her. But, if it wasn't pencil sharpening, I suppose it would be something else. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Wouldn't it be cheaper for schools to buy paper products, plastic bags, etc. in bulk rather than ask parents to buy them separately? My kids' school tends to ask for wet wipes, hand sanitizer, ziplock bags, and kleenex to be provided. If they don't need 25 packages of each, they will ask the boys to bring some and the girls to bring others. I think it is probably overkill, but I don't have the energy to fuss about it. The gym shoe thing has always been the rule here since I was a kid. You had gym shoes that you wore only for gym. We used to be required to keep them in a special cloth drawstring bag and hang them on a hook in the coat closet. So I do the same for my kids. If we're lucky, the gym shoes can become their summer play shoes in June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 You'd think the bulk stuff would be, but what I found as a teacher was the negotiated bulk price to the district for almost anything was more expensive than shopping on sale. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Huh, I wonder when this type of behavior became the norm? It simply would not have been allowed when I was in school. Of course, that was back in the dark ages! :lol: In my elementary school, way back in the day when a certain degree of "torture" was allowed, one would either be smart enough not to engage in such behavior, but if one did, one would be on his or her knees picking it up one shaving at a time with tweezers even if it took all day. LOL 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in FL. Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 In my elementary school, way back in the day when a certain degree of "torture" was allowed, one would either be smart enough not to engage in such behavior, but if one did, one would be on his or her knees picking it up one shaving at a time with tweezers even if it took all day. LOL Ah, the good old days! :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 In my elementary school, way back in the day when a certain degree of "torture" was allowed, one would either be smart enough not to engage in such behavior, but if one did, one would be on his or her knees picking it up one shaving at a time with tweezers even if it took all day. LOL I had a co-worker (back when I still taught in the PS system) who got in trouble for making kids pick up the little shreds of paper from a spiral notebook (after she'd told them NOT to pull pages out of the notebooks-she'd give them a piece of binder paper instead) because parents said it was "humiliating". Given that she had a carpeted room, and the custodians vacuumed once a week, if that (I ended up bringing in a vacuum from home for my music room because it simply wasn't enough), I empathize. In many school systems, common sense has left the building. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Huh, I wonder when this type of behavior became the norm? It simply would not have been allowed when I was in school. Of course, that was back in the dark ages! :lol: We would also not have been allowed, lest the shavings attract the dinosaurs roaming outside. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Wouldn't it be cheaper for schools to buy paper products, plastic bags, etc. in bulk rather than ask parents to buy them separately? If the school doesn't have the money in the budget, it doesn't matter how inexpensive it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Wouldn't it be cheaper for schools to buy paper products, plastic bags, etc. in bulk rather than ask parents to buy them separately? Probably not. Most school suppliy sales are loss leaders. The stores can't really make money selling these at 50 cents and 1 cents each. They advertise that in hopes, while inside, you'll pick up other stuff as well. Schools can only buy in bulk at rates that will actually make the companies money. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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