I understand it is frustrating, but the alternative is that the teachers pay for it out of their pockets. That's not fair either. How would you like to go to work and be told, "Oh, you want paper for the printer for that report I asked you to produce? You'll have to pay for that. And, since Johnson down the hall won't buy his paper, grab an extra ream for him while you're at the supply store."
Teachers routinely pay for classroom supplies as well as supplies for students who come in unprepared either through poor planning or because they are financially unable to do so.
If we hate paying for the classroom supplies, we need to get more politically active. We need to get the school district appropriate resources to not only stock the classrooms, but to staff the schools. If we can't get the funds through taxation required to do that, why not help set up fundraisers? Probably because it requires more work, and most of us are exhausted just working and raising our kids.
I don't really have a problem sending extra supplies. Well, apart from the hand sanitizers and sanitizing wipes which I just have problems with to begin with.

Reply

I understand a parents distress at the list provided by this teacher. I teach at a school where we cannot have a supply list that costs the student over $5.00 a student. I have to supply everything else. I spend over $500 a year for supplies and even more this year. We are waiting for a district vote to receive a raise in taxes to fund our budget for the upscoming year. The vote is in October so no department has printer cartridges, paper, pens, paper clips, etc. On top of that, the school's large copier had a back ordered part, so my class rules and parent letters were made at OfficeMax and cost $75.00 dollars. This was for one day!! I have spent over $300 dollars the first week of school and I have kids copying assignments from the board, (which is not a good use of their time!) I have learned that being a teacher means you have to be flexible. I went and found the cheapest places for the supplies I asked for (Dollar General, Dollar Tree, etc.) and told my students where to find them. I also staggered the time I need their 3 ring binder, their map colors, etc, by changing my lessons plans. I try to stay positive and remember that one room school houses taught students latin, math, english, etc. with nothing more than chalk and a slate. I understand the teachers extensive list. Do you know how much kleenex students use? Or how often teachers catch colds and flu from their students because of the germs? I feel like a parent who buys school supplies for 100 students. (the other 80 supply their own)
We want to create an environment that meets all of their needs and lesson plans that engage and excite them. How did those teachers do that with just a slate?

Reply

I was asked to bring a box of tissues when I was young to school too.

Tissues seem reasonable, but Now-- a school district of mine is requiring kids to bring their own 4 pack of Play Doh, watercolor paints, FAT crayons (not the normal/original ones) and all of these other random things.


play doh. come on, kids can play w/ that at home.

Reply

Followthatdog has stated the plight of the teacher very well. As a classroom teacher in a public high school for 20 years, my "out of pocket expenses" for my classroom has grown steadily over the last five years, caused by budget cuts in the school system. . . I begin the year purchasing a new stapler, because the one from the year before has worn out with use (or misuse) by students, a three hole punch, staples, index cards, posters to provide a "print rich environment" for my classroom, pens, pencils for students who don't ever seem to have them, and paper for my computer printer which is used by the students to print reports - sometimes for other classes because they don't have printers at home.

I also try to pick up on blank cd's to keep the cost down for the students so that they are available when the kids are to do "technology based learning" as required by the school system, and inexpensive notebooks to provide for students to use as "journals" which fulfil a "writing improvement and enrichment" requirement. Many of these purchases are made in "bits and bobs", and don't seem to be an awful lot at the moment, but do add up when you're supplying for 100 plus students ( I teach high school). Notebooks bought at 40 cents each becomes $40.00 when buying for an entire class load.

I also teach drama, and have to suppliment the purchase of sewing supplies, art supplies, so that students have the materials needed to succeed in my class.

Last year, when I did my taxes and checked my expenditures over the school term I had spent out of my own pocket over $400.00 for classroom supplies, and another $600.00 for "theatre supplies" like fabrics for costumes, clothes from thrift stores, paint for sets, screws, nails, etc. And this doesn't count taking my own hand tools in to the school to build sets because there's no budget to buy them.

So please, when the teachers ask parents to help with "supplies" that you might think shouldn't be your responsibility, please remember that the alternate is for the teacher to bear the entire cost. . . Because, there are very few teachers who will not go out of their way to try to make sure that your children have everything that they need to get a good education.

Reply

OK, I agree that back to school shopping is getting out of hand. Fortunately, my third grader just has to bring in a small hand sanitizer for his locker and two boxes of tissues.

But, as I was picking up his supplies, there was another mother in the aisle with me looking for a SPECIFIC brand name pen with blue ink. It was the only pen that was acceptable for her child's class. I think that is ridiculous! A blue pen is a blue pen in my book. What are the children going to learn from this specific pen, will it automatically spell their words??!!

Reply

I bet everyone is sitting around and wondering just how much waste goes on with the school's budget also. To ask parents for reams of paper for the school copiers or the computers is crazy. What is the school buying it's money for supplies? If the children all supply their own items the only supplies the office should need are the basics and the biggest one would be copy paper. So.....now their getting that free from the parents? Don't be suprised in a few years it will include toilet paper, paper towels, light bulbs, cleaning supplies and much more. Hey, I noticed on my own neice and nephew the thing of tissues years ago. When I was in grade school we never supplied tissues. What's the deal here? We all used something called hankerchiefs which were caried with us and were washed and ironed at home. Maybe this is an item of clothing which should be brought back to save our landfills from billions of tissues not to mention millions of trees. What's wrong with a good strong hanky?

Reply

I understand that school districts are short on money, but they need to realize that families are as well! With the economy in such sad shape, unemployment levels high, house prices low, and the horrible rise in foreclosures, it's hard enough for some families to afford the basic school supplies, shoes and clothes, let alone keep the classroom stocked with wipes, paper, etc. In the school district where I reside, teachers asked for 3 boxes of Kleenex, dry erase markers (to be used for the class), large bottles of hand sanitizer, large containers of Clorox wipes. They specified brands. They also specified brands with supplies. It's ridiculous. We are not made of money, and many of the families in this district make much less than teachers do.

Reply

I am very sorry that you had to buy your own classroom's supplies for your students. Please realize, that I also buy office supplies for my desk at the insurance company where I work. Realize also that you make more money than I do, and with 2 children, the $150 that I was forced to spend on school supplies for my two children to fufill the requests on their lists (and the 2 things I left off that I could not find prompted e-mails requesting that I supply those 2 items immediately) made us eat rather poorly for 2 weeks. Not that anyone cares.

Reply

My daughter is in 4K (2 1/2 hours a day) and they wanted Clorox wipes, 5 bottles of glue, 10 large glue sticks (what are they doing, having glue for snack???), 2 boxes of marker and crayons (specifically Crayola - NO ROSEART!!!), washable paints, Kleenex, paper towels, quart-size ziploc bags, napkins, snacks and other items. For four year olds!!! Plus they want $30 for milk money and $20 for registration costs, along with a fundraiser to begin on the 1st day of school. It is bad enough they expect me to buy all this stuff for a 2 1/2 hour school day for four year olds, then they specify that I have to buy the more expensive brand. Where exactly are our tax dollars going?

Reply

I didn't go to school in the US. But if the schools here did what other countries do, parents wouldn't have to provide copying paper.

We wore uniforms in Public school and you ordered them through the school, and they got a small % of the cost. If your child outgrew the uniform and it was in good condition you could donate it and a needy family could get one for free.
Parents provided ALL personal supplies for the student. Backpack, pencils, crayons, glue, rulers, crayons, ruled paper etc. For younger classes, there was a list of things that would be helpful for craft times like old magazines for collages etc.
In high school you rented the text books from the school each year for a small fee (maybe $50 or $60). That way when they needed to be replaced the school could afford to replace them and if you lost a book you were responsible for the cost.

Fundraisers occured during the year but they were for sporting equipment. Teachers never had to pay for supplies out of their own pocket. Schools also raised funds at a food stand whereyou could buy snacks, drinks, grilled cheese etc. (no cafeteria). You paid slightly below retail prices for the food and the profit helped with extra funding for the school.

With all the funding requests in the past week it is almost cheaper to send our child to private Kindergarten.....

Reply

I have two children in public school and the same requests- I can afford to buy the items and do. But I also know that most of the items are optional. Our state is required to provide everything necessary for our children to recieve there education. I feel that it is necessary to let parents know that when they can't afford all of these items that they don't need to and that it won't affect your childs education or how he/she's thought of. We all want our schools and teachers to have everything they need to provide a great education. But some of this has gotten out of hand and the problem is that their really are people who can't afford it all whose young children may also not understand when they can't bring everything.
I've also found with these school lists that you go out and buy everything on the school's general list only to have your teacher not want or need items that where on it (after you've paid a fortune for it or had to go to 3 stores to find it).
Parents are getting frustrated because they know what the supply closet is like at work (filling peoples homes) or they see items that their children aren't going to use (try going to a bookfair and seeing the teachers requests be for books that are for adults- whose reading those- and that wasn't 1 teacher that was for all the teachers).
Are thirty boxes of kleenex going to be used in a year? How about thirty boxes of ziplock bags? 30 boxes of Clorex wipes and who is using all those wipes to clean up?
Then there are the things that the child chooses and gets put in a general purpose pile. The 1/2 dozen High School Musical folders that it took 10 minutes to decide on and I paid extra for. That was for my child to show their individuality/ sense of identity on - you think they may get upset and not want to share?
Teachers and schools need to get a clue before they get an uprising of parents and get nothing.
Maybe ask for the basic items that each child needs before school starts then ask for group/ class needs at back to school night. You may find that if teachers ask for what they really want they may get more of it when the parents know they are going to use it and not just have it go to the general supply closet. (I'd rather buy you more of what you tell me you really need then of things you'd never use)
Also follow that dog and other educators - Staples has been giving away and charging nominal fees on a lot of items for back to school the last few weeks- I was happy to see this and stock up, one or two items per person. I was even happier to hear that they raised the limits to 25 per teacher on these items.
Thank you Staples.

Reply

My daughter just stared middle school this year she had to get binders for every class not like when i went to school i had one big binder with each subject in certain sections, she told me this was not allowed. One teacher gave specifics on the
exact notebooks she had to buy. School district raises our taxes, what do we get new schools higher taxes. When i was in school teachers supplied the paper pencils and erasers. My son is in high school he told me i should see the supply closet it's loaded but they never give anything out. Imagine that. Good thing Staples was givng out alot of freebies or it would have been a hefty bill.

Reply

The teachers get all kinds of tax breaks they can have student loans forgiven, get great deals on buying a house, and they only teach about 6 months a year (if you figure in all the days off holidays, storm days, spring, summer, and winter break. Teachers also can claim any supplies they buy on taxes, as a deduction.

I know teachers aren't paid well but if you look at the larger picture you will see all the benefits’ they receive make up for less pay. They didn't go into teaching for the money. They chose that profession they weren't forced into it.

I can’t afford to buy 3 boxes of tissue, Sharpies, dry erase markers, hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, gallon size zip-lock bags, snacks, cups, plates, 10 pack of red, blue and black pens. Florida, and most other states have a lottery, and monies are taken from that. They are also taken from our land taxes.

This year I sent my child with what she needed for class, and a note saying that I will not buy anything more than what my child needs for the school year.

If we all make a stand they will start putting money back into the schools. We need to spend the money where it’s needed! OUR government is so wasteful! We elect the government officials’ into office, they are our voice, but our voices’ aren’t being heard. The government is more of a dictatorship than an democracy.
They take kick backs from major companies’ it is a violation of ethics to allow big oil, tobacco, pharmaceutical, health care, and other major corporations’ to do these things. Yet, we stand quiet and allow it to happen. This is why the American is becoming a third world country.

Reply

Are you serious? What breaks for student loans are you referring to... the limited repayment plans that only apply if you teach a certain subject in a low income school for a number of years? And that is only if the principal or superintendent doesn't decide to move you around because there is a need in another part of the building. And that "great discount" on homes... right, only if you want to move into a foreclosed home with no guarantee of what you are getting while living in a low income neighborhood (read the information!). Oh, and you ,of course, have to work in that district where you buy the home. You just better hope there is a job opening there, or you just bought a run down house in possibly the bad part of town and you now get to pay the full price. Ever been around a teacher and actually shadowed them and their work schedule? It does sound like a fantastic job of only working for 6 months a year (all those breaks and days off), but let's not forget the 50-55 hours a week when school is in session. The extracurricular activities, conferences with parents, and outside community involvement may not be in the written contract, but it is definitely expected. All that time teachers get off during the summer, guess where they spend it? In the classroom, not their own, but at the local college. In order to continue to renew their licenses and keep up to date on the ever changing curriculum and best practices each summer is spend attending additional schooling or seminars. Unfortunately, the colleges don't just donate their time for these required classes, so whatever the school district doesn't pay, usually around 50%, the teacher gets to cover from his/her own pocket. The fantastic tax deduction you mention, once again you need to look into your information, that only covers $250, so where is the additional $750-1000 coming from? You decide!
It would be fantastic if we just refuse to send additional items in for the classroom and the government would recognize the need and step in to do something, but unfortunately that is NOT reality. Have you seen all the cuts schools are making? Extracurricular activities, sports, teachers, tutors, etc are all being eliminated at schools across the country. Has the government noticed and taken a stand to help these schools and students? Of course not!
The school where I work is at risk of being closed if the levy doesn't pass. If that happens all 300 kids will be added to the 550 kids at the other elementary school in town where the "student space" is limited to 650. Where are the additional 200 kids going to go? What a conundrum!
So go ahead- compare your job and income to a teachers, list all the “fantastic” perks teachers get, and complain about what they are asking from you. But then stop and think about your child. Teachers are going to stop providing the "extras" from their own pocket because it obviously isn't appreciated, so how will your children get the education they deserve?

Reply

I teach High School in NYC and can not send a supply list home. I teach over 150 students and as they have 7 classes per day the list(s) would be unrealistic. In response to the questions of how many boxes of tissues and who is using the wipes, I can only say that I put out 2 full size boxes of tissues per week, 34 students per period x 8 periods per day (we share rooms with multiple teachers so rooms are used all day) = 272 students. The DOE tissues have 8, yes 8 tissues per box. As to who is using the wipes, I am, I wipe down the 34 desks every other day. So I buy those wipes, tissues markers, posters and even books your kids are using everyday. Parents in my school will not spend $8 for a new papreback book that I might want to teach, so I end up teaching the same old books year after year. However, their kids have umpteen pairs of sneakers, carry coach and prada bags, have gold teeth and talk about their flat screens all the time. Where is the priority?

In my school the teachers must pay to attend dances, trips and sports functions. Who else pays to go to work? We are allowed nothing for free, even the entertainment of a student play or concert if we wish to give of our personal time. This is why so many of us leave when the bell rings. Who knows what using the copier might cost us if we use it at 3:05 instead of 3:00? I lent a student my cell phone to call home after a show and the kid left with it by mistake. So the next day I brought my charger, as I was going to be at another function late that next night. Guess what? I was told to unplug it as I was "stealing" the electricity. It goes on and on. One way or another the public pays for these supplies either through higher propery taxes or out of pocket at the store. Send them, don't send them, the teachers still teach and the kids still learn. Though the cold your child catches from not having sanitizers, wipes and the like will most likely increase your tissue purchases.

Reply

Can someone tell me where all those school taxes I pay are going? Parents nor teachers had to buy those things when I was in school. Supplies...the school bought them, other than your pencil and paper or trapper-keeper. Field trips....we had a friggin bake sale.

Reply

Jarred asks where the school taxes are going. . . Teachers ask the same thing. Well, think about all of the technology that is required in this day and age for the standard classroom. Every classroom has at least one computer for the teacher's use, and some schools have a computer for every student station --- add up the cost of that which was not a cost factor even 10 years ago in the average school. Gone are the days when one mimeograph machine would be plenty for an entire schools faculty. Now every classroom is expected by Federal requirements to have technology availability for the students.
States with lotteries that brag about how much money they raise for education -- how many of those states are not "supplimenting" education budgets with the lottery, but actually replacing where the funding is coming from in the budget?


As far as bake sales, unfortunately it is a different world from when I was a kid, and many school systems are not allowed to have any type of food products on campus that are not individually wrapped and commercially produced - to insure the "health safety " of the kitchen in which it was prepared. I have even heard of schools where students are not allowed to bring sack lunches because a student might give "contaminated food" to someone else. Budget cuts have cost schools their nurses, yet because everyone is afraid of the school system being sued, teachers are not allowed to give a student any type of "medicine" which includes even an asprin or tylenol, or even a simple throat losenge -- it could cause an allergic reacttion. And most teachers are not allowed to call 911 directly if there is an emergency in their classroom, because if it isn't paid for by the parent, then the school is responsible for the bill.
Because the world has changed, and people are concerned for the safety of the child on campus and field trips, chaperones now have to go through heavy security clearances, usually at the chaperone's expense besides having to take the day off from their paying job, just to provide extra eyes to see that the kids are safe on the trip. And the paperwork to take a field trip has gotten out of hand, with 6 to 8 weeks sometimes to get county clearance to go on the trip. And the cost of the transportation for the field trip has to be paid for, which means more paperwork. Teachers are not allowed in my area to put anything on a personal credit card or debit card if they want to be reimbursed, because they might be getting " Frequent Flyer Miles" and that would be a "kick back", but yet if you want to order anything for your class over the internet, you have to use a credit card. Also, school systems still cling to the purchase order system for payment, but vendors and stores refuse to accept them. Permission must be gained from the principal to purchase anything for your classroom, which can take due to the principal's busy schedule anywhere from 3 to 7 days to get -- which means that if you want to "sale shop" to save the school money, you run the risk of not being reimbursed because you didn't have permission to spend it. Sometimes we have to order from a company that is on an approved vendor list knowing that the price we are paying is higher than we could get it for somewhere else - but that isn't allowed.
Yes, teachers work 5 days a week - on the clock. But we are also required to grade papers on our own time, call parents at home from our own phones, chaperone events with students and be on call 24/7 when on a school trip for no extra pay, stay after school hours for conferences with a parent on our time, attend at least one open house (in our district), provide performance opportunities for our students ( if you are a music, theatre, dance, or art teacher) pushed to sponsor clubs ( for a small stipend which works out to about 1.00 per hour) and do all the extra paperwork to keep the club operating,attend regular faculty meetings, take extra classes to keep our training current ( at our expense), pay for our teaching certificates ( at our expense) every 5 years, etc. etc. etc. In some schools, the teachers have assigned cafeteria duty, playground duty ( although recess seems to be an endangered species), bus loop duty. And the school year is now 10 months, not 6 in most areas. Students are off only for 8 weeks, not 12 in the summer. With only getting 8 weeks off, which usually don't start until after the first of June, teachers are unable to go back to summer school as colleges start the end of May. So those additional classes a teacher has to take to recertify have to be taken at night during the school year.
To quote Dorothy Gale, "Toto, I have a feeling we aren't in Kansas anymore."

Reply