Community Chat

[brownponytail80]

Every year around this time, I hear parents complaining about what's on the school supply list or what teachers do with the supplies.  Do you think teachers ask for too much sometimes?  Any stories from when you were buying supplies for your kids?

[Kcubed]

I am a teacher and a mother.  I never complain as a parent because as a teacher, I know that my students use everything that I request.  I teach middle school, so my supplies are just a small part of the team list.  I also know how much money I spend on pencils and paper as so many students come without them each day.  Usually things go well during the first semester, but the second half of the year, kids run out of the supplies and I have to fill in the gaps.  This is getting more and more difficult as we haven't received a raise in 8 years.  Actually we have gotten a couple of raises, but our health insurance has eaten the raise and more each time. 

[beckyb1012]

My son who just turned 32 this month still remembers "school supply shopping day"  I always made a big deal about and treated him to lunch at his choice of restaurants.  Also would hit the arcade or whatever fun place he wanted to go too.  Then we would sit at the pool as soon as we got home after our full day of just the two of us.  It helped to take the sting out of what the real purpose of the day was for.

I warms my heart to know he remembers those school supply days as Mom and Son days.

[Suziepeach]

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@brownponytail80 wrote:

Every year around this time, I hear parents complaining about what's on the school supply list or what teachers do with the supplies.  Do you think teachers ask for too much sometimes?  Any stories from when you were buying supplies for your kids?

*****

I don't believe I ever questioned what was on the school supply list when my son was in school, I always got it and kept a running supply for the entire year, like notebook paper & pencils..  No, I don't think teachers ask too much at anytime, parents should have some responsibiltiy for the education & supplies of their own children..  It was always something my parents did for us and I did for my son.. it should be that way...

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[Sooner]

Absolutely I think they ask for too much!  I see big bucks being spent by parents on lots and lots of art supplies that seem totally extraneous to the learning process.  If parents are wealthy that's fine, but where people are trying to make ends meet, this must be a terrible burden on them.  I mean really, how many colored marker sets and such do kids need to do lessons?

I come from and live in a poor area. . . but I still see it here too. 

[Mominohio]

My recently graduated son went to a small private school for 10 years, and the supply list at the beginning of the year was always twice as long as any local public school list. And that was just the beginning. Throughout the year, we were asked for so very much more, from food to costumes, to anything you can imagine.

Never a word of complaint from me. I believe that for learning to be fun, it has to be creative. For it to be creative, it requires 'things'. At any given time, we were asked for everything from dryer lint, to the things from our recycle bins, to fabric scraps to old clothing for costumes. Of course there were lots of store bought supplies, and I also never balked at the kleenex, hand sanitizers, Clorox wipes and other things to help keep the kids healthy. 

The only complaint I half heartedly had was mixing the supplies all together for the class. I spent good money on the best supplies, and wanted my kid to have his own, not the cheapy scissors that didn't work, or the cheapy crayons that didn't color well. But, I got over that after the second or third teacher that did it. Life goes on.

[Chrystaltree2]

I probably have a story for all 12 years.....x2 kids.  My girls went to parochial schools and the schools provided no supplies at all.  Zilch, nada, nothing.  We paid $14,000 a year for tuition and the school didn't give the kids a single blank piece of paper.  About a month before school opened we got the mandatory supply list for the first half of the school year and in December we got another list for the second half of the school year.  I know what the teachers did with the supplies;  they used it teach.  They weren't selling it or the black market..lol   The thing that irritated me the most is that the teachers stocked all the supplies in the supply closet, the things that were meant for classroom use, came from the supply closet.  Now those of us who followed the rules bought everything on the list.  However, some parents didn't.  If we were told to buy a box of 120 crayons, they'd buy a little box of 12 crayons at the dollar store.   So, those of us who bought all that stuff....were subsidizing some other kids in the class.  And I don't mean financially challenged children, I mean cheapskates.  I don't think the teachers asked for too much stuff.  I do think they were too picky about what they did ask for.  Like one year I did have a problem with book covers.  It's been a long time, I don't recall the details but we were told to 6 book covers with no insignias, pictures, cartoons.  Well, my daughter chose book covers that had stars on on them.  No words, no cartoons, no school insignias.  Stars.  She was told they were the "wrong ones".  The teacher wanted plain ones.  The list did not say plain book covers!  Another time, we had a problem with binders and note book paper.  The list did say 3 hole binder and paper.  I  just didn't see that.  I bought a 5 hole binder and the paper that goes in it.  Once again the teacher told my kid, it was the "wrong one".  3 hole, 5 hole.  What the heck difference did it make?  It was a binder with paper!  I caved in on the book covers, I did not cave on the binder.  But that type of ridiculously silly autocratic behavior at the beginning of the school years does upset our kids.  I think that since they were spending our money, they sometimes asked for things that they never would have asked for if the school was footing the bill.     

[ChynnaBlue]

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@brownponytail80 wrote:

Every year around this time, I hear parents complaining about what's on the school supply list or what teachers do with the supplies.  Do you think teachers ask for too much sometimes?  Any stories from when you were buying supplies for your kids?

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I think the lists are too specific these days. When I was in school, I had to bring notebooks, paper, binders, pens, etc. Kids in my area now have very specific Iists. You couldn't just have a ruled notebook, for example, you needed to have a GREEN spiral bound notebook or specific brands of items. You can't have a pink highlighter, you need a YELLOW highlighter.

Here's the list for one school in my area: https://www.austinisd.org/sites/default/files/dept/parent-info/docs/school-supplies/Pecan_Springs14....

[brbfromTX]

As a mom and teacher, I can say that yes sometimes the school supply list is too much or too picky. I suggest politely talking to the teacher-they will be able to explain the reason behind certain colors of this or that.   I can say this with certainty, usually by Christmas, most of the supplies that were brought in at the beginning of the year are gone, leaving the teacher and the kind, generous parents who sent "extra"  to make up the difference the remainder of the year. (Thank you to those who do this!)  I can say that the churches in our area and our Community in Schools Program are very generous in supplying those in need.  I can also say that most teachers spend hundreds of dollars out their own pocket to help make each child's learning experience a wonderful one!

One of my favorite memories is the smell and feel of brand, new crayons!

[panda1234]

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@Kcubed wrote:

I am a teacher and a mother.  I never complain as a parent because as a teacher, I know that my students use everything that I request.  I teach middle school, so my supplies are just a small part of the team list.  I also know how much money I spend on pencils and paper as so many students come without them each day.  Usually things go well during the first semester, but the second half of the year, kids run out of the supplies and I have to fill in the gaps.  This is getting more and more difficult as we haven't received a raise in 8 years.  Actually we have gotten a couple of raises, but our health insurance has eaten the raise and more each time. 

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i am not a school teacher and my health insurance eats up my raise each year. This is the norm today across the board......sad.