Community Chat

[viva923]

i was always told the reason for many school supplies are. The teacher needs extra for the kids that can’t afford to purchase supplies.

the teacher salary only can be stretched so far. They can’t afford to carry a class of 30 or so kids purchasing extra products.

[Warrior2022]

I just realized that "stuff the bus" is my most favorite donating event.  The smell of folders, the different varities of pencils and pens, and all those gluesticks!  You can get folders for 10/20 cents each.  Ruled notebook paper as low as 50 cents.  I think a great supply would be a 8 x 10 dry erase board.  No paper waste and children will be taught to write. 

[ScrapHappy]

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@Sooner wrote:

Good grief I am amazed at all the stuff kids have to have for school now!  Two or three bottles of glue, several boxes of crayons, fiskars scissors, zip lock bags, a change of clothes with underwear (?), and on and on.

With that much glue, half of our class would have had to be physically separated from the desk or the kid next to them's hair. 

Makes me feel like all we had was a stick to write in the dirt with.  

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My daughter has attended both private and public schools in two different states.  For both, the back to school supplies list was and still is substantial.  The teachers have a wish list for additional class room supplies such are pens, pencils, sticky notes, tissues, hand-sanitizer, etc.

[SahmIam]

This is how it works in my county:

Each school receives a list. What alerted me to the fact that something was odd was ALL elementary schools require different things as well as the NUMBER of how many thing they need of 1 specific item; same in middle and high school. For example, my sons elementary school required 12 glue sticks. A friends' elementary school required 2, another friends' school required 24. Why the difference? Aren't they all teaching the same courses, following the same routine since their public schools? I made a few phone calls because it was the first time a child of mine had attended public (it was private for all of them until then) and didn't understand the wide variety of items being required.

What I found out was schools with the highest number of children coming from Section 8 or lower income asked for the highest number of items in each category so that those that could afford it would comply thereby providing those that brought none with all the supplies they needed for the school year (this came from my local Board of Education).  I found out from my sons' speech therapist (this was back when he was in 3rd grade, he's in 7th now) that all supplies went into a stockroom and ALL teachers had access to it. In essence, I was supplying the school with supplies for them to dole out on an as needed basis to kids whenever they asked for it. Doing some quick math, there was NO way they were using all the supplies so I asked her what happens to the left over supplies. "Oh, staff takes them home for personal use". She was not kidding.

From that year on, I sent my boys to school with JUST what they needed to start out. If they needed 3 extra folders for class, I sent in 3 with their names written on them so only they could use them. Glue sticks? None of my boys have used more than 1 in a school year; I know because I bought the economy pack at Costco that holds 24 and  I have a bunch left. I've talked to friends in PTA and yes, they are aware of the stockpiling and yes, the only send in what their kids need as well as they need/ask for it.

Understand that my county and the PTA do a new backpack filled with ALL the supplies required by the school and hand it out to each child that qualifies for free or discounted meals. So why the need for so many supplies? Do your research people, do your research.

[Sooner]

Wow!  That's a racket.  I have seen these lists for years and can't imagine on some what kids would do with so many crayons and glue sticks and this and that.  I mean do you REALLY need to glue stuff together to get an education? 

It seems that supply lists should be looked at for costs and benefits. . . and parents should know just what they are getting for their money.

[SahmIam]

@Sooner  The ONLY reason I found any of this out was due to a sports event where I was talking to my friend who lives in the area where homes $800,000 to 2 million all feed into the elementary school with NO Section 8 or low income in sight. Her son requires 2 glue sticks.  The next day, I picked up the wrong elementary school list at Walmart (they have them all up for parents to pick when back to school shopping which is VERY handy) and saw 24 glue sticks. I remembered reading the list earlier (I had left it at home) and thought it was 12; checked the list and then saw it was for a different school- one that is located in an area that is predominately Section 8/low income/high crime/lowest test scores in the county. One of my dearest friends had a son in that school (we met in a playgroup for nursing moms) and our sons are still friends. 

The glue sticks and seeing the huge difference in how many these schools require made me compare the three lists and I was shocked at how widely the number of the SAME items varied from school to school. That's when I started asking questions. Had it not been for that, I would NEVER have known.

[RollTide2008]

I’m a single mom and don’t find my budget is so tight that I need to fuss about a few glue sticks and notebooks and crayons for kids who may be less blessed than mine.

[LTT1]

@Sooner@SahmIam

Here was “the deal” at our school:

Students who did not/could not bring in the required supplies caused chaos in an otherwise “orderly” classroom.

For instance, spiral notebooks were a “must.”

The students learned to take notes from lectures by writing in their spirals. To store spirals  for each class, we put the notebooks in hanging dividers.*

I couldn’t take a spiral grade if the notebook consisted of shreds of paper.

Gluing and cutting...yes...many kids don’t learn fine motor coordination at all until some teacher (me?) shows them how and allows them to practice.

Extra supplies to share with others? Yes, this is so I can keep EACH CHILD constructively busy and give help to all.

Grades for bringing/not bringing supplies? Not allowed.

*If there were less children per class, it would be less mandatory to have neatness, order and a particular way to do things. It is easier to improvise if there are fewer students in a classroom.

[SahmIam]

@LTT1  I don't know if you're not happy about how your school/county runs things or if it's about parents not thrilled about having to be responsible for being the chief benefactor of school supplies. I take care of MY childs' needs so no one is doing me any favors. Let's not forget that every single child who qualifies receives ALL the supplies needed for the school year so....the extra supplies are not warranted especially since they go into the pockets of the faculty. THAT is what I and other parents object to.

I can't attest to other counties/schools.

[Mominohio]

When my son was in elementary school, he went to a small private school. Their supply lists were two to three times longer than the public school's lists. And all year long the school was looking for lots of other things to make costumes and projects for whatever they were studying.

I never minded the cost. I felt he was getting a much higher than average education and everything they called for, was used. 

I'm guessing in a lot of the public schools, the lists are longer now because so many kids don't bring in their own supplies. 

It seems to me like all areas now have a 'stuff the bus' or 'fill the backpack' programs and there really isn't any excuse for teachers to have to dip into their meager salaries to buy basic supplies.

Basic school supplies go on sale so cheaply at the beginning of the year, there is no excuse for parents not buying enough for the whole year. Here tablets are sometime $0.09 (yes, nine cents), packs of pencils .25 to .50, glue sticks .25 to.50 per pack, crayons and colored pencils at .25 to $1 depending on brand and size, paper folders just a few cents each, etc. 

Even when the lists call for things like tissues, they can be had for under $1 per box

Some of the high end calculator and things for high school get pretty pricey and I can see people having trouble affording those things. 

But there really isn't any excuse for not having the basics.