School Supply Stories! - Page 2

sandy53 · ‎03-12-2010

Yes, I think sometimes teachers ask too much. I was compliant when my son was in school, but I often wondered why. No wonder students don't learn to be organized. Teachers are color coding everything for them instead of having the students figure out how to be organized.

I also found it ironic that when I was teaching high school, we did not have the opportunity to require any kind of supplies. If I wanted students to have folders, markers, highlighters, etc., it came out of my classroom budget. I had to keep those things in locked cupboards or they would "walk" out of the classroom.

Snowpuppy · ‎03-09-2010

I wonder if the extensive lists have anything to do with the "stuff the bus" and "fill a backpack" campaigns for kids who would otherwise go without?

I was a single parent for many years and I wished the teacher would have said what was needed immediately, the first day and what could wait. Like Oct, Nov, after the holidays, etc.

ITA, it's like some have OCD and your child MUST have 48 crayolas.......well, is 24 okay if the 48 is out of the parent's price range? I once had to drive 40 miles round trip to buy "prang" paints because the teacher would accept nothing else.

colliegirls · ‎05-13-2012

I never minded getting any of the long lists of supplies for my four children each year....until I saw a teacher returning a big load of school supply items to Walmart just a few days after school started. That really upset me. I hope there was a good reason for that but I have never come up with one.

guatmum · ‎03-11-2010

Well, I would think the most logical conclusion that anyone would come to is that the teacher had used her own money to buy supplies for students before the year started. Once the first couple of days had gone by and she realized she didn't need the supplies, she returned them for a refund. Since sales often go on before the start of school and many students return to school without supplies, list or not, many teachers buy supplies on sale in order to have them for "just in case." If they are not needed, it's understandable that a teacher would want that personal money back.

I am a teacher in a district that does not allow supply lists to go out. This is a new policy within the last few years and has really cut down on the number of interesting activities and lessons we do integrating things like science, art, social studies, etc. It is a loss for the kids because we no longer teach lessons using anything but the basics that the district supplies, but the parents didn't want to deal with the lists so that is the logical consequence.

brownponytail80 · ‎05-30-2015

@colliegirls wrote:
I never minded getting any of the long lists of supplies for my four children each year....until I saw a teacher returning a big load of school supply items to Walmart just a few days after school started. That really upset me. I hope there was a good reason for that but I have never come up with one.

I heard a teacher once say that she does this. I had to pick up my jaw from the floor. I can't imagine the gall. She's one of those teachers that no one really likes, but tolerates.

Whatever is left at the end of the year, I send back home with the kids to use for next year.

I teach - what's your superpower?

colliegirls · ‎05-13-2012

@guatmum wrote:
Well, I would think the most logical conclusion that anyone would come to is that the teacher had used her own money to buy supplies for students before the year started. Once the first couple of days had gone by and she realized she didn't need the supplies, she returned them for a refund. Since sales often go on before the start of school and many students return to school without supplies, list or not, many teachers buy supplies on sale in order to have them for "just in case." If they are not needed, it's understandable that a teacher would want that personal money back.

I am a teacher in a district that does not allow supply lists to go out. This is a new policy within the last few years and has really cut down on the number of interesting activities and lessons we do integrating things like science, art, social studies, etc. It is a loss for the kids because we no longer teach lessons using anything but the basics that the district supplies, but the parents didn't want to deal with the lists so that is the logical consequence.

I would like to think that was the reason but this was a huge amount of supplies. I doubt she would have purchased this much before school and this was not a poor school area.

nun ya · ‎03-09-2010

Our list were never really long, I bought whatever was on it, and sent stuff in as needed.

nun ya · ‎03-09-2010

@colliegirls wrote:
I never minded getting any of the long lists of supplies for my four children each year....until I saw a teacher returning a big load of school supply items to Walmart just a few days after school started. That really upset me. I hope there was a good reason for that but I have never come up with one.

Ya that would fry my cookies. It reminds me of when my daughter collected stuff for the local animal shelter. When we got there they told us to take it in in to the gift shop.... looking around, they were selling all the donated food and treats to people who adopted animals. If that was the point I would have just donated money.

Sorry for going OT.

scotttie · ‎03-09-2010

@colliegirls wrote:
I never minded getting any of the long lists of supplies for my four children each year....until I saw a teacher returning a big load of school supply items to Walmart just a few days after school started. That really upset me. I hope there was a good reason for that but I have never come up with one.

Wow! Do you think the administration was aware of it? When my girls were in First grade the teacher had everyone send in (I think it was $5.00) and SHE would buy all the stuff. That way everyone had the same box of crayons, the same pencils, the same folders, etc. It worked out quite well. Probably not practical for higher grades. That teacher was a doll and we all adored her.

lolakimono · ‎03-29-2012

@chrystaltree wrote:
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.

Just a guess, from a teacher's perspective-

Every single time I make copies, I am the one who punches holes in the papers for my students, so that they can store them inside their binders. I have access to a three hole punch or a single hole punch. I would not have hand punched two additional holes each time I made a copy for your daughter.