Am I the only one who is ticked about the "school supply" lists?

[Sthrnmissgal]

Originally Posted by jonjaktez Of course parents should put school supplies above $100 hair dos and fake nails but each person has different priorities.

Great point , and yet many on here have consistently stated what they "will not" be sending.

[Sthrnmissgal]

Originally Posted by cheynesnana I so agree about the fundraisers... I got to the point when my dd's were in school that I would rather have paid $100 per child up front than have to do the fundraisers... :hectic1:

And just think, that would give us a whole different topic to complain about ...Just joking, I am there with you on the fundraiser junk, and I am one of those PTA mommies and proud of it, but I would much rather just send in money to buy what is needed instead of trying to sell cheap wrapping paper that cost an arm and leg!

[niftyneon99]

Odd things on our list are 4 AA batteries for music, old clean sock for an eraser, change for math (25 pennies, 10 nickels, 10 dimes, 1 quarter), red pens and index cards.

This is for 1st grade.

oh, and we have the brand specifics too. Pink Pearl Eberhard erasers, Crayola, Elmers, Mirado pencils.

What drives me crazy is that there are 4 1st grade teachers and each one has a different amount of the same supply. One only needs 1 box of 24 ct crayons, 2 want 2 boxes of 24 ct crayons and 1 box of 8 ct small crayons, and one teacher wants FOUR boxes of 24 ct crayons AND 2 boxes of 8 ct crayons!

I label dd's supplies too, I am not in favor of communal property. I bought it, I want her to use it. Call me a meanie, but little Jimmy or Susie's parents need to figure out something different if they can't get them school supplies -- they can do the same Staples deals I did.

[faeryedark]

Originally Posted by brandee Since I've gotten negative feedback on offering extra credit for supplies; I'm open for other suggestions.

Maybe do an aluminum drive, recycle and use the money towards those things, save a little out and treat all the kids who participated by even bringing in so much as 1 item, cans are everywhere.

[jonjaktez]

Originally Posted by Sthrnmissgal Great point , and yet many on here have consistently stated what they "will not" be sending.

There is a difference between priorities and making a stand.

[brandee]

Originally Posted by Mom2my3sons Students get extra credit for supplying the school with things the school should be providing? My head is going to shoot off my shoulders like in the cartoons. I can't believe this kind of stuff is happening in schools!

This is a general remark and is in now way directed at any one person. I know it will recieve some negative feedback...but I'm ready!

What I can't believe is how heated people are about supplies. It's to assist in the education of our children. Some things arent a necessity to learn (tissue) but are nice to have. We are rallying together to make a stand against bringing in glue sticks...while guns are brought into schools...students are using and selling drugs. I also can't believe how selfish people have become. Many people have stated "I will only send what my child needs". What happened to being kind to others who are less fortunate than us? It's not okay to share a pencil with a student whose low life parents didn't send one? We are willing to send in cash instead of doing a fundraiser....but we won't just buy the supplies to begin with.

And we are worried about a student recieving 10 points on a classwork assignment so the rest of the class can have tissues....which by the way makes very little difference in their final grade (less than half a point)....ssshhhh don't tell them that! It's my opinion they should be compensated for their extra efforts. BTW NOW we are worried about the students who cant afford supplies cause they won't recieve extra credit.....but we werent worried about them when they didnt have a pencil.

All we can seem to do is complain about the issue....which does no good...and the worse thing is we aren't the ones loosing out...its the kids. I will continue to do what I can to make sure my classroom is stocked with the supplies I think are necessary to teach the best way I know how. And if that means buying somethings on my own and offering extra credit for others than that is what I will do. Remember....if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.

[Puffalapeno]

I'm lucky that our school district does provide supplies for our students. All I have to buy DS each year is his backpack and provide an extra pencil. Halfway through the year I might be asked to provide replacement colored pencils if he's lost some (which he hasn't.) In exchange for the second highest millage rate in our county, I think this is extremely fair.

Our district routinely offers incentives to get the kids to read, usually if they read 10 books they get free ice cream, tickets to the minor league baseball game, etc. I actually despise the idea that my son should learn that reading is something to be done to earn a prize. He does the required reading, but we don't turn the paperwork in for the prize. I want him to read because it's a wonderful thing to do and a reward in itself. The whole idea that we're now rewarding our kids for things that they need to do is completely absurd to me. To reward them for doing simply bringing a supply item in is even more absurd to me.

If school districts weren't routinely wasting money and raising taxes every year, perhaps people wouldn't be up in arms about providing a few extra supplies here and there, but most people are seeing a pattern emerge where they're asked for more and more. I don't deny that teachers are paid less than they're worth in many cases. The same can be said for countless other professions. I don't think anyone wants the burden shifted from the parents to the teachers. The burden is and always should have been on the school district to provide for the students in the district within the limits of the budget they have, just like any of us have to run our own household. If I run out of kleenex or toilet paper, I don't get to ask someone else to donate it because I decided not to buy it.

[derketchup]

Originally Posted by brandee This is a general remark and is in now way directed at any one person. I know it will recieve some negative feedback...but I'm ready! What I can't believe is how heated people are about supplies. It's to assist in the education of our children. Some things arent a necessity to learn (tissue) but are nice to have. We are rallying together to make a stand against bringing in glue sticks...while guns are brought into schools...students are using and selling drugs. I also can't believe how selfish people have become. Many people have stated "I will only send what my child needs". What happened to being kind to others who are less fortunate than us? It's not okay to share a pencil with a student whose low life parents didn't send one? We are willing to send in cash instead of doing a fundraiser....but we won't just buy the supplies to begin with. And we are worried about a student recieving 10 points on a classwork assignment so the rest of the class can have tissues....which by the way makes very little difference in their final grade (less than half a point)....ssshhhh don't tell them that! It's my opinion they should be compensated for their extra efforts. BTW NOW we are worried about the students who cant afford supplies cause they won't recieve extra credit.....but we werent worried about them when they didnt have a pencil. All we can seem to do is complain about the issue....which does no good...and the worse thing is we aren't the ones loosing out...its the kids. I will continue to do what I can to make sure my classroom is stocked with the supplies I think are necessary to teach the best way I know how. And if that means buying somethings on my own and offering extra credit for others than that is what I will do. Remember....if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.

Umm... I totally disagree. First, your entire post sounds like an attempted guilt-trip to me. Second, I don't think students need clorox wipes, certain brands of crayons, baby wipes, coffee filters, 24 glue sticks, and 96 pencils to succeed in school.

What they need is paper, pencils, books, and either chalk and a chalkboard, or dry erase markers and a dry erase board. All this other stuff is extra, and completely unnecessary. Countries that are less developed still manage to educate their children without all this extra crap. And some of them are educating their children better than we are!

Maybe it's because I was in the military, but I think teachers have expectations that are way higher than they need to be. The reality is you can teach someone without all this extraneous crap.

[Debbieomi]

Originally Posted by hotcouponmama Something else that fries me about our state is that we have 180 school districts with less than 1000 kids per district. That means that each of those districts as its own superintentdent and its own payroll people, etc etc. Many of these districts have less than a few hundred kids. So the waste that exists because of community pigheadedness about consolidating is beyond me.

In Michigan, the state funds all school districts. Very little of our money comes directly from property taxes. When that law was passed, there were many counties that were allowed to keep certain payments they were receiving already from the gov't. So where the law states that each school district is to receive the exact same amount per student, in fact, many districts get these extra payments.
We actually have one district, with...I kid you not....TWO STUDENTS!!! AND this district has a teacher AND a superintendent. They receive the normal alloted state grant AND they receive the highest "extra" payment from the state. Where all other schools have to educate with approximately $7000 per student, this tiny little island with two students gets over $15,000 PER student!!!

Originally Posted by darkwing932 DH says this would never work because the PTA mommies that hang around the school all day would then be homeless, lol.

I'm one of those PTO mommies who hang around all day! But I'm sure not spending those 35 hours a week fundraising. If we could get rid of fundraising altogether, I still wouldn't be homeless....there's plenty of work needs to be done. I want more PTO mommies to come hang out with me!!

[brandee]

Originally Posted by derketchup Umm... I totally disagree. First, your entire post sounds like an attempted guilt-trip to me. Second, I don't think students need clorox wipes, certain brands of crayons, baby wipes, coffee filters, 24 glue sticks, and 96 pencils to succeed in school. What they need is paper, pencils, books, and either chalk and a chalkboard, or dry erase markers and a dry erase board. All this other stuff is extra, and completely unnecessary. Countries that are less developed still manage to educate their children without all this extra crap. And some of them are educating their children better than we are! Maybe it's because I was in the military, but I think teachers have expectations that are way higher than they need to be. The reality is you can teach someone without all this extraneous crap.

I don't need anyone to feel sorry for me. I choose my career and I love it.