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

[derketchup]

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

I didn't say that you wanted people to feel sorry for you. Guilt-trips aren't necessarily tied to pity.

[beth119]

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.

I totally agree for the most part. I send my kids with everything on the list plus some.
Another poster said that the germ x, and wipes are needed because of some outbreak at the school. Well, if a school has a flu outbreak, should they have to provide flu shots? If there is a lice problem, should they have to supply the meds? I really don't think so.

Anyway, in the end, the only thing I really care about is that my child recieves a decent education. If I have to spend an extra $20 to make sure of that, well then so be it. Its an investment into their future. I won't risk that over a squabble about tax dollars.

[Sthrnmissgal]

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.

Not sure what being in the military has to do with teachers having their expectations too high. Not sure what military you were in, but the military I served in and the one my husband continues to serve in sets very high standards and THAT military is called the US Military. But I love to see teachers who do have high expectations and want their kids to excel . And yes, you can learn without sanitizing wipes or tissues and so on, however, it does make the classroom a little more student friendly IMO and the great thing is and the reason we can all voice our own seperate opinions is because of that military that was spoken of earlier. I do personally know Brandee and know that she is a GREAT teacher not to mention wife of an underpaid military member and a brand new mommy and yet she is using her own money OOP to pay for supplies that some feel like are not needed. And that is ok, because some people on this site have the freedom to be able to have their own opinions that many of the supplies are not needed. However, by all means don't judge someone for trying to give an incentive to students to bring in items that they themselves will be using. Whatever works, because in the area that Brandee and I live in, we are lucky to get books for the students, let alone many of the nice things that others have mentioned on this site. So Good for You Brandee for being an awesome teacher and working to get the necessary items your classroom needs. As for this topic, for those that do not have to send in the supplies that others do, then this is a perfect opportunity to be thankful for where you live and where your child goes to school. For those that your schools/teachers ask for many things that you feel are not needed, then talk to the teachers and find out "Why?" maybe you will decide that you should or could contribute to the classroom a little more. And for those that just simply refuse to send in what is needed just to make a "Stand" then don't worry because I am sure there are plenty of parents like myself that have no problems making sure your child will have sanitizing wipes, tissues, and any other needed supplies! If I offended anyone I do apologize, that was not my intention and I hope EVERYONE has a Great Back to Schoool experience!

[derketchup]

Originally Posted by Sthrnmissgal Not sure what being in the military has to do with teachers having their expectations too high. Not sure what military you were in, but the military I served in and the one my husband continues to serve in sets very high standards and THAT military is called the US Military.

Umm, yes I was in the US Military. And while their standards are high for most things, their supply chain sucks. So we learn to maintain (and exceed) the high standards without proper supplies. That is the thought I was trying to convey.

I mean, you never ran out of cleaning supplies or toilet paper the entire time you were in the military?

[hotcouponmama]

Originally Posted by derketchup Umm, yes I was in the US Military. And while their standards are high for most things, their supply chain sucks. So we learn to maintain (and exceed) the high standards without proper supplies. That is the thought I was trying to convey. I mean, you never ran out of cleaning supplies or toilet paper the entire time you were in the military?

Or had you parents supply you with Kevlar to take to Iraq cause the military wasn't supplying it?

[derketchup]

Originally Posted by hotcouponmama Or had you parents supply you with Kevlar to take to Iraq cause the military wasn't supplying it?

Sadly, I know parents who supplied their children with armor... don't you remember when the US Govt was under fire for not having armor for HmVs?

[Sthrnmissgal]

When my husband was in Iraq, not sure if either of you have any personal experience, or just going off of what the media feeds you, but anyways, he was supplied a flack vest aka bullet proof vest, we just decided to invest in a better one. And for the post about the kevlar, that is something worn on the head, there is not any soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine out there sent to Iraq without a kevlar. And no my units never ran out of supplies, but you also can not compare the US military to public schools when it comes to supplies, you are looking at millions of dollars of difference in funding. The military also supplies uniforms and housing, should public schools do the same? Just joking, I know what you mean

[derketchup]

Originally Posted by Sthrnmissgal When my husband was in Iraq, not sure if either of you have any personal experience, or just going off of what the media feeds you, but anyways, he was supplied a flack vest aka bullet proof vest, we just decided to invest in a better one. And for the post about the kevlar, that is something worn on the head, there is not any soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine out there sent to Iraq without a kevlar. And no my units never ran out of supplies, but you also can not compare the US military to public schools when it comes to supplies, you are looking at millions of dollars of difference in funding. The military also supplies uniforms and housing, should public schools do the same? Just joking, I know what you mean

Actually, my post about the HmV armor came from talking to returning National Guardsmen from Iraq. It wasn't "fed" to me by the media. I have no personal experience in Iraq, but my brother and husband do. And I remember my brother sending me requests for supplies he could not easily get over there, especially batteries. Batteries he needed for his job, not for his personal use. Thank goodness that was during the KMart deal last summer.

My husband also has me send things for the ship that he cannot get because the supply chain is broken. But he doesn't send supply lists to every spouse -- it's not their job to fix it. And it's not his job, either, but the mission must be completed.

My entire barracks once went two months without toilet paper. The main supply office ran out, and my unit was out of funds until October 1st.

Bless your heart for investing in a better flack vest for your DH.

[darkwing932]

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.

Since you still can't seem to understand why everyone is so upset over these things I'll give you a couple of more reasons why I am. Lets start with the fact the budget for my school system is over TRIPLE the budget of the ENTIRE TOWNSHIP OF 55,000 PEOPLE IT IS LOCATED WITHIN! The teachers and adminsistration in this town make DOUBLE and TRIPLE what the municipal employees make. They also get LIFETIME MEDICAL. So taxpapayers are still paying for a teacher that retired years ago. In case your wondering, I know all this because their salaries are right online. Everytime the school budget vote rolls around they threaten the parents with the "we are going to have to cut essential services" line. When you review the budget they want to raise the budget for the extra money for things like more coaches and money to start afterschool groups. How can they justify adding these expenses when they claim that they have to cut the essentials?

Here is another example of why I'm ticked. They recently built a new high school. A high school with high-end italian tile on the floors, lights that automatically turn on and off when people leave and enter the classroom, and extra cafeteria staff for the sub bar and the sushi bar. Ah.... that is where the cleaning supplies are! To keep the sushi bar fresh!

Now, back to the extra credit issue. I'm not sure how you grade papers but simple math would indicate that a child with a grade of 90 (a B in our schools) + 10 = 100 (an A). So yes, it does make a difference. A kid with a wealthy or overly generous parent could go from being an honor roll student to a high honor roll student depending upon how much mommy wants to invest. As I stated before you are rewarding the child for something the parent does. Do you give extra credit to the child that brings mom to school to help out with a class party? the child who brings dad to school for gameday? If not why? Those parents are contributing just as much, if not more, than the ones that send in a pack of kleenex.

[bacmel79]

Oh goodness this is absurd. I guess I've always had a supply list of some sort growing up and I have seen some of the new things on it and I question some of them, but they all have their uses.
Since I have been in school there has been a lot of research on how studnets learn and there is more than 1 way to teach something and there are different types of learners out there. So lets say your child is in a class that uses books and paper and play dough to learn about a certein subject. You decided not to send play dough in with your kids supplies, so should your child not be able to partisapaite (ap?) in that activity? What if your child is a hands on learner and the use of play dough was the teachers way of accomadating your child (and other childern) who are hands on learners? Wouldn't your child be missing out? Would you be upset? What about the parent who's child learns well with books and paper but supplies the play dough, should they be upset that you didn't supply it for your child? Point being teachers ask for things they need to accomadate all the children in their classrooms.

I guess on the cleaning supplies I would supply them to ensure that my kid is in the cleanest envronment possible. I know if a child in my DD's classroom sneezed and got snot all over a doorhandle I would rather the teacher use a clorox wipe that I supplied to clean it than wait and call the janator to clean it up. Besides school budgets generally allow for the basics of cleaning supplies so I'm sure that the wipes are not on that list and since I hate time wasting I would provide the wipes.

Just my 2 cents be mad if you want