I forgot…raincoats. Oilcloth was used for raincoats.
WHY do I even know this stuff?
Ironically, I found this thread after coming home from Big K shopping for my son’s school supply list (he starts tomorrow). The strangest item on the list by far was “an old sock in a ziploc baggie”. WTF? Fortunately it didn’t cost a cent, but I just gotta know what that’s for.
Another item I haven’t seen listed here was sheets of labels, though the list wasn’t specific about what kind. The wife & I guessed it was those address labels, 30 to a sheet. We didn’t get any and assumed it was to put the student’s name on all the supplies, so we just wrote my son’s name on everything. Though with all this talk of “community pots”, maybe I should get the labels and wrap them around each pen/marker/crayon just for good measure. 
Hi.
I am Bad News Baboon. I am an office supply junkie. I always have loved shopping for school supplies. I still browse the school aisles, drooling at all the neat stuff kids have today. Glue with Glitter. Scented Crayons. Darn you kids! We didn’t have those things! We had to deal with paste with a scooper that never reached the bottom!
Oh yes indeed, I long for the day my baby will go to school…so that I may enjoy the supplies vicariously!
However, the thought of community supplies infuriates me to NO end.
Money was very tight growing up. Mom always made sure to splurge on a box of 64 crayons for me. It meant the world to me.
No. Besides, it matters not if a child has a bunch of stuff. If my child wants a glittery crayon holder, by gum, she will have one. It meant a LOT to me as a child. Besides, when I worked, I loved to have unusual office supplies. I wouldn’t want to share them with fellow employees (I paid for mine) so why should my daughter?
No, not all Americans are wealthy. I have NO problems in donating money or supplies to a kid who needs them. I think having a sense of ownership can be a good thing. What happens, I wonder, when things stop being ‘community’ owned? How is a kid supposed to react to that?
ok, as I have stated, I am a supply junkie. I am also an artist. Generic brands of some items are vastly inferior. Roseart (sold at Target) comes to mind. Their crayons are uber cheap and waxy compared to Crayola brand. I know this from succumbing to temptation on certain shopping trips. Art is very important to me. I want it to be a joy for my daughter. I would be ticked off if I purchased a box of crayolas and she had to use cheap-o crayons.
It might be minor in the grand scheme of things, but to me, it’s more the point of it that annoys me.
Don’t get me started on fund raisers…
Flodjunior’s school does the “community pot” system for many things, but then again they provide nearly everything. Each kid has his/her own box for storing notebooks, workbooks and half-finished art and shop projects, but the pencils, pens, art supplies and Montessori equipment are stored on open shelves and must be shared. At this school, it works.
One of the items on my son’s list was “An old sock (to be used as an eraser)”.
I don’t know if it’s for the chalkboard or a dryerase board.
We’ll find out tomorrow night. That’s the ‘Sneak A Peek At Your Seat’ Night, where he meets his teacher and gets to see his classroom.
I’m also an office/school supply junkie. My daughter is going to get her bachelor’s degree this December, which means that I’ll just have to shop for myself. I loooooooove going through various colors of pens and pencils. I can gaze at notebooks and folders for hours. I have to be physically restrained at times in the art supplies.
I have an addiction, and I have every intention of feeding it whenever I can.
OK, and as to a question or two raised in the thread…school fees are fees that are levied on each child. For example, when I was in Texas public middle and high schools (and the fact that I have a daughter about to graduate college tells you how long ago THAT was) we had to pay locker and PE fees for physical education. The locker fee was so that we could store our clothes in a secure locker, and the PE fee was apparently for gym equipment and such. I always felt that this was a major ripoff, as we were required to take PE. I KNOW that there were other fees, as I remember my folks grumbling about them.
My father told me of the sticker shock he got when he started sending us kids to school in Texas. He was raised and schooled in Massachusetts, and the schools THERE apparently bought everything, from art supplies to notebook paper. When the teacher wanted the kids to write something, s/he passed out sheets of paper and pens or pencils, and then collected them afterwards. So it does seem that required school supplies vary by area. I know that here, a lot of the teachers spend quite a bit of money out of their own pocket to buy additional classroom supplies.
Well, emily, let me try to explain.
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A child’s property belongs to the child. To me, it is not okay to say, “This is yours and you may keep it,” but “This is not yours and you must share it.” It’s confusing.
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The idea of sharing things is not the problem. It’s when a third party swoops in and orders them to share that it’s the problem.
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The generic pencils and stuff…well, if I buy my daughter the beautiful sparkly pencil box she wanted and picked out, and she has to turn it in to the pot and doesn’t get to use it, then yes, she has suffered. Because that was hers, and someone has confiscated it. In addition, because it was hers, it gives her a sense of responsibility. The community pot method can give the children an idea that it’s okay to break the rulers, because I’ll just go get another one out of the pot.
I think schools would do better to encourage parents to purchase an extra folder or two or an extra box of crayons that could be distributed to poorer children. The community pot method tells the responsible parents that their children’s supplies will be given to the children of the less responsible parents, and it tells the less responsible parents that they don’t have to step up to the plate, because someone will be providing for them anyway. (From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.)
I hope I explained this. See Bad News Baboon’s post for a perspective on this as well.
I don’t have kids old enough for school but I’ve seen a lot of interesting things in this thread and I figured I would chime in my 2 cents
I live in MA … When I was in school the school supplied everything but notebooks. If you took a test they gave you paper and rulers and pencils if you needed them and collected everything after class like Lynn said. Eventually budget cuts caused them to ration paper a bit more carefully but it was always there. Teachers were fine with you bringing your own stuff but it was not required. Oh and there were no fees - thats what taxes are for!
My friend has elementary aged kids and she had to get them folders and crayons and pencils and a pencil box and some scissors. From what I’ve seen here she got off really lucky!
Recently I spent some time as a tutor for these kids. I’ve seen the neat stuff the kids have to use in class. Banks of computers and boxes of blocks to help learn fractions. Gone are the clumsy projectors and big screens - every class has cable!
Some random things I wanted to weigh in on:
I think kids should learn to graph on paper before they get to use a calculator. I also think they should learn to add/multiply/etc… before they get to use a calculator. The calculator should be there for them to do mastered math faster so they can spend their time concentrating on the new things they are learning - not a substitute for learning.
Community pots. If you require parents to buy things for school then they should go to their individual children. If you want a common bin of things then ask parents if they wish to donate to the bin. If they don’t then their kid can’t use stuff from the bin.
If the parents are too poor to provide supplies or simply refuse to provide supplies - well honestly that is not for me to subsidize. I pay taxes in one of the higher cost of living areas in the country and then I have to supply my child with the tools she needs to complete her education. I don’t have to supply the entire classroom with these tools. If you asked nicely I would probably donate some things but I hate being forced to be charitable - that’s extortion.
I’ve bought school supplies for my friend’s kids as well as school clothes and other necessities. I also live for bake sales so I can bake like a maniac. But I also like it to be because I wanted to give something and not because I had to.
I’m with ivylass and other posters on the school supply/community pot issue. If I’m buying supplies for my kid, I’ll spend more on brand names stuff when I know my kid will be using them. If I know it’s just going into a community pot, I’d be more inclined to buy the cheap stuff.
Actually, it’s a vicious circle. I’d be PO’d knowing some parents will be buying cheap stuff (or not even pitching in at all) while I’m buying brand names, and knowing I have no way of knowing if my child will be using the quality stuff I’m buying, I would end up putting back the Crayola crayons and buying the cheap generic crayons.
Scissors are a touchy thing. As I mentioned, I teach Pre-school, and I want my child to have quality scissors. I buy him the Fiskars brand. The cheap scissors just aren’t worth it. They don’t cut right, and break too quickly. I’d be mad if the expensive scissors I bought ended up in a community pot.
Obviously, if it’s a school’s desicion to do this, there’s not much a parent can do, but I don’t care for the idea.
There are several “Back to School” drives around here, with drop-off boxes at banks and grocery stores, where you can buy extra supplies and drop them off in the boxes for the less fortunate. My church also has a similar drive. I always buy extra marble compsition books and crayons and pencils since Target sells them so cheaply, and make a point of having my kids take them to the drop box at our church.
As someone else mentioned, the Rose Art crayons aren’t even worth it. I bought them once when my oldest child was about 2 or 3, and was appalled at how cheesy they were. Dry, hard and waxy, with pale colors. It’s been Crayola all the way for us ever since.
This is a surprisingly interesting thread.
I do remember the days of yore, in elementary school, when we’d get lists in the mail. Paper bags to cover books, pencils, pens, crayons - I don’t recall there being anything very strange. However, I do remember that we needed to supply tissues: a class of 30 second-graders goes through a lot of them.
Middle school I don’t really remember. We coudln’t carry our bookbags in 8th grade; but it wasn’t a big deal for us. The school was really small at that point, both physically and student-body (about 300 students in 6th-8th). But we used team teaching, and all our classrooms were right near each other. THey put the lockers by grade - 8th graders were here, 7th graders there, so it worked pretty well.
High school: Some teachers give us a list of stuff we’ll probably need on the first day of school (binder/notebook, dividers, highlighters, post-its), etc. Usually, though, teachers give us notice of anything strange/unusual we may need, and trust us to get the essentials without being told. Our school doesn’t really provide much (the budget has gotten voted down for the past five years or so, so there are a LOT of constraints.) Last fall, my Spanish teacher wasn’t even allowed to give us manilla folders - there weren’t any to give. Had to buy them. Textbooks are provided (other than some novels for English class), and teachers end up buy lots of supplies from their own money.
Also - post-its can be used to annotate books. We use them all the time in English and Spanish (unless you brought your own copy of the book.) Can’t write in them, so you mark up post-its and stick 'em there.
I miss crayons being on those lists…
I pulled out the school supplies last night and labeled them for school today and yes, I do have a box of 16 count crayola crayons.
Plain old regular colors with wrappers on them.
Am I the only one paying school fees?
Yeah, some of our property taxes goes towards the schools, but we still pay fees every year.
And if all of your fees aren’t paid from grade school up through high school you don’t get your diploma.
Another thing is even though you are paying for your child to go to school you don’t get to choose which school they go to. Unless you are a minority and are moving into a school that doesn’t have many minorities. So if I live in Davenport and want to send my children to school in Eldridge I can’t. Or if I prefer one grade schools methods over another I can’t send them there.
We have a few of the high schools that can be pretty rough.
The issue that I have with community supplies is that some years I have a hard time buying for my own five let alone buying for other children, and I know there are people who don’t put into the pot because they themselves either can’t afford, or figure that others will provide so why should they.
If I have extra I add extra, but that is not alway possible.
I don’t think you can choose schools anywhere, can you? I mean public schools? Except for the occasional magnet school or whatever that is offered… I know that I’ve always been told what school was the one I was allowed to go to, and it’s the same with Dominic.
Mucilage. What in the Hayl is mucilage?
I do agree, the idea of not allowing any kids to have their own supplies, that’s stupid and I was one who usually reused a lot of my folders and art supplies if they were still good. I don’t think you should be confiscating things that belong to these kids and putting them into a big drawer for everyone.
BUT…
No offense, ivylass, but don’t you think you’re overreacting? I mean, come on, “very dangerous” to teach kids about sharing and community? Yeah, it’s forced. But really, what’s do you think is going to happen, the kids are going to start reading Das Kapital and screaming, “Down with the bourgeoisie?”
Come on, now.
Oh yeah, way to go! They’ll REALLY feel great being singled out that way.
:dubious:
I mean, I agree, I don’t like the community pot idea, either. But dangerous?
Ditto to y’all with office supply addictions. me too. It’s a pretty benign one as addictions go.
Thanks for the explications, Bad News Baboon, ivylass, BiblioCat, et al. I do understand that for some things, it matters that your kid gets the good stuff – I’ve had to use those nasty mostly-wax crayons too, and I know it’s a downer. I wouldn’t wish those on anyone.
I also COMPLETELY believe that if anything you’re supposed to supply is goin in the community pot, that info should be up front. It’s deception otherwise.
That said…
I guess what I’m still reacting to is the implication that sharing supplies leads to encroaching communism or a belief that no one owns things. I can’t believe that’s the case.
Now, granted, I don’t have any kids of my own, and I’m willing to understand that having your own can bring on legitimate feelings of “I want the best for my kid in ALL THINGS” that I’m just not equipped to grok.
Wealthy or not, most American kids do have plenty of their own belongings. I don’t recall having been scarred in any way by sharing the paste while simultaneously using my own crayons, and there was never any confusion in my mind that You Just Share Some Things and You Don’t Have to Share Others.
Seems to me that thinking it’s OK to break the rulers is a separate issue from whether you share them or not. It’s not OK to break school sports equipment, or the chairs, or lunch trays, for instance, and I can’t imagine any kid honestly thinks it’s more OK to break stuff that doesn’t belong to them than stuff that does. I am quite sure you don’t teach them this. Do kids really, really think like that before you teach them? Seriously, I genuinely want to know. I didn’t think like this when I was wee, but I’m just warped-little-me.
Aaaand, frankly, I really do think Americans put much too much emphasis on sparkly pencil-boxes and what have you. It’s much more important to me to impress on any baby-emilyforces-to-be that such things are just not important than it is to impress on them that Owning Things Is a Responsibility. If you need a box for your pencils, why is it important that it be sparkly? Why is that a good lesson for 2nd-graders?
Is this/should this be a great debate? I s’pose I’m not interested in having this conversation with people I don’t already respect, though, and I respect Bad News Baboon, ivylass, BiblioCat, et al. I’m selfish!
Heh! IIRC, it’s a kind of clear rubber cement that comes in an applicator bottle. I had no idea they still mak the stuff!
coming from a freshman in college, i can tell you that everyone in our math classes used their graphing calculators – to play Tetris when class got boring…which was every day (and are we EVER going to use calculus after high school??? NO! Tetris, on the other hand, challenges the brain!!!)
my math teacher insisted that we use calculators to figure out homework assignments, thereby avoiding teaching us how to do it on paper (he needed to do this, as we later found out, because he COULDN’T TEACH!) However, once he handed out those tests, the calculators were not to be seen. …So you need the calculators do to the equation because you haven’t learned any other way…but you can’t use calculators on the test. If you use the calculators, you’ll get a good grade because you’ll do the equations properly…but you’ll then get a zero for using the calculator…if you dont use the calculator, you’ll get a zero anyway because you didn’t know how to do anything on paper…
sigh high school is full of Catch-22s…
It is glue that comes in a bottle with a weird rubber tip. It’s sort of honey colored, and runnier than rubber cement. It mostly sucks ass. The tip gets all crusty, too.
See how many different parental opinions are displayed here? Multiply that by 150 and you may begin to see part of the problem. Every student is different and every set of parents is different.
Except for my college classes, I was never given a list of supplies. Nor did I ever require my students to buy anything. Some could afford extras and some couldn’t. But I wasn’t allowed to require it.
Each year that I taught, I spent more money out of my own pocket than any amount that I have seen indicated here. Most teachers do. I have also known teacher who have donated two or three hundred dollars to the school so that they didn’t have to sell donunts or candy in their classrooms.
Ordering supplies was a waste of time where I taught. The last time that I did, I placed my order as soon as I knew my budget. The supplies arrived the day I began review for final exams in the late spring.
I can see why some of you would object to “communal property.” But dangerous? No. They’ve been using communal supplies for all those years – paid for by your tax dollar.
Some of you may be getting your supply lists late because the teachers may not find out what they are teaching for the year until three days before the students arrive. Even then, we were never given time to work in our rooms before school started. In service days were not to be used for class preparation.
I’m just wondering how you would feel if your child or the teacher refused to sign it. Consider, please, that the teachers and principals may be required by the powers that be to get that “contract” from everyone involved in the student’s learning. It emphasizes to the child that this is a team effort in which she or he is responsible. You may not need to be reminded of that as a parent and maybe your children don’t need to be reminded. But there is a strong chance that others do. The fact that you continue to receive four or five requests for a signing – even after you have sent a letter – indicates a lack of communication within the school and a waste of valuable time on the teachers’ parts. Meanwhile, you may have given your child and her or his teachers the message that you don’t support the teachers. That’s the way it may be interpreted whether it is true or not. One parent quibbling over something she perceives as ridiculous, pointless and insulting is troublesome. Three hundred parents with like minds is chaos.
As long as you understand that teachers don’t have to give make up quizes to each of the students whose babysitters make them late, that sounds fair enough. (I taught at a school where 1/3 of the students were late each day.)
It may not influence how hard you strive, but signing that piece of paper might have an impact on teachers who are looking for parental support and students who are wondering if their parents are going to fight the schools at the first opportunity.
Then by all means, contact the Director of Schools, the School Board and the media with the evidence that you have. Uniform gym clothes are a conspiracy!!!:rolleyes:
Meanwhile, according to another thread at SDMB, funds for the communal toilet paper in Montgomery, Alabama have run out and students must take their own this year.
Apparently the issue of whether parents are required to provide school supplies varies by state. In Texas, parents have to supply everything the teacher requires. In California, by law parents CANNOT be required to provide so much as one pencil or piece of paper, or at least couldn’t when we lived there in the early ‘90s. Parents got around that at my son’s elementary school by forming a parent organization that provided stuff to the school that the state couldn’t afford – like a librarian, an aide for every classroom, a copier for the teachers’ use, etc. Yes, the parents paid for this stuff. Our “fair share” was, as I recall, $350 per year, which was a darned good price considering that this organization provided something like $100,000 worth of aid to the school every year.
But my fondest memory was years ago in Texas where my daughter’s first grade supply list called for a box of 8 crayons. I went to about seven stores and the 8-crayon boxes were all gone, so I got her a box of 16.
Her teacher sent it home and informed me that it wouldn’t be fair if she had more crayons than the rest of the kids so I had to go to about 17 other stores to find the damned 8-crayon box. Sheesh.
Our PTA in Texas started selling the pre-bagged school supplies. It was the single most popular fund-raiser of the year (besides the ice cream bars sold at lunchtime out of the PTA’s freezer!). Once I went that route, I never did anything else while I could.
In New Orleans, EVERY child wears uniforms to school. But I will say that they are very practical. My son’s high school required uniform polo shirts – $10 each – and Dickey work pants in silver-grey. We spent less than $100 for his school clothes for the whole year, which if you think about it is a real bargain what with today’s clothing prices. The other thing I like about uniforms is that they avoid the I’m-wearing-the-most-fashionable-clothes battles that used to occupy so many kids when I was growing up, as well as keeping the kids all looking respectable when they go to school. Remembering how much of the girls’ underwear you could see up their miniskirts when we lived in Maryland, I think they’re a great idea.
To each his own. As an artist, I think self expression is important. I think design is important. I personally am not interested in owning a simple box when I can get a jazzy one that makes me smile.
using the term ‘sparkly’ symbolically:
At my old office, it seems like we had some of each type. We had the “why do you need a sparkly box when a plain one will do” types and we had “Why have a plain one when you can have a sparkly box” types. While non-sparkle types are fine, working in architecture, I was glad not everyone felt that way. I mean, it’s a stretch, but wouldn’t you consider Frank Ghery a sparkly box kinda guy? Would we have brilliant candy coloured I-macs if not for some sparkly designer? What a dull world it would be if no one liked sparkly stuff. And of course, the opposite would be mayhem (or “Vegas” 
). We need both types to make the world spin.
My whole point is, however my daughter decides to self express herself is fine with me. Especially if it’s something small…like a sparkly pencil box. Why you may say, “oh for goodness sakes BNB, it’s second grade”, I fondly recall sparkly pencil boxes of my youth and like to think that my love for the unusual was perhaps was seeded then.