Sharing school supplies?

baconsmom

Those of you with kids, or who teach, is this normal across the board now? All grades? Why is this?

This is only Bacon's second year in school, obviously, and I'm hoping that this is just a little-kid thing, but I'm irritated. Our biggest problem with Bacon lately is getting her to take care of her belongings, and if nothing belongs to her, it derails us at home a little bit. 

I also resent being told to buy expensive things, like Fiskar's scissors, for other people's kids. Yes, I just buy the cheap ones anyway, but come on. You want me to buy stuff for other people, you don't dictate the most expensive brand you can find!

mrsconn23

I *HATE* that they say on the supply lists that you can't label anything.  I went to "meet the teacher" night last night and I looked in the kiddo's desk. He had  his crayons, colored pencis, 2 dry erase markers, and like 3 pencils in his desk.  I spent $40 on school supplies and that's all that's in there?  It pissed me off.  Especially since we were told to buy, like, 70 pencils or something obnoxious. 

baconsmom

Everyone in the grade has the same list (except for Ziploc - yes, that's brand-specific, too - bags, which are divided along the alphabet by size.). So everyone is buying crayons and glue and paper and scissors - so why can't my kid have her own? 

I plan to ask this at back-to-school night, or maybe the meet-and-greet tonight, but I hoped some of the teachers here might have an answer before I have to talk to a stranger in public. 

*Barbie*

how does this work? you guys are given a list and asked to buy supplies that go into a pot for the whole class to use?

when i was in school everyone brought their own stuff, or it was supplied by the school. everything had your name on it and stayed in your pencil box in your desk. 

mrsconn23

Here's the kiddo's supply list:

4 glue sticks
1 box 24-count crayons
1 box colored pencils
60 pencils
1 pair scissors
1 12” plastic ruler (with cm and inches)
1 spiral bound notebooks (1 subject) (wide ruled)
2 pkgs 100-count lined notecards (3 x 5)
4 pkgs 3 x 3 post-it notes
1 art box
8 dry erase markers (any color)
1 5-subject notebook with pocket dividers
2 pkg cap erasers
1 dry erase eraser
10 2-pocket folders (4 green, 2 red, 2 yellow, 2 blue), prefer plastic
2 large boxes of tissues
Boys: 1 box Ziploc quart size bags
Girls: 1 box Ziploc gallon size bags
Please do not write student’s name on items.

baconsmom

Barbie, that's how it was when I was in school, and all my brothers. 

Yes, I buy the list, and then it goes in a general pot for sharing. This made a little sense in kindergarten, and I guess it makes a little bit of sense for 1st graders, but it's going to start making a whole lot less sense the older she gets. I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt to other kids - maybe they don't learn to take care of their things, maybe they don't face natural consequences when they lose things, and it's easier on the teachers or something? But Bacon knows it's up to her to keep track of her stuff, and if she doesn't have it, she's SOL. Having a back-up at school doesn't let that lesson sink in, and she starts wondering why I'm not backing up her sunglasses or her toys or sweaters. 

At least at this school, it's obviously school supplies, aside from a box of tissues and some hand-sanitizer (I send tissues, because we have them on hand, but not sanitizer. I don't like it - I think kids should wash their hands.). The last school they wanted sht like copy paper. What do I pay taxes for if you make me buy your teaching supplies?!

hmonkey

what the what.

i know that one of the teachers in grade school had his own supplies and he would sell them to students if they forgot anything.  pencils were $0.10; pens were $0.25. 

mrsconn23

Oh yeah and up until this school year, I had to buy two reams of copy paper.

baconsmom

This is ours:

The following items are for community use, please do not label them.

1 pack of multi-colored construction paper

1 box of 24 crayons

1 box Ticonderoga #2 pencils [12]

4 Elmer’s Glue Sticks

1 pair pointed Fiskars Kids Scissors

2 boxes Facial tissue

1 bottle hand sanitizer

2 pink bar erasers

3 wide ruled notebooks (solid colors)

4 pocket folders (solid colors)

1 box gallon size Ziploc bags (If your last name begins with A – M)

1 box sandwich size Ziploc bags (If your last name begins with N – Z)

1 package Expo Dry Erase markers (4)

1 bottle Elmer’s glue

To be labeled PRIOR to the first day of school:

Complete change of clothes to be left at school in case of accidents

Water bottle

Standard sized back-pack

1 8 1/2 x 11 spiral bound artist sketchbook

MinM

I would not be happy with that system. I am not good at sharing.

mrsconn23

I think the kids use dry erase markers themselves.  I think they pass out little whiteboards to them to do math or something.

Also, this year the kiddo doesn't eat lunch until almost 1pm so they can bring in a snack.  Except we have a list a mile long of what they *can't* bring in.  He cannot bring anything with peanuts in it, which sucks because he loves peanut butter crackers and they're a little more filling than just regular Goldfish crackers or whatever.

eml569

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_sharing-school-supplies?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:47Discussion:e7f66f3b-8385-4415-bce7-c2497804664ePost:0f354106-c6d8-473c-90dc-e54c758e246e">Re: Sharing school supplies?</a>:
[QUOTE]I would not be happy with that system. I am not good at sharing.
Posted by MinM[/QUOTE]

<div>Ditto on the crappy sharer part. Plus, part of the fun of going back to school was picking out what Lisa Frank folders and notebooks you wanted. To make them all solid color takes away part of childhood.</div>

baconsmom

I don't know, Zilla. Last year, it didn't come up - I refused to by the office supplies for the first school Bacon was in, and I wasn't asked to buy anything when she switched to the charter, because it was assumed I'd already supplied other kids for the year. 

I'm going to ask this year, and ask when this ends, because I just don't get it. This doesn't help the kids, IMO. All it teaches them is that there are no personal possessions - not something I want Bacon to be learning for myriad reasons.

6fsn

The whole school supply system is bizarre.  They were complaining about it on the local radio yesterday.  They have this whole long list, but then have to pay $40 to the general supply fund.  WTF at copy paper?

One caller was complaining about their kid needing $100 calculator.  In my head all I could think was, "I bet they spent 3 times that on back to school clothes though."

Heffalump

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_sharing-school-supplies?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:47Discussion:e7f66f3b-8385-4415-bce7-c2497804664ePost:0f354106-c6d8-473c-90dc-e54c758e246e">Re: Sharing school supplies?</a>:
[QUOTE]I would not be happy with that system. I am not good at sharing.
Posted by MinM[/QUOTE]
I was sent to the principal's office in kindergarten because some other girl was wearing my art smock and I pretty much tried to wrestle it off of her.  They were apparently supposed to be communal, but my mom didn't know this and bought me a really cute one.

baconsmom

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_sharing-school-supplies?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:47Discussion:e7f66f3b-8385-4415-bce7-c2497804664ePost:b0eae6e2-b337-4aa5-ab71-34c528a1cfc1">Re: Sharing school supplies?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Sharing school supplies? : Ditto on the crappy sharer part. Plus, part of the fun of going back to school was picking out what Lisa Frank folders and notebooks you wanted. To make them all solid color takes away part of childhood.
Posted by eml569[/QUOTE]

<div>Well, this is a uniform school, so I doubt she'd be allowed crazy folders even if she could have her own stuff. She's only allowed plain shoes and socks, too, but I like that. No agita about getting dressed every day.</div>

baconsmom

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_sharing-school-supplies?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:47Discussion:e7f66f3b-8385-4415-bce7-c2497804664ePost:ed6a2d23-0bde-4ca7-90a0-9ecc125f50fc">Re: Sharing school supplies?</a>:
[QUOTE]The whole school supply system is bizarre.  They were complaining about it on the local radio yesterday.  They have this whole long list, but then have to pay $40 to the general supply fund.  WTF at copy paper? One caller was complaining about their kid needing $100 calculator.  In my head all I could think was, "I bet they spent 3 times that on back to school clothes though."
Posted by 6fsn[/QUOTE]

<div>I'd prefer to buy my kid her own sht and be asked to contribute to a fund. Well. I'd really prefer that I buy my kid her own sht and then have the OPTION to donate supplies. I don't understand all these communal supplies AND supply drives all over the state. I can't do both, sorry.</div><div>
</div><div>And I had to have a graphing calculator in high school. It was over $100 back then, but now I think there's an app for that, so I'd just get my kid a phone. At least that's a multi-tasker for all that money.</div>

MinM

I think having a communal, seemingly never ending pot of supplies would not be good for the children. They need accountability and consequences in order to learn responsibility.

*Barbie*

that's BS.

this makes me curious what kids around here are asked to bring (if anything) - especially in the ILs' district, which is one of the top ranked in PA. Their school taxes are ridiculously high, (one reason we didn't buy in their area - it's more than 2x our taxes) so it would be interesting to see if their kids need to bring in classroom supplies. wondering about the policies in TX too. 

my mom would go out and buy us standard stuff (pencils, erasers, crayons, etc. ) and put a portion of the package in our pencil box - if we started to get low, we'd just refresh from what we had at home. classroom supplies (paper, glue, scissors, etc.) were always provided by the school in elementary school, and then we'd just put them back in the supply closet for the next use. 

*Barbie*

also, what happens to supplies ( like scissors) that kids are asked to bring in year after year? unless they are walking off at the end of the year, the classroom should have a pretty good supply if even 20/30 kids bring a pair each year. 

zsazsa-stl

60 pencils?!?!  Your kids is going to go through 6 pencils a month?  Or maybe the school is burning them for fuel in the furnace.

When I was a kid they only thing we brought in for communal classroom use was a box of tissues. 

zsazsa-stl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_sharing-school-supplies?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:47Discussion:e7f66f3b-8385-4415-bce7-c2497804664ePost:e03e9ef8-a9dc-4e2e-b9db-0b23c2d7c701">Re: Sharing school supplies?</a>:
[QUOTE]what the what. i know that one of the teachers in grade school had his own supplies and he would sell them to students if they forgot anything.  pencils were $0.10; pens were $0.25. 
Posted by hmonkey[/QUOTE]

We had a pencil machine in the hallway that took a dime for two plain pencils or a quarter for two super cool sparkley pencils.  For kids living in the middle of nowhere with few shopping opportunities, those pencil boxes were the coolest thing ever when they were installed.  The shiny pencils I bought out of that machine were just about my most precious possessions when I was in the 3rd grade. 

katorigasuki

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_sharing-school-supplies?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:47Discussion:e7f66f3b-8385-4415-bce7-c2497804664ePost:635cc532-7385-4209-9cd8-dc56c8125e98">Re: Sharing school supplies?</a>:
[QUOTE]Here's the kiddo's supply list: 4 glue sticks 1 box 24-count crayons 1 box colored pencils 60 pencils 1 pair scissors 1 12” plastic ruler (with cm and inches) 1 spiral bound notebooks (1 subject) (wide ruled) 2 pkgs 100-count lined notecards (3 x 5) 4 pkgs 3 x 3 post-it notes 1 art box 8 dry erase markers (any color) 1 5-subject notebook with pocket dividers 2 pkg cap erasers 1 dry erase eraser 10 2-pocket folders (4 green, 2 red, 2 yellow, 2 blue), prefer plastic 2 large boxes of tissues Boys: 1 box Ziploc quart size bags Girls: 1 box Ziploc gallon size bags Please do not write student’s name on items.
Posted by mrs.conn23[/QUOTE]

why do girls need a gallon ziplock bag, and boys only need a quart?  SEXIST!!!!