School supplies socialism makes for an angry village

This is a communication issue.

When I was teaching, the grade level teachers put out a supply list as a group so that no child was having to duplicate supplies. There were community items (paper towels and tissue and paper/pencils) and we asked for donations of specific items for that school year that went beyond basics.

School supply lists went home at the end of the previous school year and were sent out again before the new school year. Anyone who needed assistance was asked to contact the school or the team leader.

We had parents who thought communal items weren't fair. We never argued with them. They were few in number. Most of our families were working poor and generous beyond belief when they were able, and even when they weren't able.

When I hear people gripe about school supplies and sharing now, I cringe a bit and usually bite my tongue. Everyone's child loses or forgets pencils/pens or doesn't bring paper to class (or the proper textbook - and lost damaged books are a whole other can of worms). I had one child whose nose dripped constantly and on a good day could clean me out of tissue. I once had to tell my students mid year that unless someone generously donated more tissue, we would all be wiping our noses on our sleeves (and this was after I had spent a good deal of money restocking my tissue supply myself).

I don't know of a school district that wouldn't take income issues into account where supplies or fees are concerned, and feel that this issue is too small to get upset about. As a parent, I buy supplies, fundraiser items that I wouldn't use, order from the Scholastic to help the classroom teacher build points to buy trade books, and basically fork over whenever I am asked. No one forced me to have a child. Her education has to be funded and some of this funding is going to have to come from me. I think it might be in the contract somewhere.

This is not a big deal. 

As long as it is known up front that the supplies are communal, I would have no problem with purchasing the supplies.  I agree that to take away items that were purchased for my child specifically & then just randomly handing them out would be wrong.  I'm more than happy to send in extras if that means that children that would otherwise go without have supplies. 

I have no problem buying supplies and sharing - of course I would like to have the choice in this.  In our county, pencils, glue, rules, folders etc. are not communal items- each is his own.  Local churches and community groups have widely publicized "supply raisers" for the less fortunate and we enjoy participating.  BUT kleenex, wipes, dry erase markers (yep), bandaids and hand sanitizer are communal - writing the student's name on the item does not work.  I WAS bothered when the five 2nd grade classes all required each student to bring a box of bandaids (I guess to supply the whole school K4 - 5th grade).  I sent a partial box. I have quit sending kleenex after having done so the past two years and when my children did have a cold there were no tissues to be had.  One teacher actually told my child to wipe his nose on his shirt.  I now buy the individual packages and send only when my children need them. I truly believe most people do not mind helping the less fortunate families, but would truly appreciate being a part of that decision.

I'm pretty happy with the way our school district handles school supplies.  In elementary school, in the lower grades, crayons and glue sticks are communal, but notebooks, scissors and such are individual.  Things like hand sanitizer and tissues are listed in some way, and whoever wants to bring them in can.  For example, one teacher wrote things like this on popsicle sticks and left them out on info night.  This makes it so those who don't mind contributing do, and those who can't or won't, don't.  And the kids get some things that are theirs.  I spend less than $100 on everything we need, including for my high schooler (which is where the majority of the money goes). 

 I do think I would be upset if every item I bought was communal and I wasn't told up front.  But I also understand that not every child is given the resources they need, and that somehow that has to be handled.

mamalang

Daisy, I think I was pretty clear about my position here; my objection is to taking away and redistributing items thought to be personal property. Just because I report on people who might feel differently doesn't mean that their opinion is mine. I'm one of the people bringing in extra supplies -- I'm well aware that teachers are spending their own money and that lots of kids are going without through no fault of their own.

Part of the reason I chose to cover this is because unclear communication (which seems to be the case when items are taken away without prior explanation) makes everyone defensive and makes the problem worse, I'm sure, because then parents feel justified in insisting that they will only supply their children and no one else's.

--
Mir Kamin
(BlogHer Mommy & Family contributing editor)

Personal: Woulda Coulda Shoulda ( http://wouldashoulda.com/ )

Having it all with less: Want Not ( http://wantnot.net/ )

In a perfect world, all children would have the supplies they needed, schools would be fully funded, and teachers wouldn't need to care about brand names.

In the real world, my classroom windows are either stuck open or closed because we're on the low end of the maintenance project list due to lack of funds. My students vary from children of wealthy business owners to children living in the homeless shelter; some have Hannah Montana, and some have nothing. 

In this world, PTAs often contract with businesses that provide boxes of school supplies as a convenience: for a price. Those businesses require the school write its supply list by specifying brand, size, and color of every notebook, pen, scissors, glue stick and pencil. The words "or" and "optional" are not allowed.

I'm grateful to the individuals who brought in a shopping bag of extra supplies at Open House because I can provide new crayons for kids who don't own any. I can make sure that the kids who need notebooks get them now. White board markers? We've wanted to request that children bring one or two, only to find the smallest packs contained four. I have a classroom set of individual whiteboards (purchased out of my own pocket) that students use with their own markers. The whiteboard erasers didn't cost anyone money; they're my children's old mismatched socks.

Mir, you know I love you, but this post hurts. It cuts me to the heart. Making up a supply list is one of many difficult parts of my job. All the comments accusing teachers of "socialism"? Walk a mile in my shoes, people. Better yet, open my classroom windows.

Daisy

...we dont have to buy suppllies-yet. What the teachers do, though, is put the supplies that they need on post it notes on the door for back to school night. As you go in or out you can take one that fits your budget, or not if you can't. It seems to be a great way for parents to contribute if they can. I have a problem with asking for supplies for the 'pot' but not making that clear at the beginning.

Great article, Mir!

I think it is the school's job to provide all supplies.  Most of all it is not the teachers' job.  I can only speak for my own school district which I also worked for after I graduated and the waste of tax payers' money is unbelievable.  I have seen entire rooms of discarded computers that they have no idea what to do with. (Computers that still work). 

The schools are government run and it is their job to provide the materials to carry out their mandate.  Imagine if you went to your lawyer's office and he asked you to bring some toner for the printer in addition to paying his bill. 

I would probably buy cheap no name stuff for my kids (even if wasn't communal) and I wouldn't mind sharing with the other kids.  But I sure as hell would walk down to the administrator's office and give him/her an earful.

 I don't think your comment really addresses the issue, though.  

People aren't complaining about the cost of the school supplies or all the STUFF that's necessary. Rather, they are complaining that the items they pay for are given to other students, rather than used by their children alone. 

Personally, I don't have a problem with communal items AS LONG AS THEY ARE INDICATED as such, and I think each child should have some personal items of his/her own if possible as well as that communal well. When public finances run short, I have no problem with a teacher asking for parents who can afford it to pitch in and help. But it should be in an above-board, "Here's where the money/stuff is going," kind of way.

~Viv

www.coolmomsrule.blogspot.com ( http://www.coolmomsrule.blogspot.com )

My older son is in a multiage class, so he has the same teacher as last year, and the same school supply list with one exception - the pencil box that he kept all his supplies in last year.

In one year they had gone from having their own personal tools to a community supply bin. I was taken aback at first by the idea of dumping all the supplies I just bought, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. With our community the practice is less likely to be about the idea that other families can't afford supplies and more to reduce the bickering and the competitiveness.

Tigger was able to keep the folders he had picked out, so the one thing that was truly a personal selection remained with him. I think that's a good policy.

Except for the folders, none of the supplies leaves the classroom, so nobody loses anything. It also teaches the kids that to put things away when they are done with them.

-Lisse

@ Home in the World ( http://homeintheworld.typepad.com )

For Kindergarten it was 12.50.

They all get glue and scissors and pens and crayons..

They keep these at their desk I think....then they can have any of their own stuff too on top of that.

If you can't afford, you don't pay.

While I miss buying all the stuff...I think this is probably the fairest and would NEVER want the stuff I gave special to my kid to be spread around unless I said so!

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As a former US teacher, I may get in trouble for my opinion. Ahem! Here it comes! US kids and parents are forced to bring in many items that we never had to bring to school back in the good ole' days. However, back in the day . . . hygiene and material goods were simply primitive! Water and brown paper towels cleaned hands, and - only avaiable in bathrooms and the cafeteria. You don't want to know the PRIMITIVE way that the janitor handled a case of vomiting in my elementary school. No disinfectant wipes for runny noses, much less paper tissues were in our classes. Today parents WANT their children to have tissues, wet ones, and disinfectants available within arm's reach. What about art supplies back in the 60s and 70s? Notebook paper and crayons were all I had. Now, we  have markers, highlighters, water colors, poster paint, etc. Sorry, the fault doesn't lie with the school or the caught-in-the-crossfire teacher. It's our culture that demands more and more STUFF.

As a former US teacher, I may get in trouble for my opinion. Ahem! Here it comes! US kids and parents are forced to bring in many items that we never had to bring to school back in the good ole' days. However, back in the day . . . hygiene and material goods were simply primitive! Water and brown paper towels cleaned hands, and - only avaiable in bathrooms and the cafeteria. You don't want to know the PRIMITVE way that the janitor handled a case of vomiting in my elementary school. No disinfectant wipes for runny noses, much less paper tissues were in our classes. Today parents WANT their children to have tissues, wet ones, and disinfectants available within arm's reach. What about art supplies back in the 60s and 70s? Notebook paper and crayons were all I had. Now, we  have markers, highlighters, water colors, poster paint, etc. Sorry, the fault doesn't lie with the school or the caught-in-the-crossfire teacher. It's our culture that demands more and more STUFF.

I agree with the person who commented that communal school supplies are OK, as long as parents know that beforehand and can shop accordingly.  I can remember carefully selecting notebooks and folders as a kid to get the ones with the cutest pictures, and etc.  I would have been heartbroken if my teacher had taken them away from me when I got to school.  On the other hand, if you know it's going to be communal when you pick it out, it doesn't seem like such a big deal.

www.mybitofearth.net ( http://www.mybitofearth.net )

I just sent my fifth grader back to school. I like the idea of school lists, personalized to each individual teacher's specifications. This year because of tight funds I unfortunately found myself shopping in the "day before school opens" crush of parents and kids but my child got to pick out her cutesy stuff. My daughter's supplies are for her own use (her name is on everything including glue sticks and calculator) but I know the paper towels and 2 reams of copy paper, sanitizer, wipes etc go into a communal pot. I'm okay with that. However, if I found out that my kid's stuff was taken away and passed out amongst the class--I would go ballistic and I'm sure they would ban me from her school. I don't think that is happening here. If there is full disclosure up front when the lists are mailed out I think enough parents would be okay with it. I would rather just buy extra notebooks, pencils tcand give to the teacher to pass out to children that show up with nothing (and I know that happens. Some children show up with no lunch or money to buy lunch).

When I walked into my sons K class with the 3 boxes of 24 crayons (Yes I bought crayola, they were a whole $.26 at Walmart) I was a bit ticked to see a large container of crayons from last year, we are talking 100's of crayons here in a rubbermaid container!  I was a bit upset, after buying the neccessary dry erase markers (yes for Kindergarten) that the teacher had plenty left over from last year!  Communal pot okay- but why I am buying supplies my son's class doesn't even need?

Well the reasoning- our school district has for our "convenience" school packs, which has all said listed supplies in a "convenient" box for the "convenient" low price of $70!  More supplies=more money for the school.  How "convenient"   

~Susan                                                                                                                   

http://lilmomthatcould.com/

my son just started 8th grade and this is the first year that I have not spent over 100 dollars on supplies.  I guess by the 8th grade kids quit needing so many baby wipes, bleach wipes and tissues.  I only needed ONE pack of papertowels (for the office) and 2 boxes of tissues in addition to his regular supplies.

I write his name on absolutely EVERYTHING with the sharpies he is required to buy-may as well put them to good use before they become community property.

I don't mind buying extras of many items and donate them to the school.  I live in a community where there are haves and have nots and I don't mind giving the extra bargins I find to the school to get to the kids who are less fortunate- or who's parents "refuse" to participate.  Middle school is a tough business and anything that makes life easier for any child during those years is worth the extra bucks to me.

Molly

www.thegirlinthemiddle.com/blog ( http://www.thegirlinthemiddle.com/blog )

Disclosure: former teacher, but high school,not elementary.  I just commented about this when a local blogger complained about the exact same thing.  To me, it's a lot of commotion about really nothing.

This dilemma seems to be quite an appropriate metaphor for what divides Americans right now. 

I think that communal supplies are an excellent idea, and that doesn't make me a pinko.  Having communal supplies ensures that all students will have supplies at hand should they need them (not just poor--all kids run out of things from time to time) AND eliminates competitive behavior over insignificant, trivial things like crayons.  There's already enough competition over material things like clothes.  Teachers need one less thing to point out class differences among students. When everyone has what they need, kids can compete over things that actually matter, like grades or activities.

I don't think teachers should request brand-name items, and I think the lists should be modest--I understand parents' frustration with extensive lists.  I think teachers should be up front with how the supply system works in their classroom so parents can spend accordingly. I also don't think teachers should have to spend their own money on supplies.  Period.

My gut tells me that they are pencils and notebooks.  They are nothing to get this worked up over.  If we teach our kids that they shouldn't share the most trivial of items, that's going to stay with them.  I'd rather raise kids with cooperation, sharing, and, most of all, perspective that paper is paper.  Pencils are pencils.  They're not worth fighting over.  If you desperately want your kid to have the deluxe box of Crayolas, let them have it--at home.