Around here, the district makes the lists, not the teachers. I'm sure they have input, but if all the teachers at schools with white boards need dry erase markers, and all the teachers at schools with chalkboards need chalk, both end up on the list. Even if your child's school doesn't have a chalkboard, you buy chalk. Does it get sent to the other school? Nope. It gets thrown away. Same with the dry erase markers at the other schools. It's absolutely ridiculous. This subject actually came up last night at work. The girl I was with is 19. She was a "have-not" in school and thinks the socialist (her word) school system is ideal. She said, "what makes your kid better than me just because you can afford a cooler pencil? If everyone can't have a cool pencil, no one should." She went on to say that the idea that anyone have better stuff is not fair and unacceptable. She said if the whole world worked like public school, everyone would be equal and happy. When I asked what about those of us who truly work harder than others (shouldn't we be rewarded?!) she said it was simply our duty to pull the load for those who did not. Unfortunately, this is exactly the sort of mentality public school, whether intentionally or not, breeds. The age-old retort of "life isn't fair" is no longer acceptable. Life MUST be fair. Teacher said so, so the politicians must make it so. No one should be allowed to excel because that's just not fair! When I asked her about the fact that any government that spiraled to socialism resulted in miserable people, her response was that as long as everyone was equally miserable, that was just fine with her. Scary.
I remember being in school and working problems on the board all the time. (So we would have used the markers ourselves too, had we been using dry erase boards in 2nd & 3rd grade. - By the time I was in 4th grade, all of the boards were changed over to dry erase though.) I remember markers CONSTANTLY running out too. It seemed every day at least one marker was tossed out. I can definitely understand why teachers/schools would want some of these things supplied by the students now. I mean, their pay and budgets for classroom supplies isn't increasing by any means. And personally, I feel like that's a better way to get it than forcing the whole nation (50%+ that don't have children in school using those markers) to pay for them. And I think it should be the responsibility of the parents anyway, just another sense of making your child's education the parents' responsibility.
What??? Really???? Hmm I guess you can chalk it up to her being nineteen. Let her work hard a few more years and then check back in with her. I am sure her tune will have changed.
No, I doubt it. She grew up in an entitlement society. Those that have are responsible to "take care" of those that have not. That's why they want to increase taxes on "the rich", because it's not fair that they have so much when so many have little or nothing. I don't mind helping people out that need it, but I don't like supporting those who feel they have RIGHT to what they didn't earn, nor do I feel the government has the right to steal from me to give to them.
I agree that she will probably never outgrow this mindset. She even said that we would never agree because of our different generations. She said that her generation just has a different outlook on life; that they are not satisfied with 'unfair.' I agreed with that, while making no attempt to hide that I thought her generation was wrong. lol.
But my tax dollars increase annually and it's my tax dollars that fund their education. Up until this year I have sent in everything asked for from the lists and when the emails with "stocking stuffer" ideas come in at Christmas time for more paper, pens, pencils, etc it kind of chaps my hide a bit. You asked me for 40 pencils, I sent you 60 why don't you have enough? Oh !! Because little Johny didn't send his supplies in and I have to supply him as well. Johny's mommy got a cheque from Welfare in September to buy his school supplies, what did she use it on instead of supplying what he needed for school?
Little Johnny's mom probably also took him to three different charity drives to get new backpacks full of school supplies.
This is my point with the school supply lists. The teachers feel "entitled" to having the parents provide all classroom supplies without regard to their feelings on the matter. I would be more than happy to donate to a teacher's supplies because I understand their dilemma, HOWEVER I do not like being told that I must supply the teacher with extra supplies for the students who don't supply themselves and for her supplies as well. Give me the option to be gracious and helpful and you'll likely get more! Give me a list 2 pages long that I have to supply first thing in the beginning of the year and I may provide it, but don't ask me for anything else the rest of the year because I just spend 150.00 on your start up supplies! I refuse, to give other people's children supplies when the majority of them are just too lazy to go out and buy them, or too cheap to spend the money for their child. If someone is genuinely in need then I will happily help IF asked, but that is just me. I don't like being told I have to supply this and that and the other so that little Suzie has supplies that her mommy won't buy because she thinks the school should provide it along with the "free" babysitting service.
I understand Birbitt. When our church was collecting money to buy school supplies to give away, I donated. But if our district demanded I give the same amount I did, I would have resisted.
I agree. But, What do you tell the child whose parent didn't send any supplies? "Sorry, but your mom didn't send you any crayons, so you can't color your picture today."
You have a bin of the 'old' crayons for the child to use. Embarrassed? Oh well. I know that sounds harsh, but it's reality. OR You find odd jobs the child can do to earn their own crayons (pick up trash in the lunch room, etc). But really, if mom knew little Johnny wouldn't be entitled to a new pack of someone else's crayons, mom would be more inclined to send them in the first place.
This is what I think too Amie! If mom knows that her child won't be provided free supplies from those who do take the time and money to buy supplies she'll be more likely to buy supplies for her child, even if it's only the basics and the cheaper brands. Again, if teachers would save crayons from years past then there would be a box of leftover crayons that child could color with. If the child is upset enough about not having a new box of crayons all to himself then he will go home and tell mom and maybe then mom will go purchase his supplies.
But on the flip side of the coin, the child loses out because of the irresponsible parent... not a win win situation by any means.
There will NEVER be a win-win situation. Either parents are responsibile for their kids or not. But STOP requiring others (who are doing their darndest to make ends meet!) take responsibility for other people's kids!!! Again, I don't have a problem with teachers asking for parents to donate an extra box of crayons or pencils or whatever, but it needs to be VOLUNTARY. Talk with the local churches if there's a problem. I'm sure many of them would be willing to set a collection box in their foyer to take donations to give to the local school, and let the school pass them out.
Jackie, I need a LIKE button!!! That is exactly right, it will never be perfect situation, but I as a mother should only be held responsible for my children!
There really are moms who do NOT care about little Johnny. Like I mentioned, the elementary school I went to for a while was really bad, there were quite a few poor kids, like one girl who had a chewed up pencil and a sliver of an eraser. Forget colors and other stuff. And me sitting next to her with my fancy pencil box choking with things. She'd ask me and my friends for stuff, and sometimes we'd lend her, and sometimes we wouldn't. I agree with all the other posters who said it should be an optional thing, but unfortunately many parents figure, well, if we dont have to give, we wont. So they would end up with not enough supplies to go around. I dont blame the teachers, I've seen how much they give out of pocket. My son's kindergarten teacher last year would take a few extra sandwiches from her own home every time we went on a field trip, because there were always a few kids whose moms packed a candy bar, or just a water bottle, or not any lunch at all!!!!!!!!! While I dont agree with that 19 yr old's socialist view, there is still the problem of what to do with the children of these parents.
Samuel L. Blumenfeld thinks so too. I've been posting on Facebook lots of quotes from him and from John Taylor Gatto, and lots of others. There's a group, too, called "Government Schools Destroy Children's Minds" (or something very close to that) that posts tons of evidence that it's TRUE that the Progressives from the turn of the last century, the NEA, etc., have done and are doing their very best to turn public schools into socialist regimes, to suit children NOT to be educated or think for themselves but to be happy little worker bees, cogs in the global machine. Rockefeller is quoted as saying that he didn't want thinkers, he wanted workers, and he is a founder of the NEA. You can find a decade or so of the Blumenfeld Education Letter online. I encourage everybody to find them and read them...
I've read Gatto's book. Very interesting! Which is why they are so against homeschooling. HS'ers are taught to THINK and QUESTION, not just blindly accept. They are also (generally) taught that PERSONAL FREEDOM is a GOOD thing.
I'm curious where you found this fact. Do you realize that socialist countries like Canada or uber socialist countries like Sweden rank high on the happiness index?
