Mamacita says:
School will be starting soon – or maybe it already has – for most kids, and each year at about this time I like to re-run this post about an issue that really, really makes me want to kill somebody and put his/her head on a post in the WalMart parking lot bothers me a lot: community supplies in the classroom.
When I was a little kid, one of my favorite days of the year (besides Christmas Day) was the day the newspaper posted the list of required school supplies, and Mom took us to Crowder’s Drug Store to buy them.
I loved looking at that list, and Mom always let me be the one who got to put the little checkmark beside the items as we put them in our basket.
Prang paints. Check. Paint pan. Check. Rectangular eraser. Check. Blunt-tipped scissors. Check. Etc. Check.
On the first day of school, I loved bringing my beautiful shiny school supplies into my new classroom, and I loved arranging them all inside my desk. I loved to look inside my desk and just savor the sight: all those cool things I could draw with and paint with and write with. . . and they were mine, all mine, and nobody else could touch my things unless I gave them permission. Me. I was the boss of my desk things. I took such pride in my school supplies, and mine were usually still looking pretty good even at the end of the year. They were mine, you see, and I had a vested interest in them; therefore, I took pains to take care of them. Back then, down in lower elementary, the school supplied only the special fat pencils and the weird orange pens.
When my own children were little, I looked forward to Buying School Supplies Day with just as much delight as I did when I was a little kid. New binders. New pencils. And the most fun of all, choosing the new lunchbox. My own children loved the new school supplies, too. I think it is of vital importance that all children have their own school supplies; it is the beginning of them learning the pride of possession and the importance of caring for one’s own things in order to keep them for any length of time.
It’s not like that in many schools nowadays. I learned, to my horror and dismay, that many teachers do not allow their students to have their own supplies now; the little sack of a child’s very own things is taken from the child on that first day, and dumped into the community pot for all the kids to dip into and out of. There are no “my scissors,” there is only a rack or box of scissors for everyone. “Look, there are the scissors I picked out at Walmart; my name is engraved on them; I wish I could use them but they’re so cool, other kids grab them first every time. . . .” There are no more personalized pencils or a child’s favorite cartoon character pencils to use and handle carefully; there is only a big on chewed-on germ-covered pencils grabbed at and used by everybody in the room.
And since nothing belongs to anybody, who cares about taking good care of them?
I fully understand that the community pot of supplies is much easier for a teacher to control. I wasn’t, however, aware of the fact that teacher convenience was any kind of issue here. I taught in the public schools for 26 years and I never expected things to happen for the convenience of me; that wasn’t why I was there.
I fully understand, too, that some children’s little sack of supplies won’t be as individualized or cool as another child’s sack of supplies. I know for a sad fact that some children will never have their own little sack of supplies, at least, not one brought from home. That’s life; that should not even be an issue. Some children’s shoes aren’t as cool, either; do we throw shoes in a box and let the kids take pot luck with those, too? I understand that in some classrooms, a child’s packed lunch is sometimes taken apart and certain things confiscated or distributed, lest some child have a treat that another child doesn’t have. When my kids were in grade school, my mother would occasionally stop by at lunch time with a Happy Meal for them – and for me! – and I was told this had to stop because other children didn’t have that option. Well, you know what, my children were often envious of another child’s dress or shoes or lunch or cool pen, but I would never have tried to ensure that other children would never be able to have anything my own kids couldn’t have. Good grief. Such insanity!
Teachers should keep an eye out for those kids who don’t have supplies, and the school should supply them, but after that point, they become the child’s own and he/she should be required to take good care of them, just as any and every kid should be required to take care of his/her things. Children who take good care of their things should not be required to supply children who had their own things but didn’t take care of them properly. As a little child, I was horrified at the thought, and as a parent, I’m even more horrified. It was like a reward for being negligent! Every year, I donate tons of school supplies to my neighbor’s children’s school; I’m delighted to do this, and I recommend this to all of you. Perhaps, if schools have enough donated supplies, our little children will be allowed to keep their very own supplies once again.
When I was a child, I had very little that was my very own. Everything that was supposedly mine was expected to be shared with anybody else in the house that wanted it at any given moment. But at school? In my desk, in my very own desk, were things that were inviolably mine, and I can not even describe for you the sensations that went through me when I looked at those things that my teacher had ruled were mine and only mine. Kids who violated another kid’s desk were quite properly labeled ‘thieves,’ and they soon learned what happens when a person put his hands on property that was not rightfully theirs.
Things are very different now. I hate it. The rare teacher who takes the time and trouble to allow his/her students to have their own things is often castigated by the other teachers who are taking the easy ‘community property’ route. Kids are sharing more than gluesticks and pencils, too; I don’t even want to THINK about the incredible pot-o-germs they’re dipping into daily. Gross. My child using a pencil some other child gnawed? I guess so, because teachers who don’t want to bother with a child’s private property are forcing the kids to dump it all in the pot for everybody to use. “Don’t be selfish.” “Share.” Well, you know what? I don’t like that kind of forced sharing. I had to share everything, EVERYTHING, and that little pile of school supplies was my only private stash of anything. I do not feel it was selfish, or is selfish, to want to keep school supplies that were carefully chosen, to oneself. Children who have their own things learn to respect the property of other children. Children with no concept of personal property tend to view the world as a buffet of free, unearned delights awaiting their grasping, grabbing hands. Both tend to grow into adults with the same concepts learned as children.
This business of everything being community property in the classroom causes problems in the upper levels, too. Junior high, high school, even college students, are expecting things to be available for them without any effort on their part. Upper level students come to class without pencils, erasers, paper, etc, because they’re used to having those things always available in some community bin somewhere in the room. They have never been required, or allowed, to maintain their own things, and now they don’t know how to. The stuff was always just THERE, for a student to help himself to. And now that they are supposed to maintain their own, they really don’t know how. Plus, why should they? HEY, I need a pencil, Teach, gimme one. No, not that one, that other one there. Indeed,
Well, it worked down in the lower grades, with community property. You just get up and help yourself; everything in this room is for me, ain’t it? Gimme that pretty one, I want it.
But guess what, kids, it’s evil enough down in the lower grades, but it doesn’t, or shouldn’t, work at all when you hit the upper grades. I’d like to have a penny for every hand that tried to help itself to things on my desk, because, well, they were there. I’ve even had students who opened my desk drawers, looking for supplies. Not poor kids who didn’t have any; just a kid who didn’t bring any and expected everything to be supplied because, well, down in the elementary, everything WAS.
Oh good grief, teachers, let the little kids keep their own things, put their names on them, and learn how to be responsible for them. Secondary teachers and future employers will greatly appreciate it.
I know that in some cases, it’s not the individual teacher’s decision – it’s a corporate mandate. This is even more evil. It’s like a national plot to make future generations needy and dependent and reliant on others to fulfill all their needs. And don’t we already have more than enough of THOSE people?
Let me sum up, as Inigo Montoya would say: Community school supplies are wrong on every possible level. Period.
Parents, if I were you – and I am one of you – I’d buy the community bin stuff at the Dollar Tree instead of the overpriced educational supplies store in the strip mall that the school supplies newsletter instructs you to patronize. Send them to school and let them be dumped into the bins for mass consumption and germ sharing. Then you and your children go shopping and pick out the good stuff. If your school informs you that it’s against their policy for any of the children to have their own supplies, you inform the school that you don’t give a rat’s ass about such a policy; you did your chipping in and now you’re seeing to it that your children have their very own stuff and that you expect your children’s very own stuff to harbor no germs except your own children’s germs, which will be considerable, but that’s another topic. What’s more, if your children come home and tell you that their very own supplies are not being respected and are in fact being accessed by others without permission of their rightful owners, you should high-tail it to that classroom and raise bloody hell.
I am happy to see to it that all of the children in the room have adequate supplies, but I can’t stress strongly enough that each child needs and deserves to have his/her very own personal private stash of supplies that nobody else can ever touch.
Do I seem overly obsessed about this topic? Darn right. The very concept of community school supplies makes me so furious I become incoherent. Which is apparently happening right now so. . . .
Finally, someone who understands me!! I, too, taught for 19 years and let the students keep their own supplies!! If any student didn’t have supplies then I provided them myself. I always had the healthiest class because we weren’t spreading germs like crazy!!
This subject totally pisses me off my child was forced to leave his shoe with the teacher today one the 1st day of school because he did not have a pencil. My wife and I bought all his supplies and even marked everything including notebooks with his name on it and subject. I feel as this is a version of theft from the kids. You could almost call this a form of communism. So today I pulled out some personalized pencils from last year and told my son to go to class and hold the pencil up and say ” TEACHER I GOT MY PENCIL” gotta love Van Halen
I am a teacher and a parent. I understand both sides of the issue. I do both individual and community supplies. Those students who have their own supplies keep them in their cubbies. Only supplies needed for daily work are kept in their desks. Those who don’t have supplies borrow from the community bin. These bins are filled with used supplies from the year before or new supplies I have purchased. At the end of the year, students pack up their supplies and take them home or they donate them to the community supplies.
I hate the community box. I end up buying for both my child and little extra for the class(they can have the cheap stuff). I’m tired of hearing well some kids parents can’t afford them. So we take and give to them as well. That’s fine but when I see kids on the first day whom didn’t bring anything. Like not at all parents didn’t even try. Screw that! I’m going to be honest. As of right now I’m a single mom living with my mother and I am doing side jobs as a means of money for the time being. I may babysit or do yard work. Whatever it takes. I manage to get up and spend well over $200 on Every thing on that list for school and home. Not included New clothes and shoes. Which is it just me are are they asking for 10 times more crap!? One teacher asked for batteries one year. Why? My son was in kindergarten. What are y’all needed that for? Of course I didn’t buy them. Anyways, So please tell me how any parent can’t afford it!? I can.. never once do I ask for any help with paying for it. He’s my child it’s my responsibility to provide for him, no one else’s. So I’ll ask again What’s your excuse!?
I’ve been teaching for three years at an urban school and I do community supplies. Considering that I buy 70% of our supplies, all of our paper, a third of our curriculum, so you bet your bottom dollar I’m asking the parents to buy school supplies to share because I just can’t do it all and pay my own bills. My school can’t even buy books for the kids to learn how to read out of they are definitely not buying the pencils either then. There is also no reason to spend $100s of dollrs on school supplies, $20 at the dollar store will suffice.
I don’t like the idea of community supplies for just the reasons that are stated here. Germs being one of the major reasons. I will never forget when my daughter was in the 5th grade, she was told she had to do a dinosaur shoebox scene in class. I bought sand, rocks, plastic dinosaurs, plastic trees, and a lot of other stuff for the project; and spent over $25. Because it was to be done in class, she had to take all the supplies to school.
She came home with the project and told me that she had some of the supplies left over, but her teacher took them away from her and gave them to other kids for their projects.
I’m sorry, but if she was going to do that, she should have asked me if it was ok first. I am the one who spent the money on the stuff, not her and not the parents of the other kids.
Teacher, here…
I have been doing the “community supplies” for kindergarten and first grade for years and it was good and bad. We had a scissors bin with scissors in it because the supply manager from each table made sure they went back in. However, all of the crayons were broken because some kids are just destructive and don’t care.
Last year, I moved up to fourth grade and thought I’d let students keep their own things at their desks. Big mistake! Many spent hours upon hours sharpening pencils in their desks and dropping shavings everywhere. Drawing instead of working. Coloring with markers when I said NO MARKERS. Students took their things home until they had nothing left and others just helped themselves to their neighbors things. It was a disaster. 1/3 of the way into the year I was replacing all of the supplies. Some students didn’t even bother to bring them in the first time and now they were getting second helpings. 🙁
My plan this year is to go back to a sort of community supplies where everything students need is in a covered bin and it is only shared by about 5 students. Now I’m thinking about the germs… Maybe I will make each one a gallon bag of things within the bin so that I can see who’s not being responsible. They cannot have unsupervised access though because these students will take them home or destroy everything.
I understand some things are special so perhaps I will make ‘homework supply bags’ with items students can take home to complete homework assignments and projects. Every week kids come in with math done in INK saying they didn’t have a single pencil in the house. >:(
I am one for own supplies. I’m thinking about how you went to fourth grade and tried to do it different then community supplies. Perhaps, because your students were so used to community that it will take sometime for transitioning. Growing up, I had my own supplies. I and all of my former classmates took care of our own supplies. There were rules too in which we all would follow. Every classroom had a sharpener screwed into the wall. You would sharpen your pencils before school or before the lesson began. They probably don’t have those nifty sharpeners around anymore but maybe getting one electronic one so the kids can quickly sharpen and get to work. I know growing up, teachers wouldn’t even let it be an option for students to be messing around with those Chinzy sharpeners while learning.
Drawing instead of working. There needs to be a rule in place that you don’t open your school supply box unless you are told to. If they do then there will be consequences. Your clip on the clip chart gets moved down or a negative on dojo.
What legal authority are you using to appropriate others personal property? How do you avoid violating state laws on theft?
I don’t like community property because my son get sick every time he uses community property. When I requested he don’t used the community property just his own supplies. He stopped getting sick. I want him to be able to use the supplies I paid for. I think its unhealthy and spread germs because kids put everything in their mouth. Kids can keep their own property. That is what a pencil box and pencil pouch is for.
My husband and I both work full time. We work hard for our money and I’ll be damned if the pencils and notebooks that I buy for my children are taken away for other kids to use. Tell their parents to save some money or buy a little at a time. Hit up the Dollar Tree or something. Take some responsibility for your own kids.
I don’t owe anyone help, it’s sink or swim. If youcan’t afford school supplies it’s your own fault.
Hi, I am against community school supplies for all the reasons stated in other posts. But my biggest complaint is. Every year I buy all my daughters supplies and some extra for sharing. In hopes that my daughter won’t have to share her own supplies. It’s a huge list: SEVEN 2″ binders, FIVE 1″ binders, THREE packs of lined paper, etc.
I noticed during the course of the year. Only half those supplies were actually used by my daughter. I asked her where the other binders, markers , etc. were. Why isn’t she using them? She had no idea. She was in third grade. I didn’t expect her to really know.
She did mention that two of the students didn’t bring supplies to school and the teacher gave those two students some of “her supplies ” which looked like the other kids supplies. Hmm?
I also asked the name of the students and my daughter told me. After getting to know all the kids. One day we were running late and ran into one of the parents of the student without supplies. I was furious . They had a brand new pearl white Cadillac SUV. I assumed the reason the teacher gave free supplies to those students, was because they were very poor. Well I guess I was wrong.
Come the end of the year. When I observed a lot of the supplies I sent in were never used. I asked the teacher where they were and she just looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. REALLY?
This year I am keeping all my receipts, taking a photo of the big supplies and writing my daughters name on every one of them. Let’s see what happens when I confront this teacher at the end of this school year. I’m tired of being forced to be a charity giver. I donate enough supplies during the course of the year. I donate bath and body works hand soap, paper towels, tissues, diaper wipes all own my own . I also donate when asked for anything by the teacher. Life isn’t always fair, but this is ridiculous! Maybe if I can afford a new Cadillac SUV someday and I’m not driving a 8 year old Honda. I won’t get so upset. Thanks for letting me vent.
I am having the same dilemma, I know it has been 4 years but your story really hit home and would love to know what was the outcome at the end of the year when you labeled all your daughters supplies. Thank you for your honesty in todays climate with all the immigrants in which I live in an area greatly affected and a lot of kids do not come prepared for school and all the schools have a huge problem with supplying school supplies and because I want my kids to have their own supplies I am labeled a Trump lover or worse all because I don’t want to give away the shirt off my back. Yes I know I am exaggerating but that is how it feels with the looks I got at the last pat meeting. Anyways, enough of my venting I look forward to reading your ending/outcome to your story.
My daughter will be starting kindergarten this year and I don’t know which teacher she will have yet, so I can’t ask. As someone who worked as a substitute teacher during college, I can tell you that there are still many teachers even in kindergarten who allow students to have their own supplies. I have worked in kindergarten classes where kids didn’t sit at desks, but at tables and they each had their own pencil box where kept their own pencils, crayons and markers. If a student didn’t have a color they needed, they could go to the community pot. Each teacher found a creative way to allow students to keep their own stuff. I am 100% against forced community supplies. If I buy supplies for my child, they are her property and confiscating them for any other reason besides discipline is considered stealing in my book and I would treat it as such. If there are needy children in the class and the teacher asks for donations that is different and it would be my decision whether or not to donate. I don’t like problems, but we will see what happens this school year. I really don’t care what a teacher or anyone says, my child has a right to use and maintain her own supplies. I also refuse to allow my child to use any community supplies that are provided by the teacher or the school due to germs. I am perfectly willing to provide my child with whatever she needs for school assignments both in and out of school, so there shouldn’t be an issue. I pay taxes and my child is entitled to a public education and I as her mother have a right to govern what she can and cannot do.
Good God, I cannot believe the comments! I have taught for over 20 years in different states and I consider myself fortunate that I have never had parents who were so petty over pencils and crayons! The reason for having community supplies is simple — when it is time to write, or use scissors, glue stick, whatever — the kiddos can just take one and get to work. No searching through desks, pencil cases and the like. No borrowing, bargaining and trading with classmates to have the right supply. It’s so we can use precious instructional time for — wait for it — INSTRUCTION. So your little cherubs need their own special pencils, folders, what have you? Fine. Use ’em at home. Jeez!
I agree fully! I can either teach school or keep up with some kid’s “special” supplies. Buy special supplies for home.
You’re missing the point, Lynn. The idea is for kids to learn to keep up with their “special supplies” i.e. personal property on their own. That’s something that should be taught at home AND at school. Personal responsibility is a life skill that must be learned and reinforced. I’m pretty sure when you’re missing a pen you don’t just take one from a fellow teacher’s desk. And why not? Because you are responsible for yourself. Kids need to learn that in age appropriate ways a little bit at a time. I taught elementary school for 27 years. In my early days we didn’t do community supplies. I did utilize stickers though. “Everyone who shows me their crayons neatly put away gets a sticker. How fast can you do it?” Worked like a charm. One minute to hand out stickers, and on to the next activity.
Your judging parents who work hard to pay their bills and provide for their children, instead of chastising the ones who use the guise of being poor to not supply anything. Or to supply the teachers with supplies the School is supposed to be providing you. Isn’t that a little backwards here?
I’m in HR-your school has the responsibility to provide its staff with th work tools they need-toilet paper, Clorox wipes etc…is not our responsibility. Also, many teachers ask for large quantities and name brands! I have a niece and a daughter in elementary and MS. Crayons crayons, colorox wipes and putting them on a supply and not a wish list?
Then, many schools-like my kids, have the nerve to now say well you can’t buy something nice as a supply for your kid because it’s not fair since the others don’t have it. ???? So, it’s fair when I have to spend my money to buy supplies for other parents who don’t supply it. See, this is where many parents feel used. I was flat bottom poor when my kid was little- but I put money aside-bit by bit for diapers, wipes, and class parties her daycare had. Parents know every year when school begins. Why not put some money aside each paycheck to pay for the supplies?
The school system wants to create some utopia for children, which in the long run will hurt them-since people aren’t the same-instead of holding irresponsible parents accountable! I spent two years being a cash cow for my kids supplies, mid year supplies, snack, field trips etc…
You teachers don’t know parents financial responsibilities. I worked hard in school, went into debt in college to make a better life for myself and my family. I don’t mind helping others, but I don’t like being used or chastised by a school, or watch the same parents year in and year out not being told to contribute and have to be lectured as if we are the bad guys.
You are a huge part of the problem, not the solution. Having just spent $160 on supplies for three children in Elementary school, I have zero intention of supplying the entire class with the things their parents could not afford to buy. I own property and pay property taxes; a good portion of which go to the school district. You, nor others with your frame of mind, pay the doctor bills because my children get ill from little Johnny not washing his hands before touching things. It’s a matter of germs and financial responsibility lady, not pettiness. Maybe you should behave more God-like in the future; it may help you refrain from taking God’s name and using it in a manner outside the context intended. For being someone who claims to have taught for 20+ years, you should know that kid used in any form references a goat as young humans are considered children. If you cannot see the harm in forced community “sharing” to a child’s sense of self, responsibility of property, respect for others, and learning, you need to retire instead of fostering a sense of entitlement.
The concept of “community supplies” can actually help a child’s supplies last longer. A big example is notebook paper. Yes, I collect this. Left in a child’s desk, they will draw, pass notes,etc. So, when we need paper, the paper passer passes it out. Makes grading easier too. I can line 5 spelling papers up that have the same lines(wide, narrow, or college). You can’t do that if every paper is different. At the end of the year, if paper is left over, I send it home. Some kids feel quite free to waste “their” paper. Also, when they use it up, the teacher has to send notes and home they bring more. What about tissues? No school provides tissues. Do parents imagine we can leave out 20 boxes of tissues and their child will get a tissue from their box? Classrooms don’t work like that!
But if your a teacher how do you justify violating state laws for your convenience ? Our legal system takes a very strong stance on personal property and misappropriation. All it would take is one parent to make a stand and you could find your self in some hot water.
It is disheartening to read so many petty, selfish and frankly off topic remarks about, (shudder) sharing.
So many parents would benefit from your one hours in our shoes. Anything that contributes to smooth classroom management has the highest value. It’s the instruction, stupid!
My problem,and excuse me if this is petty,is that tax dollars (already collected) should supply needy children, not you and not parents. My kids last school was dilapidated and outdated with broken fountains and such. BUT… if you went to the administrative building, it was lus aND newly painted and everything automatic. Tell me,teacher, is this an appropriate use of tax dollars? For administration members who dont even have children in their building to have everything nice while you (and you know you do it) spitefully collect supplies from children when you knew they were for personal use and not for donations you’re forced to beg for because you’re pissed you have to buy them when they already should be paying you more than they do? Community supplies are disgusting as well. While I stress and beg my kid to wash her hands and stop biting her nails, I can’t physically make her when I’m not there. I’m on here because this is the second time she’s gotten pinworms and for those who don’t know, pinworms are a human parasite that are eaten by mouth or evendors inhaled, make their way to your colon, mature, and lay eggs in the area around your anus. These kids run around with unwashed or poorly washed hands after pooping and then share school supplies,get the eggs on their hands from one another and eat them and bring home an infection you don’t know exists until your whole house has been exposed and you have to eat poison (medicine) that makes your vomit and have bloody diarrhea. Then there was viral meningitis… Oh but excuse me I’m petty. SMH
Im glad i never did it in my class room but a friend did. Shenlost her job and was charged with theift of personal property.
Yeaaah…. no if my husband and I work our ass off to give my kids what they want for the year than I dont want that going into a school potluck. You want kids to have supplies? Go to their parents or the state not working parents
I CAN’T STAND having to buy school supplies that are then pooled into a common lot & doled out to the kids again. I think there are some supplies that are appropriate for this but those are things for the classroom itself, or the teacher. For example, I don’t mind supplying a box or two of Kleenex, dry erase markers or ziplock baggies for the teacher, & hand sanitizer. Those things are beneficial to all the kids & the teacher, & are not something my kid needs to have at her desk. In my first encounter with pooled supplies we received a school list saying each kid had to supply 60 sharpened pencils. 60!! My kid doesn’t use 60 pencils in a school year. And why sharpened? This is when my daughter explained to me that all the supplies are put together. So I thought ok, if I’m providing supplies to other peoples kids I’m not buying expensive stuff. I went to The Dollar Tree, bought 60 pencils, came home & began sharpening. Soon I discovered that cheap pencils don’t sharpen well, break often & end up being 3-4″ pencils!! I tossed those pencils away & bought Papermate brand pencils. Somewhat better sharpening results but not by much, maybe 5-6″ instead of 3. I kind of like perfect new supplies to start the school year off right. Who doesn’t? So I went to Staples & bought 60 Ticonderoga pencils, which sharpened beautifully! First day of school & I send my kids off with their 2 paper grocery bags full of school supplies. Beautiful, high quality brands. NOT ONCE did I see my kid with a Ticonderoga pencil in her hand that school year!! I was fuming mad! The next year the school list did specify that they had to be Ticonderoga pencils which made me happy. But I really disagree with the community supply concept. One year we bought all the stuff on the list & as someone mentioned previously, at the end of the year the surplus was divided among the kids & sent home. But most of what came home wasn’t equivalent to what I’d sent in in terms of quality.
I agree wholeheartedly with the belief that having one’s own school supplies teaches responsibility & respect for property, along with organizational skills. I’m not a brand name snob when I say I buy Ticonderoga & Crayola when others don’t. I buy the brands because the quality is far superior to the cheap ones. You don’t save anything when you have to buy a box of crayons 4 times a year because the cheap ones break really easily. To help the families who can’t afford everything needed to start the year I’d suggest the parents who can, be given a list of the basic needs for one kid, & putting together a kit of the needed items, then giving that kit to the teacher or office to provision out to a needy kid. Like was mentioned above, that supply box then becomes that child’s own, along with the responsibility of keeping thing in good order & cared for. If items are then lost or broken maybe that kid should have to “buy” replacements by doing extra tasks in the classroom (washing the whiteboards, assisting the teacher with some other task or maybe better, lose 5 minutes recess time-I bet it wouldn’t take long for a kid to start caring for their school supplies better if it means 5 less mins of recess time with friends!)
I am a first grade teacher and I wholeheartedly agree with your post. The first year I taught, I had my students use “community supplies” simply because all the other teachers were doing it that way, and I thought it was “just what we do.” Not more than a couple months passed before I realized that I couldn’t stand what was happening: responsible children were taking care of the supplies, but irresponsible children were ruining the supplies: breaking pencils, chewing on corners of notebooks, etc., etc., which was forcing the responsible students to use broken, chewed, and dirty supplies. Disgusting! This realization fell right in line with my own observations about life in general: people take care of the things they have ownership of or that they are held accountable for. I also felt the injustice that parents might feel by having the supplies that they had purchased used and abused by others. I went right out and bought 27 pencil boxes for my students, divided up the supplies, and labeled EVERYTHING so that each student had his/her very own set of supplies. Yes: even 6-year-olds can handle having personal supplies and ownership! Now I do this at the very beginning of each year so that each student starts the year with his/her own supplies that he/she brought from home. Everything is labeled, and every student is held accountable for how he/she treats his/her own supplies. And, just as you would suspect, I don’t have near the problems I had in the past with students abusing and mutilating school supplies. Another positive result to allowing the children to have their own supplies is that there are far fewer arguments over supplies. If it doesn’t have your name on it, no touching! If I have a few students who do not bring supplies, I buy a few inexpensive supplies for them myself, but I do not allow them to leech off other students’ supplies. I, too, have noticed that students who cannot afford supplies are somehow able to afford X-Box systems, tablets, and cell phones at home. I agree: the “community supplies” idea comes from the socialistic mentality that has been rapidly creeping into our culture. What ever happened to personal responsibility? And why does personal responsibility no longer apply to caring for the children you bring into the world? No one owes you a living. Or a pencil.
I wholeheartedly agree
This practice is a subtle early lesson in “collectivism” present in a socialist society. My kids do not participate in this pinko exercise. I proudly write their names on their supplies, and I demand they be returned if they are taken. If the teachers wants the conveniece of community supplies let them pay for it. Otherwise don’t steal my kids’ stuff.
Oh…& my husband works is a scientist and works on communicable diseases. He states that it is a very real concern about sharing school supplies and passing germs from child to child. It’s not just grosse but extremely unhealthy for our children. No wonder classrooms get sick in mass with the stomach viruses, flu, etc.
Has anyone found a solution to get our children back to having their own rightful school supplies? My Kindergartener is starting this year and I am appalled at the school supply demands. I completely agree that a child having their own personal supplies begins to teach the importance of personal responsibility and pride of ownership. We need to teach kids these lessons & kindergarten is a great place to start. But the pushback I’ve gotten from teachers on school forums has been downright nasty & I am searching for avenues to overcome the pushback and do what’s best for my child.
I’ll add another angle to it. Crayons are a lesson in life. Bear with me for a moment on this…..
There are 8 crayon kids, and there are 64 crayon kids. That’s life. I say that as someone who grew up as an 8 crayon kid. I did not expect the 64 crayon kids to give me some of their crayons. I knew that if I wanted to be a 64 crayon kid one day, I’d have to get off my duff and earn it myself.
When they did school t-shirts, I raked the neighbors leaves until I had enough to buy myself one. I learned early that not everyone gets the same, and you have to get out there and earn what you want. And that’s what I’ve done for 40 years since.
Well said Scott. Unfortunately our schools are not teaching kids that life is not always fair. Both my husband and I grew up with parents that lived on tight budgets when we were little (hoping the paycheck would hit before the grocery check cleared). But, NEVER did our families ask or take a handout. Sometimes my school supplies were recycled from years prior (even more incentive for me to take care of them). Now, my family does well financially and we look for opportunities to help disadvantaged…however, it’s hard to weed out from those just looking for a handout.
As a nurse, I am disturbed by the practice of communal school supplies. I find it ironic that schools can ban parents from sending peanut butter sandwiches in their children’s lunches so as not to risk a reaction in an allergic child, but they expect the whole class to share supplies. I suppose it will take the death of an allergic child from using a crayon previously used be a kid with peanut butter on his hands before teachers and parents put an end to it.
THANK YOU!!! My kid is a peanut butter allergic kid!!!
This topic is something that makes me irate! I cannot stand the liberal mentality here! Everything should NOT be a handout! I paid for those supplies and MY kids should use them! Here’s a letter I just submitted to my school and their response was “thanks for your email, if you feel this strongly maybe you should consider private schooling.”
I’m quite upset by this list. (And I know I am NOT the only one…there are SEVERAL people I’ve spoken with and they feel the same). These lists are incredibly greedy. For a kindergartener to have FOUR boxes of 24ct crayons and a total of 8 glues is ridiculous. I wouldn’t mind if these purchases were actually for MY kids but they go into a community box on the first day of school. I understand that this is done because there are some students who cannot afford these items and I am ALL for helping out those who can’t…but there are some bigger issues here!
1. By having community bins of supplies it teaches our children ZERO responsibility for their things. I have actually heard of many students breaking pencils on purpose because they knew there was a never ending supply on the other end of the desk.
2. This offers ZERO individuality. I remember growing up and back to school shopping was incredibly fun! Picking out fun folders, pencils and notebooks was just as fun as new clothing and new classrooms. It’s crazy that these kids don’t get to express their unique interests this way.
3. Talk about wasteful! I know several other school districts do this sort of “community” supply program and at the end of the year the left over supplies are divided up among the students and sent home. 4. Prices! To “demand” Crayola and other name brand things doesn’t help out those who cannot afford it. Are you aware that a box of 24ct Crayola crayons cost $2.74/box and Targets Up&up brand is currently on sale for 74 cents?!?
I know this email sounds incredibly harsh but I don’t know how else to express my disgust for this situation. Our children deserve better! They deserve the opportunity to show their unique interests, demonstrate care and respect for their things all the while showing compassion and concern for the community as a whole.
Teacher, here. Great! So can I bill all you parents at the end of the year for the classroom books, toys, and games that YOUR children ripped, broke, and mutilated? ‘Cause I mean, they were bought with MY money. I’m willing to bet the thousands I’ve spent on my classroom far outreaches anything you’ve spent on pencils and markers. You don’t remember signing up to help supply the classroom with materials? Neither did I. Yet I continue to do it, year after year.
YES!!!! Do please! Not only bill me, but also notify as soon as you notice my kid damaging YOUR property. That’s the whole point. To teach a child to be responsible for his/her own property as well as to take care and respect the property of others. I have contributed to a pool of supplies for years, and yet my kids never seem to have the supplies they need to work. I buy quality supplies, but my kids use erasers that are less effective than erasing with your own shoe. And yes, I get little kids lose stuff, but the amounts that are asked for are outrageous. 72 pencils and 6 packs of crayons for a 3rd grader? And nothing gets returned, the next year everything is new, and even with a lose/use rate of 70%, at the end of the year, in a class of 25 there’d be 540 pencils and 45 boxes of crayons left. Where do they go?
Katie, yes you should bill the parents and notify them when their child damages someone else’s property. They need to learn to take care of their property and borrowed property. It teaches life long lessons.
And yes, you chose to buy books, toys and games for your classroom. Great. Those items can be recycled each year, so you can use them again and again. I’d also like to say that EVERYTIME, there is a book fair at school, I buy a couple or a few books off the teacher’s wish list, as well as my daughter’s class mate’s parents. So we all donate books too!
addition to school supplies, we do but those oddities on the class supply wish list like copy paper, sharpies, dry erase markers, masking tape, hi lighters, magic erasers, dry erase erasers (how many do you need? 20?) ziplocks, Lysol wipes, paper towels, paper bowls and plates, tissues, sanitizer, hand soap….the list goes on. As a tax payer, I’m bewildered that some of these items are even on there. The school system should be supplying them. But I do buy them. So it isn’t just about pencils and crayons. It’s the bigger picture. Germs, personal responsibility and yes, my child should use the crayons and pencils that I buy. It’s like when I buy my child softball cleats and a bat, they should be put in the middle and redistributed around the team. Absolutely not. I am open to donating extra supplies to those who can’t afford to buy them. And what happens to those “stuff a bus” supplies? Instead of randomly placing each kid that comes up a bag of supplies how about waiting until see who brings in supplies then give extra supplies to the ones who truly can’t afford it.
Katie, I was thinking further about this and I have some more thoughts.
1.) I can’t believe that as a teacher, those were your thoughts and feelings.
2.) As a teacher, you should be molding them for the future. If you don’t make them accept personal responsibility for their actions, then they will grow to think that they don’t have to. You as a teacher and us as parents are a team. You teach them and we are supposed to reinforce it at home. If they learn times tables in school, then we watch them to do their homework to make sure they are getting it. If they break a book at school and you make them be accountable for their actions, then we will support you and reinforce it at home.
That’s how it works. If your letting them get away with being destructive menaces, then they will not learn.
I’m afraid for the future of our kids. I have a feeling that we are going to have a generation of entitled disrespectful people, which sadly may be already beginning.
Seems to me you need to write the school board in your state and asked them for a supply budget. At my current job, we have a supply budget to DO OUR JOBS! Teaching is YOUR JOB and it is no the parent’s JOB to supply YOUR JOB! It is the School Board or the School. THEY need to give you a supply budget. The only thing I agree in donating is stuff that is distinctly used by all…such as paper towels, baggies, hand sanitizer…but even then, it is a DONATION! If you are in the business of teaching, your school or state board of education needs to be the ones you gripe at…not the parents who, at times, like you, are spending their last. I don’t think you should be spending your last either. It is not your responsibility to spend your money on all of those things…but it is NOT the parents’ responsibility either. We should supply for our OWN children and that’s it!
I am so upset that in 3rd grade my child still can’t keep their own school supplies. They have taken the fun out of picking out the cool car notebooks and Batman folders. I am going to take a stand this year and protest and put my sons name on all his “own” supplies. The issue I’m having is, will he be outed by the teacher and treated differently because of a stand I am taking? Has this happened to anyone?
We did this year and it worked… i think everyone should.
I will not ever donate to the community stockpile ever again. I had problems after donating 5 or 6 packages of loose leaf notebook paper and getting some teacher complaining to me about my kid not doing his homework. He NEVER had paper and couldn’t do it. It really pissed me off that I donated that and the teacher wouldn’t let him have it. What did I have to do? Yep… had to buy MORE paper so he could do homework and then it wasn’t on sale anymore. I only send two pencils, one box of crayons, one bottle of glue, two glue sticks, one eraser and a binder with the paper in it. Too many parents waste money on themselves instead of buying just the basics such as those listed above and I’ll be damned if I have to pay out of my single-mom budget to fund those leeches to society. I don’t send dora pencils or anything either… just a plain yellow pencil. Character pencils are given at holiday parties in the goodie bags I send. So part with your 12-pack of beer or a few pack of cigarettes… or that stupid pedi-mani crap you spent out the butt to get… You can buy your own stuff for your kids. Keep your claws off of mine.
I feel you…I’m a single mom of 3 and know exactly what you mean. I have to save all year to do the school shopping for supplies and school clothes….and it’s not fair that all of my hard work is being stolen from me!
I am an advocate for classroom community supplies. Today’s kids are easily distracted. As a teacher, it is my job to teach not referee students that both have Dora or Spiderman pencils. I agree that each child should have their own special supplies. However, Keep it at home in their own private, comfortable area where they do their homework.
I agree that students should have their own supplies that don’t have to be shared with others. But as a middle school teacher, I’ve long given up the nonsensical idea of refusing to let kids borrow supplies from the teacher. We’re supposed to be training these kids for “real life.” In real life, if I show up to a meeting having forgotten a pen, a colleague will lend me one. No snarky comments, and no having to give her a quarter or one of my shoes. My pay won’t be docked, either. It’s a matter of priorities – the work to be done is more important than berating someone for not having a pen. I cringe at the memory of how much instructional time I used to waste playing the “pencil game.” Sending kids out to lockers, asking the class if anyone has an extra, giving endless speeches about “preparedness” and “responsibility…” Meanwhile, the rest of the class is already gazing out the window in distracted boredom. Just give the kid a damned pencil and get on with it already!
I agree that students should have their own supplies that don’t have to be shared with others. But as a middle school teacher, I’ve long given up the nonsensical idea of refusing to let kids borrow supplies from the teacher. We’re supposed to be training these kids for “real life.” In real life, if I show up to a meeting having forgotten a pen, a colleague will lend me one. No snarky comments, and no having to give her a quarter or one of my shoes. My pay won’t be docked, either. It’s a matter of priorities – the work to be done is more important than berating someone for not having a pen. I cringe at the memory of how much instructional time I used to waste playing the “pencil game.” Sending kids out to lockers, asking the class if anyone has an extra, giving endless speeches about “preparedness” and “responsibility…” Meanwhile, the rest of the class is already gazing out the window in distracted boredom. Just give the kid a damned pencil and get on with it already!
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Part 2-Rant
BUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! School supplies are given away free at local churches. Supplies can be found at garage sales, unused and cheaper than Walmart. Folders can be found at Officemax for pennies. You can get free pens at the bank. I haven’t been on one sidewalk all summer that did not have at least two pencils in the cracks. Canvas bags can be found free at the library. These “Poor” students are usually equipped with the latest in technology that they showcase on the bus. Our school provides free lunches. Let’s just say I’ve had to dodge many. My views may be slightly uncharitable, but from my experience, teachers aren’t helping the slightest by giving away free supplies.
There is also the matter of the schools asking for too many supplies. I currently own 20 folders, 8 spiral notebooks, six three ring binders, and enough pens and pencils to last me through college… and I’m still in middle school. One year the requirements are plain, specific colored folders. The next year I need four 3-ring binders. The year after I need folders with prongs. The next year I need pocket folders WITHOUT prongs. I am thoroughly disgusted with the egregious wastefulness of the public schools. Did any of you read about the Chicago public school that threw out thousands of dollars worth of supplies?
In conclusion, I’d like to tell parents to stop buying unneeded supplies, tell teachers to quit asking for things they don’t need, and let me be responsible for my own tools. This individual ownership teaches responsibility and respect for oneself and others.
Part 2-Rant
BUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! School supplies are given away free at local churches. Supplies can be found at garage sales, unused and cheaper than Walmart. Folders can be found at Officemax for pennies. You can get free pens at the bank. I haven’t been on one sidewalk all summer that did not have at least two pencils in the cracks. Canvas bags can be found free at the library. These “Poor” students are usually equipped with the latest in technology that they showcase on the bus. Our school provides free lunches. Let’s just say I’ve had to dodge many. My views may be slightly uncharitable, but from my experience, teachers aren’t helping the slightest by giving away free supplies.
There is also the matter of the schools asking for too many supplies. I currently own 20 folders, 8 spiral notebooks, six three ring binders, and enough pens and pencils to last me through college… and I’m still in middle school. One year the requirements are plain, specific colored folders. The next year I need four 3-ring binders. The year after I need folders with prongs. The next year I need pocket folders WITHOUT prongs. I am thoroughly disgusted with the egregious wastefulness of the public schools. Did any of you read about the Chicago public school that threw out thousands of dollars worth of supplies?
In conclusion, I’d like to tell parents to stop buying unneeded supplies, tell teachers to quit asking for things they don’t need, and let me be responsible for my own tools. This individual ownership teaches responsibility and respect for oneself and others.
Hello, I am a student. My mother introduced me to your blog and I can say with complete honesty, that I love your writing. I have read this article several years in a row and it reminds me of my unfortunate grade school experience with socialism. My mother and I picked out some nice pencils back in second grade. When I got to school, I received an attagirl for bringing the mandated supplies. Then the nightmare began. The teacher then confiscated my bright, shiny, new pencils. The community bin was then filled with chewed-on, mutilated, left-over pencils from the prior year. I never saw my nice pencils again. The teacher then used shiny pencils as “incentives” (i.e bribes) for good behavior. Ironically, the incentives were obviously stolen from earlier students!!!
While I’m discussing irony, might I also mention that her son was arrested for burglarizing vehicles a few years later?! Coincedence? You decide.
Pencils may seem trivial now, but in second grade they held much more value. I remember always thinking poorly of this teacher’s character, for reasons I am not at liberty to discuss for the fact that I am still in the school district. However, in the future, expect further ranting.
To give you further insight on my views of the subject, there is the fact that I no longer lend my classmates any supplies. I discontinued the practice after losing many objects and having to hound people to retrieve them. Often, when the supplies are returned, they have been broken, abused, and treated with as much respect as I would give a dead rodent.
Many people support the socialistic approach of shared supplies because they would like to provide for the “Poor” students.
Hello, I am a student. My mother introduced me to your blog and I can say with complete honesty, that I love your writing. I have read this article several years in a row and it reminds me of my unfortunate grade school experience with socialism. My mother and I picked out some nice pencils back in second grade. When I got to school, I received an attagirl for bringing the mandated supplies. Then the nightmare began. The teacher then confiscated my bright, shiny, new pencils. The community bin was then filled with chewed-on, mutilated, left-over pencils from the prior year. I never saw my nice pencils again. The teacher then used shiny pencils as “incentives” (i.e bribes) for good behavior. Ironically, the incentives were obviously stolen from earlier students!!!
While I’m discussing irony, might I also mention that her son was arrested for burglarizing vehicles a few years later?! Coincedence? You decide.
Pencils may seem trivial now, but in second grade they held much more value. I remember always thinking poorly of this teacher’s character, for reasons I am not at liberty to discuss for the fact that I am still in the school district. However, in the future, expect further ranting.
To give you further insight on my views of the subject, there is the fact that I no longer lend my classmates any supplies. I discontinued the practice after losing many objects and having to hound people to retrieve them. Often, when the supplies are returned, they have been broken, abused, and treated with as much respect as I would give a dead rodent.
Many people support the socialistic approach of shared supplies because they would like to provide for the “Poor” students.
Perhaps I should clarify high poverty. I taught in a school where the average household income was $10,000.
Perhaps I should clarify high poverty. I taught in a school where the average household income was $10,000.
In a high poverty school, if the supplies weren’t provided, the students would not have them and work would come to a standstill. I believe where there are more students who can provide supplies, that the others will somehow get what they need. However, where all the students are poor, then the whole learning system can be stymied without the right supplies. This may be what is happening in some low performing schools.
In a high poverty school, if the supplies weren’t provided, the students would not have them and work would come to a standstill. I believe where there are more students who can provide supplies, that the others will somehow get what they need. However, where all the students are poor, then the whole learning system can be stymied without the right supplies. This may be what is happening in some low performing schools.
I agree as a former classroom teacher,current teacher librarian to what you said. I would NEVER take supplies a student brought in to use. I used the number system to identify everything that belonged to a child. We would store extra pencils and gluesticks, erasers, or scissors in a bag labeled for that student. It eliminated a lot of hassel and made ownership easy. I worked at an at risk school where some had no supplies. Though in this day when you could buy enough notebooks at Walmart’s for your entire class to have 4 each for $5. And glue, scissors, crayons, folders, etc for one child only cost about $4 during back to school sales. I never understood parents priorites when they had enough for new video games but not school supplies. But then I saw a lot of “give me what I deserve” in the at risk community.
I agree as a former classroom teacher,current teacher librarian to what you said. I would NEVER take supplies a student brought in to use. I used the number system to identify everything that belonged to a child. We would store extra pencils and gluesticks, erasers, or scissors in a bag labeled for that student. It eliminated a lot of hassel and made ownership easy. I worked at an at risk school where some had no supplies. Though in this day when you could buy enough notebooks at Walmart’s for your entire class to have 4 each for $5. And glue, scissors, crayons, folders, etc for one child only cost about $4 during back to school sales. I never understood parents priorites when they had enough for new video games but not school supplies. But then I saw a lot of “give me what I deserve” in the at risk community.
I had no idea that was going on in elementary schools. Here, where poverty is the highest in the nation, we have a broad range of schools. Some schools send out lists of materials for students to bring, some schools just provide the materials. In high school, where I taught, ALL supplies were supplied except flash drives. I always had binders, pens, pencils, paper for those kids who just didn’t have the resources to get these things. I even had a few flash drives in my desk for students to share. I was so particular about my things that students picked up on that and were good about taking care of supplies.
I had no idea that was going on in elementary schools. Here, where poverty is the highest in the nation, we have a broad range of schools. Some schools send out lists of materials for students to bring, some schools just provide the materials. In high school, where I taught, ALL supplies were supplied except flash drives. I always had binders, pens, pencils, paper for those kids who just didn’t have the resources to get these things. I even had a few flash drives in my desk for students to share. I was so particular about my things that students picked up on that and were good about taking care of supplies.
Hear hear.
Hear hear.