Back to school *vent*

[Mouse House Mama]

It really is sad that some parents do not have their priorities where they should be. I know when my now 7th grader was in preschool she had a classmate that kept taking his shoes off. Now this child was my neighbor and I knew a little about him outside of preschool. We found that his shoes were too small so the teacher told his mom when she came to pick him up. The next day the child was in shoes that were still too small. I ran to Walmart and bought 2 sets of shoes (they were boxed shoes with 2 pairs for like $7 or $10 so not much money). I had to run back to Walmart as his shoes were 2 sizes too small. We sent him home in one of the new pairs and kept the others at school so he would have shoes that fit there. It was a good thing as his mom never sent the other pair in on his feet. This woman always had her hair and nails done and she and the baby girl were always dressed in the nice name brand clothes. The woman once commented to me that she would be so happy when the behavioral health clinic he was going to (won't say the name but here it is more used for and by those on medicaid) diagnosed him with ADHD so she could get SSI for him. I was floored by this as the child really did not have a problem with paying attention or sitting still. I also could not believe that she wanted the child diagnosed just for a check. Having a child with ADHD I had never heard of such a thing before this woman. My son has ADHD but I have never thought to apply for SSI for him. I do know some kids with ADHD have severe learning disabilities but I still don't understand the check concept.

That woman is a pig.
You were very kind and I am sure that child will remember that.

 

[Leajess99]

I went out supply shopping today so here's my vent. If I can get a 1 subject notebook for as little as 10 cents, why is it I can't find a 3 subject for 30?

Very good question. I really watch the Target clearance when they do it for school supplies for the bigger notebooks. My oldest and middle each got a 3 subject one for $3 and that will hold them until the clearance when I can hopefully get them for cheap. My oldest will only need a notebook for probably 2 classes this trimester as the rest are ROTC and PE related courses. Next Trimester will be more Math and such so more notebooks needed. It is funny as all my oldest needs this year is the required English and 1/2 credit of Math and everything else is electives.

 

[Leajess99]

My current complaint is not being able to find everything on the supply list. I went to 4 stores looking for 2 packages of dividers with pockets and didn't find any. Plus none of those stores carried a wierd size post it note that the school wanted.

I'm just going to take my list to school and ask the teacher about them. It could be one of those things where the list is older and the teacher doesn't really care.

I can't wait to get my high schooler's list on Thursday along with his class schedule. Then I get the fun scramble to find all of his stuff with the other 2,000 kids at his high school.

And school starts on Monday, August 9th around here. The buses aren't air conditioned and the temps are in the 90's. Poor kids.

I can so feel for your kids as well. Ours start school Wednesday in the County district and Thursday in the city district and the buses are not air conditioned here either. We are expecting 100 degrees on Wednesday and then a "cold front" on Thursday with temps Thursday in the low 90s. I will be freezing water bottles and sending them with my bus riders for the afternoon. My youngest goes to school out of district so she is a car rider.

 

[torinsmom]

It really is sad that some parents do not have their priorities where they should be. I know when my now 7th grader was in preschool she had a classmate that kept taking his shoes off. Now this child was my neighbor and I knew a little about him outside of preschool. We found that his shoes were too small so the teacher told his mom when she came to pick him up. The next day the child was in shoes that were still too small. I ran to Walmart and bought 2 sets of shoes (they were boxed shoes with 2 pairs for like $7 or $10 so not much money). I had to run back to Walmart as his shoes were 2 sizes too small. We sent him home in one of the new pairs and kept the others at school so he would have shoes that fit there. It was a good thing as his mom never sent the other pair in on his feet. This woman always had her hair and nails done and she and the baby girl were always dressed in the nice name brand clothes. The woman once commented to me that she would be so happy when the behavioral health clinic he was going to (won't say the name but here it is more used for and by those on medicaid) diagnosed him with ADHD so she could get SSI for him. I was floored by this as the child really did not have a problem with paying attention or sitting still. I also could not believe that she wanted the child diagnosed just for a check. Having a child with ADHD I had never heard of such a thing before this woman. My son has ADHD but I have never thought to apply for SSI for him. I do know some kids with ADHD have severe learning disabilities but I still don't understand the check concept.

Bless you for doing that!

I did not even know that having ADHD qualified you for SSI. DS15 has ADHD(inattentive type) as well as some learning disabilities, but I would never think of trying to get a check for it. I would think that kind of assistance would be for kids with debilitating disabilities. Some people are
just too much!

 

[maggiew]

Very good question. I really watch the Target clearance when they do it for school supplies for the bigger notebooks. My oldest and middle each got a 3 subject one for $3 and that will hold them until the clearance when I can hopefully get them for cheap. My oldest will only need a notebook for probably 2 classes this trimester as the rest are ROTC and PE related courses. Next Trimester will be more Math and such so more notebooks needed. It is funny as all my oldest needs this year is the required English and 1/2 credit of Math and everything else is electives.

The 3 subjects were .99 at Walgreens last week. I think they are $1.47 at Walmart this week.

Maggie

 

[Disney_Ohana]

Yes! My son started school today. His list was very specific, teacher listed brands she preferred & so that meant hunting them down at a few different stores. Stayed up until late last night labeling every SINGLE item, including 3 boxes of 24 crayons for him & will have to do the same for my soon to be kindergartener next week. :/

 

[mum4jenn]

Hey..Can we get this thread as a STICKY??????

Every year it is the SAME discussion.. You have parents that do not mind buying school supplies and buy extras for those in need-VS- the parents that complain about every single thing on the list and refuse to buy some of it because THEY don't see the need for it.

Then you are going to have those parents that encourage their children to SHARE and again on the other side those that teach their children to be stingy and to never share because THEY furnished those items for THEIR child ONLY!

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Lol, a fair and unbiased assessment!

 

[AZMermaid]

We also start next Monday and it will be 110 for at least another month. We have a "cool room" that shows movies at Lunch recess that the kids can go to if they want. When the temp goes over 115 it is mandatory. It is a "Hot Day Schedule." It is funny because we maybe have 2-3 Rainy Day Schedule days, but probably 10+ "Hot Days."

My district does charge the kids to play sports. With recent budget cuts, they dropped all middle school sports and raised the HS fee to $150 a kid per sport- no family max. Before this it was $100 per kid, $300 family limit. We had a sales tax pass last May to help with ed (and police/fire) costs. If it hadn't passed, among other things, sports would have been raised to $450 per kid per sport, no assistance (currently free/ reduced lunch kids are exempt). Max class sizes also would have raised another 4-6 kids (30 K (no aides), 32 1st, 35 2nd-3rd, 38 4th-5th) and all elementary PE, Art, Music and Library would have been cut. So, thank God it passed! As it is, I am still waiting to hear if I have a job next week- school starts a week from today and I have no idea if I will have a job, what school it may be at or what grade I may teach. Awesome.

 

[fakereadhed]

Then you are going to have those parents that encourage their children to SHARE and again on the other side those that teach their children to be stingy and to never share because THEY furnished those items for THEIR child ONLY!

Providing communal school supplies does little to teach sharing. Neither does sending in labeled supplies teach children to be stingy. There are plenty of opportunites to share in both situations.

 

[here757]

Providing communal school supplies does little to teach sharing. Neither does sending in labeled supplies teach children to be stingy. There are plenty of opportunites to share in both situations.

i agree.. it just "teaches" some people that they dont need to buy school supplies cuz their kid can just use sally's.. not saying alot of disers do this.. but real people do! LOL

i get everything on the list.
but have also discovered. just because its on the list doesnt mean they have to have it..
my kids school calls for comp notebooks.. teacher for kindergarden and 1st grade told me they will not use them.

 

[palavra]

You are correct. It is not in the Constitution of the United States. The right comes from each state's constitution.

It is part of the Constitution. There are specific powers granted to the national government and reserved powers that are held by the states. While each state is responsible for its own education system, it must provide a school system for all students. States do not have to right to scrap the public school system.

 

[palavra]

That is one of my biggest peeves!!! Why do they HAVE to have certain colors? Especially after kindergarten. I don't mind buying 6 notebooks but why must I buy special specific colors? You take a black marker and you write Math, Science, English, etc on the front and voila same thing is accomplished.
Same with folders. I did this last spring when my DS needed a new notebook for a subject that was one color well I was all out of that color and no way was I going to spend over a dollar to get that color when I had 10 from fall when they were 15 cents. I told him to let me know if she dared say anything.

I also don't like community supplies. I think teachers need to start thinking about the difference between niceties and necessities. Also every report doesn't have to be on poster board!

Back in the 60's we needed to buy nothing to go to elementary school. at the start of the year we were given 1 box of crayons, 2 pencils a pen (in upper grades)and a tablet. In January we got 2 more pencils and another tablet.

And guess what?, Three kids will come to social studies class with their science notebook because they grabbed the wrong "blue" notebook even if it says "science" in black marker. And then we waste 5 or so minutes waiting for them to come back with the correct notebook. The color system actually works very well in middle school, and we have many parents who thank us for helping their kids stay organized.

 

[ilovejack02]

And guess what?, Three kids will come to social studies class with their science notebook because they grabbed the wrong "blue" notebook even if it says "science" in black marker. And then we waste 5 or so minutes waiting for them to come back with the correct notebook. The color system actually works very well in middle school, and we have many parents who thank us for helping their kids stay organized.

I also am a fan of the color system, just makes things a little easier.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Hey..Can we get this thread as a STICKY??????

Every year it is the SAME discussion.. You have parents that do not mind buying school supplies and buy extras for those in need-VS- the parents that complain about every single thing on the list and refuse to buy some of it because THEY don't see the need for it.

Then you are going to have those parents that encourage their children to SHARE and again on the other side those that teach their children to be stingy and to never share because THEY furnished those items for THEIR child ONLY!

Yeah, you are right. We teach our children never ever to share because we don't want all their supplies dumped in a bucket for the whole class to use. We tell them that no matter what hold on to your stuff even if it means Suzy will fail her test because she doesn't have a pencil. All those other parents who don't send in any school supplies are doing a stellar job teaching "sharing". Oh- and FTR- even though we can't stand the community stuff nonsense we still participate in it.

Providing communal school supplies does little to teach sharing. Neither does sending in labeled supplies teach children to be stingy. There are plenty of opportunites to share in both situations.

Thank you.

i agree.. it just "teaches" some people that they dont need to buy school supplies cuz their kid can just use sally's.. not saying alot of disers do this.. but real people do! LOL

Exactly! Having community supplies has nothing to do with sharing. It is a bucket of stuff that the kids go to so they can get supplies. They are not sharing. Sharing imo would be saying "Jane, I forgot my crayons today. Would you mind sharing with me so we can get our work done?" The bucket O' Stuff is just a bucket with everything in it so the kids just have it there. Nothing at all to do with sharing.

 

[Minnie_me]

A veteran early childhood teacher chiming in on the "communal supplies" issue.

I taught Kindergarten for 20 years, and now teach pre-Kindergarten. When I started teaching, the kids were responsible for their own crayons, glue sticks, pencils, etc. They each had a little container to keep them in, everything was labeled with their name, initials, or number (I tried this for several years with different methods).

What a nightmare. Kids that age just aren't capable of taking care of their things. Finding missing crayons, or finding the owner of a *found* crayon, took up a lot of time. Think about it -- if I had 20 Kindies with 24 crayons each, that's a total of 480 crayons ALL WITH A SPECIFIC OWNER to keep track of throughout the day. And as the kids moved from center to center, they had to bring their supplies with them, and things were always spilling.

A colleague convinced me to try the "communal" approach one year, and I've never looked back. I pool the crayons, glue sticks and pencils into a big bin and put it in my closet. I put out two baskets of crayons and a cup of pencils at each table. When a crayon is found on the floor, we just put it in any old basket.

People who whine about communal supplies have never taught early childhood.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

And guess what?, Three kids will come to social studies class with their science notebook because they grabbed the wrong "blue" notebook even if it says "science" in black marker. And then we waste 5 or so minutes waiting for them to come back with the correct notebook. The color system actually works very well in middle school, and we have many parents who thank us for helping their kids stay organized.

When we were in school, before the schools had the need to micromanage, if we forgot the science notebook, we did without. We quietly asked to borrow paper and pencil, and didn't forget it the next day. Natural and logical.

 

[threecrazykids]

When we were in school, before the schools had the need to micromanage, if we forgot the science notebook, we did without. We quietly asked to borrow paper and pencil, and didn't forget it the next day. Natural and logical.

I agree with this, especially in middle school and high school. Kids have to learn at some point that there isn't always going to be someone there with a "backup" when you fail to remember or organize your things. These are life lessons-organization, preparation, etc. There are parents running home and getting items for their kids that they left at home several days a week when they got on the bus or got to school and realized they forgot their homework, book, notebook. CRAZY. I went to a friends house not too long ago and there on the bathroom counter was a checklist of things for her kids to remember-brush your teeth, comb your hair, CHANGE YOUR UNDERWEAR, wear deodorant, pick up your towel. Her kids are in middle school and high school. WOW was all I could think to myself.

I try to teach my kids things that are going to benefit them BEYOND high school...when they are in the real world. My boss is certainly going to have consequences for me failing to remember things every day. And trust me, calling my mom wouldn't be an option. LOL

 

[angelmav]

When we were in school, before the schools had the need to micromanage, if we forgot the science notebook, we did without. We quietly asked to borrow paper and pencil, and didn't forget it the next day. Natural and logical.

Funny how a couple of cases of being caught out taught me to be better prepared.

 

[DawnM]

I am not going to read through this entire thread but will add another post.

I have heard of many PTAs organizing a fund raiser by purchasing the supplies and bundling them and having them for purchase at open house or the first day of school. Typically they are bundled and then a $5 additional fee is added as a fund raiser.

It certainly would help with all that running around and searching that seems to drive everyone crazy AND allow everyone to help out the school at the same time.

Dawn