I went to an office supply store today and saw the list of supplies for a 3rd Grade class. Out of curiosity, I decided to shop the list and price everything that was on it. The grand total? $71.89 (before tax). That, my fellow teachers, is asinine! Add in a book bag from Walmart or Target for just another $15-30. That means we are asking parents to pony up roughly $90 per child. Multiply that by 3 kids and it is unaffordable for many of our families.
While I agree that the supplies may be USED during the year, I must ask how many of them are going to be depleted by the end of the school year. Certainly, some items should be provided by the families. The book bag, a binder, and paper – that is my list. As I teach a class that uses many maps, creates many projects, and uses many different media within the classroom. Most of these items are easier to have on hand in shared buckets in the classroom. I bought all of the student supplies I will need for a gamified classroom. My grand total? $45.72. Do the math. We can save parents over $45 per child by being more sensitive and using our departmental funds to provide for our students.
Additionally, we as teachers need to review our lists. Do our students REALLY NEED to have a 3-ring binder for EACH class? I know the argument regarding organizational skills and keeping everything together. I agree with that argument. I also believe that we can use common sense and teach our students these skills in a better way for a lower cost. All it takes is a little creativity, a hole punch, and colored paper. There is no reason we need each student to buy every item.
The only thing I ask students to bring in (on a voluntary basis) is hand sanitizer and/or tissues. If parents decide to contribute supplies for community use, that’s great. But the very idea of requiring students to buy over $70 worth of supplies is abhorrent to me.
Bottom line? Let’s seriously think about what is needed versus what is wanted. Determine the actual use of the items and then make your list. If you can use departmental funds to buy for all of your students, do it. You will build so much good will with your parents, they will be happy to donate things for the class later in the year. Let’s be considerate of their hard earned money before we ask for $70+ worth of supplies.
While I agree that the supplies may be USED during the year, I must ask how many of them are going to be depleted by the end of the school year. Certainly, some items should be provided by the families. The book bag, a binder, and paper – that is my list. As I teach a class that uses many maps, creates many projects, and uses many different media within the classroom. Most of these items are easier to have on hand in shared buckets in the classroom. I bought all of the student supplies I will need for a gamified classroom. My grand total? $45.72. Do the math. We can save parents over $45 per child by being more sensitive and using our departmental funds to provide for our students.
Additionally, we as teachers need to review our lists. Do our students REALLY NEED to have a 3-ring binder for EACH class? I know the argument regarding organizational skills and keeping everything together. I agree with that argument. I also believe that we can use common sense and teach our students these skills in a better way for a lower cost. All it takes is a little creativity, a hole punch, and colored paper. There is no reason we need each student to buy every item.
The only thing I ask students to bring in (on a voluntary basis) is hand sanitizer and/or tissues. If parents decide to contribute supplies for community use, that’s great. But the very idea of requiring students to buy over $70 worth of supplies is abhorrent to me.
Bottom line? Let’s seriously think about what is needed versus what is wanted. Determine the actual use of the items and then make your list. If you can use departmental funds to buy for all of your students, do it. You will build so much good will with your parents, they will be happy to donate things for the class later in the year. Let’s be considerate of their hard earned money before we ask for $70+ worth of supplies.