Guess What was on my Kid's School Shopping List

What exactly are our taxes covering since we also have to provide all the supplies for the classrooms? My son is now grown but I was appalled at what was we were required to provide for the classroom when he was in school.

Mostly teacher's salaries, benefits, and pensions(depending on the school. Also utilities, building maintenance, support staff, administration, etc.

I would also like to state for the record.. LOL.. that I did a school supply drive a couple of years ago for my sons class where I worked and each employee donated quite a bit of supplies for my sons teacher and classroom. I do buy everything on the school supply list, with the exception of the band aids this year, but after reading what HKMURPHY83 posted I will most likely send some in, just because I see where she is coming from.

I LOL'd. There's a few hundred kids in the school. We still have to go to IKEA and the Golf Course for pencils.

did you lol because you think a few hundred kids is a small school? We had a graduating class of 24.

I LOL'd because she said "I don't know what happens in your big city schools".

I dont even know what Golf Course is and the closest IKEA to where I live is 6 hours away.... so sorry for assuming you were from a big city...we do not have stores like those around here. We do not even have a Walmart or stores like those. We have to drive to the next closest city to get to those stores (approx. 30 min trip). We are lucky just to have the Dollar General store that we have in town.

You don't know what a Golf Course is?

Ya, IKEA is like an hour.

I know what a golf course is.. I thought you were saying it like it was a store name?? Sorry, I think you were trying to crack a joke that went way over my head.

I dont think you should have to spend so much in your wifes classroom. If the teacher specifically asked for something odd she maybe should have just explained it was so they didnt have to go to the nurses often, taking away from class time.. I am not complaining about taking pens, pencils, paper, folders, and the necessities, just the odd stuff that I had never seen before. This was the first year we had band aids on the list.

What ever happened to the incentive of not failing them? My teachers didn't need to bribe me with candy because I knew at the end of the day it was my father I had to deal with if I failed.

Wow! You are supposed to send the teacher a bag of candy to feed to the kids for incentive? If they want something like that for incentive, they should buy it themselves. Our kids get pencils, stickers or more time outside!

I remember getting "warm fuzzies" when I was young- a colored cottonball with googley-eyes and little paper feet.

One of the best incentive programs I experienced was in fourth grade. Each week, a student got a 3x5 notecard. For negative behavior, such as fighting, not doing assignments, or something like that, you'd get a hole punched in your card. After recess on Friday, the three classes would consolidate and watch a movie, play games, or do something fun. But, if you had three or more punches, you didn't get to participate.

I thought it was a good practice because the emphasis wasn't on rearding students for doing what they were supposed to. The "default" situation for all students was to have fun Friday afternoon. But this did provide a negative consequence for negative behavior in the form of missing out.

It would seem to me that food-based rewards and incentives are asking for trouble. If one student eats something they're not supposed to, you could have a serious liability issue on your hands. Teachers may be able to pass on allergy information for things such as birthday or holiday treats that parents can check before letting their child share it with the class. But if Jimmy's incentive candy has something in it to which Joey is allergic and Joey then gets a piece of Jimmy's candy (such as recieving it by accident, from a student who wants to share their reward, or because Joey's actually a naughty child and is stealing treats), you could have a reaction the teacher isn't expecting.

I totally agree. Teachers are forced to pick up too much slack and parents have the responsibility to help out.

What ever happened to the incentive of not failing them? My teachers didn't need to bribe me with candy because I knew at the end of the day it was my father I had to deal with if I failed.

Oh. You're "that mom."

Nothing to see here and nothing to say here, other than that I feel sorry for your kid, and your kid's teachers.

What's "That Mom"????

Oh. You're "that mom."

Nothing to see here and nothing to say here, other than that I feel sorry for your kid, and your kid's teachers.

What's "That Mom"????

The definition is somewhat elastic, but generally "That Mom" is someone difficult to be around because she exudes that unpleasant combination of constant, usually unwarranted, worry about not being a good parent, and harsh judgment of other parents (to assuage the constant worry). Anything that happens that isn't absolutely optimal in her mind for her child elicits over-reaction, because they parent from a place of negativity and fear. Kid eats a cupcake at school = won't get into Vassar. That's hyperbole but you get me. That whole Mommy Wars garbage a few years back was a result of this mindset.

Sad thing is, having a kid can be a total blast a great deal of the time if people would just stop freaking out about whether or not every single thing is absolutely perfect to completely ensure their child's total success. We're giving a bunch of kids anxiety issues by the time they reach second grade because...

...nevermind. People either already see what I mean or they don't. I'm not going to change anyone's mind.

As far as the candy. No not cool.

But I send my kid with the supplies on the list and we mark our name on all of it. I also include a note to the teacher that says

"These supplies are for MY kid and my kid alone. My child knows that if they run out, they are to let me know and I'll supply more. If my child is out of a particular supply needed for that day, unfortunately my child will not participate."

I refuse to pay for someone who is simply too lazy to provide their own child's school supplies, and I understand it's not your fault that the school doesn't provide teachers with the necessary tools to run the classroom, but poor planning on schools and deadbeat parent's part does not constitute a handout from my pocket"

I do feel bad for those kids that are made to walk to school with no backpack, or school supplies, dirty clothes and no food in thier tummies, I really do, but there are resources out there. We have to stop letting these parents get away with doing this to thier children.

Huh. I feel bad for those kids too, so we always buy extra school supplies with a note to the teacher that says: "These supplies are for you to add to your stash for kids who come to school in need, because we're all a part of this community and we're in this together."

But your approach is nice too. *shudder*

What exactly are our taxes covering since we also have to provide all the supplies for the classrooms? My son is now grown but I was appalled at what was we were required to provide for the classroom when he was in school.

Mostly teacher's salaries, benefits, and pensions(depending on the school. Also utilities, building maintenance, support staff, administration, etc.

Mostly administration salaries...not teachers.

And the way society is going, insurance.

I will have to check my numbers, but 80% of LAUSD's budget is teacher compensation. While admins may be paid more than teachers, I cannot imagine that line item is higher than the teacher line item.

Oh. You're "that mom."

Nothing to see here and nothing to say here, other than that I feel sorry for your kid, and your kid's teachers.

What's "That Mom"????

The definition is somewhat elastic, but generally "That Mom" is someone difficult to be around because she exudes that unpleasant combination of constant, usually unwarranted, worry about not being a good parent, and harsh judgment of other parents (to assuage the constant worry). Anything that happens that isn't absolutely optimal in her mind for her child elicits over-reaction, because they parent from a place of negativity and fear. Kid eats a cupcake at school = won't get into Vassar. That's hyperbole but you get me. That whole Mommy Wars garbage a few years back was a result of this mindset.

Sad thing is, having a kid can be a total blast a great deal of the time if people would just stop freaking out about whether or not every single thing is absolutely perfect to completely ensure their child's total success. We're giving a bunch of kids anxiety issues by the time they reach second grade because...

...nevermind. People either already see what I mean or they don't. I'm not going to change anyone's mind.

^ Excellent definition.

The one I was using was this:

The mom who stresses every little detail, thinks sugar is going to kill her kids and finds a replacement for every treat possible (and often sends a note to birthday parties noting that little Johnny shouldn't be allowed to eat the cake), asks the pediatrician at every visit if her kid has the latest fad illness, is convinced that rough housing will result in future violent behavior, considers the educational benefit over every toy the kid has ever played with, etc. You can identify them by the eye rolling that goes on among the other parents anytime that they are present. Other indications are objections to holidays like Halloween, and buying anything to drop in kid's trick-or-treat bags but candy.

Please understand that I have friends with kids with all sorts of real afflictions and a few real allergies, and I sympathize with them, what I'm talking about is the mom who seems to always be one step away from Munchausen syndrome. Having my kid at an expensive private school for a few years means that I've met several of them. Never again.

Let kids be kids. Push them, encourage them, make sure they hear the word "no" often, get them active and into sports, hound them to brush their teeth, and for god's sake let them eat cake.

Oh. You're "that mom."

Nothing to see here and nothing to say here, other than that I feel sorry for your kid, and your kid's teachers.

What's "That Mom"????

The definition is somewhat elastic, but generally "That Mom" is someone difficult to be around because she exudes that unpleasant combination of constant, usually unwarranted, worry about not being a good parent, and harsh judgment of other parents (to assuage the constant worry). Anything that happens that isn't absolutely optimal in her mind for her child elicits over-reaction, because they parent from a place of negativity and fear. Kid eats a cupcake at school = won't get into Vassar. That's hyperbole but you get me. That whole Mommy Wars garbage a few years back was a result of this mindset.

Sad thing is, having a kid can be a total blast a great deal of the time if people would just stop freaking out about whether or not every single thing is absolutely perfect to completely ensure their child's total success. We're giving a bunch of kids anxiety issues by the time they reach second grade because...

...nevermind. People either already see what I mean or they don't. I'm not going to change anyone's mind.

^ Excellent definition.

The one I was using was this:

The mom who stresses every little detail, thinks sugar is going to kill her kids and finds a replacement for every treat possible (and often sends a note to birthday parties noting that little Johnny shouldn't be allowed to eat the cake), asks the pediatrician at every visit if her kid has the latest fad illness, is convinced that rough housing will result in future violent behavior, considers the educational benefit over every toy the kid has ever played with, etc. You can identify them by the eye rolling that goes on among the other parents anytime that they are present. Other indications are objections to holidays like Halloween, and buying anything to drop in kid's trick-or-treat bags but candy.

Please understand that I have friends with kids with all sorts of real afflictions and a few real allergies, and I sympathize with them, what I'm talking about is the mom who seems to always be one step away from Munchausen syndrome. Having my kid at an expensive private school for a few years means that I've met several of them. Never again.

Let kids be kids. Push them, encourage them, make sure they hear the word "no" often, get them active and into sports, hound them to brush their teeth, and for god's sake let them eat cake.