I respect teachers, I help the pto, I donate time and money. And I vote for just about anything the school asks for. But I do get a little tired of the constant “outrage” the some teachers buy things for their job. Lot’s of people do that. I buy things for my job, and generally they cost more. Focusing on this is really a distraction from the real problems. Asking teachers to do so many things beyond just teaching. Like social worker, phycologist, nurse, cell phone police, fight referee… and all without the support they need from the administration, district, and state. Let’s focus the outrage on that. That will give thier unions the clout they need to negotiate better compensation.
I alive in an affluent town. Only recently did teachers largely stop purchasing things for kids, with parents instead contributing the money for these items. We’re able to do it. But this is a fucking travesty.
My mother was a reading teacher. She bought all the books her kids read each year. She’d hand them out. The kids would keep them for a few weeks, and usually return them.
Every year I would schlep several boxes of her books, between home and her classroom. 30 copies of this. 40 copies of that. Maybe a couple dozen titles. I personally would’ve appreciated it, if the school bought the books, so I didn’t have to carry them all twice a year.
My coworker bought a toner cartridge last week. All of my OT co-workers buy all of the supplies for their weekly activities. I buy lots of screws and small items to fix kids wheelchairs or broken classroom toys, tools for my teachers, etc. Last year i bought a $50 cot to serve as a portable changing table for field trips. New admin threw it away over the summer, along with thousands of dollars worth of equipment, because they didn’t know what it was and didn’t bother to ask.
Changing table? Either you teach infants or you work in a very special needs position.
Special needs age 3 to 22.
You’re a saint. Be proud of what you do.
Thank you. Hardly saintly - i just prefer kids to adults.
We donated a guitar to a high school music program. Honestly, I don’t know anyone who owns exactly one guitar. You either have none or several. Do you really need them all? How about taking your old student model and letting a beginner play on it? I get it. It’s that sentimental first instrument you ever picked up. But you’re not playing it anymore, and instruments like to be played. It deserves a happier life than sitting at the back of your closet.
You can’t blame people who pay for their own things for schools not having enough supplies. I have 14 guitars. I’ve owned about 20 and I’ve given away some to people who want to learn.
Schools need better funding. I didn’t cause this problem.
