Noreen thank you for the laugh on a day I needed it --ouch the market was painful today! I agree that the back to school chaos is complete nonsense its worse than the holidays. I am new to this experience and my first year was shocking. I thought shopping for preschool two weeks in advance of school starting was plenty of time—surprise the stores were empty the shelves disorganized and I spent days going from place to place. This year I got smart and purchased the usual items throughout the year and kept them in a big box. I think the schools should offer a back to school shopping service that provides the required back to school items for your child’s class available for a flat fee. I realize this may be a little more expensive than bargain hunting but as you stated time is money and it would help parents with multiple kids get ready for back to school without the stress. Schools could even charge a nominal fee for the service and use the money for student programs that are falling by the wayside due to budget cuts.
Re: Sneaky School Districts
PAW
8/3/2011 10:21:14 PM
I agree that some kids may not be able to afford the required supplies. That is why we always buy extra supplies and donate them to the class. Still, I wonder, why our tax dollars do not pay for sufficient supplies.
Re: Sneaky School Districts
PAW
8/3/2011 10:16:54 PM
I have a relative in California that teaches grade school. According to her, teachers do have to pass an exam in order to teach certain classes in math. Unfortunately, many do not pass the exam.
Re: Sneaky School Districts
TelecomFreq
8/3/2011 11:10:40 AM
ProfR, I think you have come up with a great idea, a type of supplement certification for math and science teachers that is only good for two years, and then they need to retest to keep the certification. It's a model that works in other industries, why not teaching?
Scrapbooking material is exactly the kind of request that drives me crazy. Why can't the kids cut pictures from old magazines? Noreen, you touched a nerve with this one.
Re: Sneaky School Districts
Drivewaygirl
8/3/2011 10:52:10 AM
That's because they can deduct $200 of purchases from their tfederal income taxes. It;s an above the line deduction, even for those who do not itemize.
And while there are honorable teachers in poor districts who buy supplies to be, generous, let me make one point:
Poor public school districts do not necessarily pay their teachers poorly. And many schools, even poor ones, have more supplies than you think in their closets.
Re: Sneaky School Districts
ProfR
8/3/2011 8:00:48 AM
TelecomFreq,
One of the issues in our education system today is how variable it is -- some places good and some are not. This is true even in higher income areas. So we pay more taxes and we pay more for school supplies but the underlying problem exists.
It would be interesting if school teachers especially in math and science, had to show they understood the concepts and were keeping up with the latest news - some kind of teacher test?
Re: Sneaky School Districts
AskAsa
8/2/2011 11:56:57 PM
I've known teachers who would buy supplies out of pocket. They said there were always at least a few kids who were sent to school shabbily clothed with no supplies or money.
School Supplies
PAW
8/2/2011 10:37:07 PM
When I was in grade school, we didn't need to bring any supplies...just ourselves. It is amazing to me what we have to buy, in addition to paying taxes, for the classroom. I have two kids in grade school and have already purchased the required minimum. My wife takes one list and I the other. We learned to go as soon as the stores start stocking up with supplies (last year we procrastinated and had a hard time finding everything). My favorite item on the required list was "scrapbooking material". Really?
Re: Sneaky School Districts
Tenacious
8/2/2011 9:28:06 PM
Unfortunately in this area, the property taxes are among the highest in the nation. And yet the back to school lists get longer and more elaborate every year. Street Smart is exactly right-they include Kleenex and Scot Towels, etc. What the heck is going on? Who is raiding the supply closets?
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