Teacher Panhandles to raise money for school supplies

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

O/t I thought everyone paid into taxes that got a paycheck I am so stupid

 

[Mizzoufan]

O/t I thought everyone paid into taxes that got a paycheck I am so stupid

It' usually property taxes but that just not enough. Schools take lots and lots of money to run and when the budget get cut classroom budget are usually they first thing cut.

 

[Mizzoufan]

$35k for a teacher that requires a college degree and a teacher certificate is outrageous. That is only $16.76 per hour. My daughter got her first job as a camp counselor and it paid $15.72. How does Oklahoma retain any of their teachers? Wouldn't they just bolt for another state?

Sadly 35,000 is a pretty good salary in this area esp in smaller schools. Sadly as the old saying you don't get into teaching for the love of money.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Sadly 35,000 is a pretty good salary in this area esp in smaller schools. Sadly as the old saying you don't get into teaching for the love of money.

I heard the same thing growing up still wanted to teach more then anything but my disability got in the way

 

[DisneylandDarling]

Haven't read through the article, but $35,000 is actually a pretty decent salary in some parts of the country (small, rural).

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I see the point she's trying to make, but IMO, it is the responsibility of the parents, the school administrators, and the teachers to cover educational costs. Don't have the budget for projects you want to do? Then figure out a cheaper way to do it.
Textbooks should be covered by the district so it I don't understand where the big expenses are coming from? Paper, pencils, and tempera paint don't cost that much.

 

[dotfurio]

In my low income district we're not allowed to send home supply lists or requests. In my district each school uses their allotted funds at their discretion. Luckily I'm at a school that supports teachers with basic supplies as well as a decent variety of art supplies and other extras if we request them. The only thing I tend to run out of are pencils (1 per month per kid - never lasts!).

I've been at other schools in my district that choose not to spend their funds on supplies. For example, I taught first grade at a school that kept 6 sticks of glue in the office and if a teacher wanted to use them they had to check them out from the secretary and promptly return them. Six sticks for 28 six year olds to cut and paste the worksheets we did on an almost daily basis, and that's if no other teachers were using them. I didn't even bother, I just bought my own glue.

I've gotten a lot better about not spending so much of my own money on my room. I spent so much putting my classroom together my first year teaching the person who does our taxes scolded me.

I've mentioned this in another thread somewhere - I've successfully used Donor Choose in the past and I know a lot of other teachers in my district have. Now our district has mandated that any projects posted on Donors Choose must be preapproved by the principal, director of technology, superintendent, and the school board to make sure the items requested meet with the district's "vision." It's such a hassle I only know of a couple teachers in our district that even bother.

 

[CarolAnn856]

I see the point she's trying to make, but IMO, it is the responsibility of the parents, the school administrators, and the teachers to cover educational costs. Don't have the budget for projects you want to do? Then figure out a cheaper way to do it.
Textbooks should be covered by the district so it I don't understand where the big expenses are coming from? Paper, pencils, and tempera paint don't cost that much.

Teachers should pay for classroom supplies? I don't even think parents should, but that's a discussion for another day.

When I worked in the private sector, I didn't have to purchase my own office supplies. Neither has my husband or anyone I know. Why should teachers have to pay OOP for the basic supplies they need in order to do their job?

And I get the feeling that you aren't at all familiar with how teachers teach. They need a lot more than textbooks, paper, pencils, and paint, especially in the younger grades.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

My niece is a teacher. About half way thru the year, she is always needing pencils and the students can't afford them. At the end of August when supplies start going on clearance, I stock up on pencils. then when I see her at Christmas, I give her pencils for second half of the year. it's CRAZY how much money she spends on just basic needs for her classroom. i know we have it better than some. My DD visited a poor school in Costa Rica where the classroom had ONE pencil for everyone to share!

 

[DawnM]

I see the point she's trying to make, but IMO, it is the responsibility of the parents, the school administrators, and the teachers to cover educational costs. Don't have the budget for projects you want to do? Then figure out a cheaper way to do it.
Textbooks should be covered by the district so it I don't understand where the big expenses are coming from? Paper, pencils, and tempera paint don't cost that much.

Huh? No, it is the responsibility of tax payers to pay taxes so that schools can have the proper supplies. However, the states decide how much they are going to spend overall, and then pay teachers, build schools, and buy school supplies/curriculum/materials.

Why in the world would teacher and administrators have to pay for any additional costs of their students?

 

[mummabear]

I tried but can't track down an opinion piece I read awhile ago.

The general gist of it is that teachers need to stop propping up a broken system.
Stop using your own money to buy supplies, show the parents, the school disctricts, the government how bad it is.

 

[pumpkinmomma]

$35k for a teacher that requires a college degree and a teacher certificate is outrageous. That is only $16.76 per hour. My daughter got her first job as a camp counselor and it paid $15.72. How does Oklahoma retain any of their teachers? Wouldn't they just bolt for another state?

I actually make less than $35k since I don't have as many years in. Teachers in OK start at $31,600. And our teachers do bolt for other states. We have a huge teacher shortage here, it's reached crisis point. They've issued thousands of emergency certificates over the past couple of years because they can't find certified teachers to fill spots. My district lost an amazing science teacher to another state- moving 2 hours away gave her a $15,000 raise.

Oklahoma leads the nation in cuts to education since 2008. The teacher pay scale hasn't gone up in almost 10 years. We are at the very bottom in both teacher pay and per pupil spending. We are basically running on donations, grants, and hope at this point. We don't have paper, pencils, textbooks (my books are from 2004 or 2006 and I don't have enough), much less glue, graph paper, paint, etc. I begged for scissors and rulers last fall.

I'd love to live in a reality where my kids had everything they needed and good parental support but I don't. I teach in a very rural community, the nearest store is 20-30 miles drive for most kids. Many either can't afford it or don't have anyone who cares enough to take them to get supplies. So I buy paper, pencils, and notebooks. I go to workshops to get curriculum. I put up wishlists on Amazon and write donors choose grants. I buy chem lab supplies at Walmart. Because otherwise I get docked on my evaluation for students who are not engaged or working. And I do care about my students. I want them to have a quality educational experience and a chance to get out of the poverty cycle.

 

[pumpkinmomma]

Haven't read through the article, but $35,000 is actually a pretty decent salary in some parts of the country (small, rural).

And you absolutely pay taxes if you're making $35,000. Heck, when I was in college I had to pay taxes on my scholarships (excluding only tuition and books) as well as the income on my very PT job...

$35k for a teacher with 12 yrs experience is way low compared to the national average (or even the regional average). It may be a decent salary in some places, but she's not being paid what she deserves, not by a long shot.

 

[mummabear]

We don't have paper, pencils, textbooks

I am asking out of curiosity, I live in Nz and here parents are given a stationary list at the start of the school year, we must buy these things and bring them in the first day. DDs were about $60 of stuff each and that is all the glue sticks, pens, pencils books etc.
Occasionally we are asked for top ups usually in books but not often.
We go to a public school and this is normal here, it has been done at least since I was young and I don't know anschool that doesn't do this.

Is this not how things are done in the US?

 

[mummabear]

Huh? No, it is the responsibility of tax payers to pay taxes so that schools can have the proper supplies. However, the states decide how much they are going to spend overall, and then pay teachers, build schools, and buy school supplies/curriculum/materials.

Why in the world would teacher and administrators have to pay for any additional costs of their students?

I think the PP was meaning it is the teachers responsiblity to stay within budget not that is is the teachers responsibility to top up that budget.

I am sure however it is difficult to meet the performance/learning requirements and stay within the limited budget.

 

[pumpkinmomma]

I think the PP was meaning it is the teachers responsiblity to stay within budget not that is is the teachers responsibility to top up that budget.

I am sure however it is difficult to meet the performance/learning requirements and stay within the limited budget.

I teach chemistry. My budget for all labs and supplies for the year is $200. That's it. It's impossible to stay within that budget and be remotely effective. My colleagues who don't teach science get even less. I can't exactly have students buy their own chemicals, glassware (because it gets broken and something always needs to be replaced), etc. forget basics like pencils, staples, paper. Heck, we ran out of copy paper last year.

I do send a list, but there's only so much I can ask for. Several of our students can't really afford much. $50 would be a huge stretch for some of our kids.

 

[indimom]

I am asking out of curiosity, I live in Nz and here parents are given a stationary list at the start of the school year, we must buy these things and bring them in the first day. DDs were about $60 of stuff each and that is all the glue sticks, pens, pencils books etc.
Occasionally we are asked for top ups usually in books but not often.
We go to a public school and this is normal here, it has been done at least since I was young and I don't know anschool that doesn't do this.

Is this not how things are done in the US?

It's how it works where I live. But, I'm guessing there are a good number of parents who just do not supply the requested items (especially in communities that are financially strapped).
Our lists include notebooks, folders, binders, pencils, pens, crayons, glue, scissors, erasers, whiteboard markers, protractors, calculators, anti-bacterial wipes, tissues, that sort of thing. It typically runs about $50 a year, give or take.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I see the point she's trying to make, but IMO, it is the responsibility of the parents, the school administrators, and the teachers to cover educational costs. Don't have the budget for projects you want to do? Then figure out a cheaper way to do it.
Textbooks should be covered by the district so it I don't understand where the big expenses are coming from? Paper, pencils, and tempera paint don't cost that much.

There is way more that goes into it than "Paper, pencils, and tempera paint".
Have you been in your child's classroom before? I know that the classrooms I have been in have a variety of learning tools. Should those be covered by the district? Probably. But they're not always and I prefer my kids have access to many different kinds of supplies and tool because not all children learn the same way.

 

[Flight]

There is way more that goes into it than "Paper, pencils, and tempera paint".
Have you been in your child's classroom before? I know that the classrooms I have been in have a variety of learning tools. Should those be covered by the district? Probably. But they're not always and I prefer my kids have access to many different kinds of supplies and tool because not all children learn the same way.

This is why classroom sizes need to remain small so a teacher can approach the subject in various ways to assist each student in their attempts to learn. Unfortunately as many know, some classrooms have an overflow of students.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Teachers should pay for classroom supplies? I don't even think parents should, but that's a discussion for another day.

When I worked in the private sector, I didn't have to purchase my own office supplies. Neither has my husband or anyone I know. Why should teachers have to pay OOP for the basic supplies they need in order to do their job?

And I get the feeling that you aren't at all familiar with how teachers teach. They need a lot more than textbooks, paper, pencils, and paint, especially in the younger grades.

No, teachers should plan their lessons around what is available to them and their budget.

What are these expensive elementary school supplies that are required for young children to learn? Sure, there are expensive things that might make it easier or more fun, but not necessary.