Teacher Panhandles to raise money for school supplies

[Happyinwonerland]

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.

Is there not a lab fee? When I was in high school, Biology and Chemistry had lab fees to cover the cost of supplies like glassware, chemicals, animal cadavers, etc. If you didn't pay the fee, you were switched to earth and space science or geology or some other equally less supply intensive class. The general public wasn't hit up for donations.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

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'm sure it isn't easy. And maybe if teachers stop making up the difference out of their own limited salaries, or begging online or on the street, then the districts will pony up for the supplies. When they start seeing declining test scores due to lack of supplies, they'll listen. But teachers continue to put up with the nonsense and make up the difference and the higher ups keep rolling in the dough.

Our city's superintendant makes a quarter of a million dollars, in a city where the average household income is just is $48,600, and our educational system in this state is a joke. Maybe if some of those superintendants made $100k less, the districts would have more to work with. But if we, the public, and teachers, keep making up the difference, it will never change.

 

[DaisyJ]

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.

Said by someone who has zero experience how classrooms operate...

 

[Happyinwonerland]

In 2015, the total compensation for Claremore, OK superintendent was $140, 620, in a town where average household income is like $39k. And random street passerby are supposed to fund the teachers' classrooms? Maybe the teachers and parents should be lobbying for less at the top, more in the classrooms.

The U.S. Secretary of Education position only pays $208k, to oversee the entire country's educational programs. Why do small town superintendents earn so much?

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Said by someone who has zero experience how classrooms operate...

Then educate me. Tell me what is so expensive that is costing these early childhood educators thousands of dollars out of pocket? That's my big question.

 

[Mizzoufan]

Then educate me. Tell me what is so expensive that is costing these early childhood educators thousands of dollars out of pocket? That's my big question.

supplies enough for 20 plus kids. It adds very quickly

 

[Magpie]

I'm sure it isn't easy. And maybe if teachers stop making up the difference out of their own limited salaries, or begging online or on the street, then the districts will pony up for the supplies. When they start seeing declining test scores due to lack of supplies, they'll listen. But teachers continue to put up with the nonsense and make up the difference and the higher ups keep rolling in the dough.

Our city's superintendant makes a quarter of a million dollars, in a city where the average household income is just is $48,600, and our educational system in this state is a joke. Maybe if some of those superintendants made $100k less, the districts would have more to work with. But if we, the public, and teachers, keep making up the difference, it will never change.

Hang on...

Are you saying the current situation is the fault of teachers because they "put up with the nonsense"?

What are you suggesting teachers should do instead? Quit en masse? Work to rule? Strike? Teachers have often done this, ARE doing this, and whenever they do they're accused of hurting the kids, and being greedy and selfish and lazy.

There's really no way for a teacher to win here.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

supplies enough for 20 plus kids. It adds very quickly

That doesn't answer my question.That's like someone coming on the planning boards and saying "How much is a disney trip?" and getting the reply " A lot. It's expensive"

What supplies are we talking about?Pencils, paper, crayons, scissors, etc. should be supplied by the parents. I've seen the lists. And these things aren't pricey, especially if you shop salea and dollar stores. The textbooks are covered by the district. What are these expensive supplies that are taking up thousands of dollars?

 

[Mizzoufan]

There is no way for a teach to plan a lesson on the materials they have. They would be doing nothing but sitting there all day.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Hang on...

Are you saying the current situation is the fault of teachers because they "put up with the nonsense"?

What are you suggesting teachers should do instead? Quit en masse? Work to rule? Strike? Teachers have often done this, ARE doing this, and whenever they do they're accused of hurting the kids, and being greedy and selfish and lazy.

There's really no way for a teacher to win here.

No, it isn't their fault, but they can do something about it. And begging on a street corner isn't the way to do it.

Don't strike, don't quit en masse. Simply do your job, within the budget given to you. If the education isn't effective within those boundaries, the test scores will show it. And administrators respond quickly to lower scores.

 

[Mizzoufan]

That doesn't answer my question.That's like someone coming on the planning boards and saying "How much is a disney trip?" and getting the reply " A lot. It's expensive"

What supplies are we talking about?Pencils, paper, crayons, scissors, etc. should be supplied by the parents. I've seen the lists. And these things aren't pricey, especially if you shop salea and dollar stores. The textbooks are covered by the district. What are these expensive supplies that are taking up thousands of dollars?

They should be provided by the parents but I can't tell you there not always. That why the teacher have to buy items. There not as cheap as you think.

 

[Aliceacc]

Every single teacher I know uses his/her own money on supplies on some level.

I'm very fortunate that my Catholic school supplies us with all the necessities, and then some.

But there are still things we spend our own money on, to make our classes what we want them to be.

And I know of so many teachers far less fortunate than I am in this matter.

 

[MrsDuck]

Absolutely awful. Certainly speaks volumes.

I teach high school - I don't have the necessities that an elementary teacher has but I do incur costs to have my classroom look better than the cell block they provide and stocked enough to get me through the year with supplies to teach.

I've already spent upwards of $150 and have more to go. Perhaps we are fortunate in our county - we are given $270 every year to spend. We submit receipts to show proof we aren't just living it up and buying fun stuff for home. That said, we aren't reimbursed until March. I usually can make it all happen for that $270 amount but I highly doubt elementary school teachers can!

 

[Jennasis]

No, it isn't their fault, but they can do something about it. And begging on a street corner isn't the way to do it.

Don't strike, don't quit en masse. Simply do your job, within the budget given to you. If the education isn't effective within those boundaries, the test scores will show it. And administrators respond quickly to lower scores.

So you are advocating for sacrificing the kids. Give them a substandard crappy education because that's what the budget allows for, and let the scores fall.

Yeah, no. That's not how any of the teachers I know roll.

 

[Magpie]

No, it isn't their fault, but they can do something about it. And begging on a street corner isn't the way to do it.

They are.

Chicago, Seattle, many teachers' unions are perpetually either striking or in strike negotiations. They're doing the best they can, with what they have. They're working their rear ends off, trying to make a difference.

Begging on the street isn't so much about getting materials, it's about making a public statement, protesting and raising the visibility of the problem. It's a form of legal protest, which happily doesn't require the A-OK of your union and doesn't hurt the kids.

And in the meantime, those same kids still have to be taught. Today! And that requires materials. Which, as a dedicated teacher, you're going to do whatever you can to get your hands on.

I think it's very wrong to criticize teachers for using Donor's Choose (or as you put it, "begging online"), and to suggest that in doing so - in actually trying to teach their students - they're hurting their own cause.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

No, it isn't their fault, but they can do something about it. And begging on a street corner isn't the way to do it.

Don't strike, don't quit en masse. Simply do your job, within the budget given to you. If the education isn't effective within those boundaries, the test scores will show it. And administrators respond quickly to lower scores.

Do you think teachers are sitting on their hands doing nothing to make changes?

By saying, "let the test scores show it" you're basically saying it's cool to let kids' education suffer to make changes.

Are you a teacher? I'm not, and no way would I assume that I know how to do their job better than they do

 

[Happyinwonerland]

So you are advocating for sacrificing the kids. Give them a substandard crappy education because that's what the budget allows for, and let the scores fall.

Yeah, no. That's not how any of the teachers I know roll.

If a patient needs a medication that is too expensive to afford, the doctor doesn't reach into his own pocket and pay for that drug. He finds a cheaper alternative that maybe doesn't work as well, or gets a case manager to work with the drug company to give a discount. Sometimes that means patients go without drugs they need. Sometimes they get sicker. Sometimes they die. All because they can't afford their meds. Doctors, nurses, and the general public lobby for better drug prices so patients can get their meds. We don't reach into our own pockets and spend thousands of dollars, even if it means someone gets sicker.

I know it is hard to say well, we just won't go as in depth as I'd like. Maybe we have fewer labs, fewer STEM toys for recess, fewer hands on activities. But I highly doubt that will make or break a young child's educational career. Nobody flunks out of college because their teacher used less expensive supplies in elementary school.

 

[Klayfish]

Teachers (along with police, firefighters, nurses, EMS...) are some of the most underpaid professions in our country, IMO. Insane how little they are paid. Sad, very sad. The budgets for the schools is also sad. Not that they should have a blank check, but there's a happy medium and I think they're way too far on the wrong side of that bell curve.

I have no issue with how much a school superintendent gets paid. I wouldn't want their job, it's not easy at all. However, the "front line" teachers are far, far underpaid and underfunded. I don't think it's the core cause of students getting lower grades, but it certainly doesn't help matters.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Do you think teachers are sitting on their hands doing nothing to make changes?

By saying, "let the test scores show it" you're basically saying it's cool to let kids' education suffer to make changes.

Are you a teacher? I'm not, and no way would I assume that I know how to do their job better than they do

You really think a few years of lower test scores is going to destroy a child's life?

I'm a homeschooler, who teaches a group of elementary age kids once a week, but that is a completely different job than public school teachers.

I don't presume to know how to do their jobs better than they do. I'm not criticizing anyone's teaching abilities. I'm saying that if their districts give them X amount of dollars and supplies, they should stick as close to that as possible. They should not feel responsible if that means the kids don't get as many supplemental experiences.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

You really think a few years of lower test scores is going to destroy a child's life?

I'm a homeschooler, who teaches a group of elementary age kids once a week, but that is a completely different job than public school teachers.

I don't presume to know how to do their jobs better than they do. I'm not criticizing anyone's teaching abilities. I'm saying that if their districts give them X amount of dollars and supplies, they should stick as close to that as possible. They should not feel responsible if that means the kids don't get as many supplemental experiences.

Did I say "destroy a kid's life"? Of course it won't, but test scores have been slipping in many places for a long time and teachers are still facing the same issues they've been facing for years. And yes... It's you are essentially saying it's fine to sacrifice education to make a point. Using those kinds of hyperboles are doing nothing to help your argument.