Back to Basics

As I purchase school supplies for my children I realize how blessed I am.  This realization might find you confused, but I  have become increasingly aware how wasteful we are as a society and how frivolous we have become.  On several recent trips to Wal-mart in different towns, I have glanced at the supply list requested by many schools.  The lists seem to get longer and longer each year.  No longer can a parent provide his/her child w/the basics of pen, pencil and paper.  The modern day list request paper towels, wipes, ziplocs, hand sanitizer, tissue, etc.   Add to that list construction paper, manuscript paper, composition books, graph paper, calculators, protractors, compass, rulers, pencil sharpeners, paint smock, crayons, markers, highlighters, index cards, etc.  The lists are as diverse in length as items listed.  The items all serve a very important purpose in our classrooms today.

I don't disclose the name of my community.  It is a wonderful place to live, but the reality is we have a large number of single parent households and families living in poverty.  Many don't have the means to provide the long list of supplies.  As I have searched high and low and traveled to a variety of locations to buy supplies, I have felt a lot of compassion for these families.  Many of them put their children on the bus every  morning because they don't have transportation.  This means they also don't have transportation to go from store to store searching for the required list or the best buy on the products on the list.  I'm still looking for a few things on the list myself and school starts tomorrow.  Can you imagine being a kid entering school on the first day w/o the "required list"?  This child would feel that he/she has already started the year behind.   We haven't even touched on the fact the student might have grown a foot over the summer and needs new clothes and shoes.



Before all the teachers reading get up in arms know that I AM AN EDUCATOR TOO.  I realize lots of ways we could compromise on this list.  We could also discourage waste and encourage reuse and recycling.  I have washed book covers from last year and even stitched one up.  Why throw away something that will never disintegrate in our landfill?  Just imagine all of that metal from the spiral notebooks (I hate these notebooks) in our landfill.  I know every parent (including myself) today encourages the use of hand sanitizer, but what did we do before it became the norm?  Why didn't we have massive spreading of deadly disease when we were children w/o hand sanitizer?  I have bottles in my purse, my car, in the lunchboxes, etc. so I am just as guilty.  I just hope we aren't forgoing handwashing to hand sanitize instead.

Another teacher friend and I were chatting this morning and she said her grade level got together and came up with an essential list- one binder, notebook paper, dividers, pens and pencils.  They provided parents with optional items they could purchase, but these are not necessary.  She mentioned not all grades compromise- what a shame.  I have counseled numerous students that were not turning in the required notebook because they simply did not have it and the required dividers.  Several times I have emptied one of my own notebooks, placed the contents in a paper clip or folder, collected a few page protectors and using my computer and printer created the student some one of a kind dividers.  Another idea- use old folders as dividers for those notebooks.  It would be a great idea to teach a lesson on organization and create these items as a class.  This would allow every child to be on a level playing field.

I know LOTS of teachers that go above and beyond spending tons of their own money on supplies for their classroom and students.  I'm just suggesting parents and teachers put their heads together and come up w/some compromises to "the list".  Thank goodness many churches and community groups step in and coordinate back to school donations.  If you have the means or find a good deal, I encourage you to buy a few extra things and donate to your child's classroom or one of these organizations collecting supplies.  With all this being said- it is time to go BACK TO SCHOOL!

P.S>I miss the days of the paper book cover that I had to measure and fold to fit on each of my textbooks.  We used brown bags from our local grocery store and decorated/personalized each cover.