New teacher, I cannot afford to set up my classroom…

[Anonymous]

Because she knows how much actual stuff you need to make a classroom look like a classroom. When you start the school year, your classroom is empty. If you walked into your kids classroom and didn't see posters on the wall, books in the shelves, etc. you would not be happy. It takes awhile to put together a nice looking classroom and that also involves supplies. For someone starting out, it can get expensive. Especially if your school doesn't have a lot of funds/materials at the ready. This teacher is thinking ahead and you are mocking her.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you setting up your room now? It's the middle of July.

+1

[Anonymous]

My DH’s school in third world country did not have a treasure box. Many of his classmates are post graduate professionals around the world now. This stuff is not necessary for a good education and class decor will make no measurable difference to students

[Anonymous]

Set up an Amazon wish list and ask for help on local social media. People will absolutely help you out.

[Anonymous]

-post that you need stuff like books on but nothing / free yard sale fb pages
-your school might give you some money through pta
-see if teachers link Amazon wishlists on their email signatures at your school and if they do, go fit it. I’d check with admin if it doesn’t seem common practice. Then parents can buy stuff & know what to get. I was placed in a wealthier school so this may not work or be appropriate in all schools.

I did acquire some credit card debt my first year but I paid it off after starting. But I mostly looked for free books and other free or cheap supplies on yard sale pages. Teachers at the school also gave me some of their older books.

Don’t feel like you need an amazing library or the best decor ever. Pinterest teachers burn out quickly. Focus on what’s most important and that’s not interior design. You really should be able to find some free books. Seek them out. Hang up caution tape that the walls are under construction. Have kids make something you can display on the walls.

[Anonymous]

Also, I got a few games for indoor recess at Goodwill. Like $20 for a couple things. There’s also dollar store chess, checkers, and cards.

People looking to purge stuff at home would likely donate free games too. If you don’t see posts, feel free to post that you’re a new teacher in search of free books, games, and supplies. Some people want to get rid of stuff like that and will go for it when they see a good reason to clean out their house.

[Anonymous]

OP, I‘m not sure if this would work in your social/family situation, but I’ve heard of people having new teacher showers. Just another idea to add.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m just in tears, since I’m not currently getting paid, I do not have any extra funds. My coworkers are talking about buying legos for back to schooo night, wallets for their class cash, prizes for the treasure box. I can’t even afford a bookshelf to my books on! I don’t have decorations, posters, supply carts, organizers, clipboards….I don’t have anything and I don’t know what to do. I mean I always knew teachers had to spend some of their own money, but I never realized how much. It’s a low income school so we also have to make sure to have extra supplies on hand for the kids who do not bring anything. We also cannot ask parents to donate. I’m just so discouraged and have cried all day.

Not sure what county or school you are in, but at least in FCPS most supplies are provided by the school. Bookshelves should also be provided. You need to speak to the front office of your school to find out how you can acquire things - not the principal, but the office staff. Whoever is in charge of the office is generally the most powerful and knowledgeable person in the school about things like that.

As for decorations, you don't need them. I used to have students decorate the room during the first week or two. All you need is basic supplies that every school has - poster board, crayons, tape. Cover the room in student artwork and slogans and lists that you make together. All that stuff you see other teachers with is completely unnecessary. Some of the worst teachers I ever knew had beautiful classrooms that looked like Ikea staged rooms, and some of the best were just plain ugly. Crayons, paper, tape. That's all you need. The only thing you'll want to make sure you have is some extra snacks every day (buy a bulk container of crackers or goldfish) because you'll have some kids whose parents can't afford snack time.

[Anonymous]

Forget the stupid treasure box. That's nonsense and won't do anyone any good. You do NOT need and in fact should not have one - it's really not good behavior management. Get to know your students instead and have a 5 minute dance/music break as a reward if you need one. Way better than some plastic junk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate your thoughts. We can certainly debate what teachers should or should not be purchasing and why, but the fact is that teachers in low-income schools often end up feeling obligated to purchase materials definitely affects their high attrition rate. My very low-income school (homeless center and EL newcomer center) has turned over its entire staff at least three times in the last six years. I've seen more teachers leave the profession in the last three years than in my previous 16 combined. I am curious if anyone has seen any data on how many people are going into grad school in education these days compared to ten years ago and what kind of crisis that will be creating in schools in the coming decade.

I taught in a low-income school and did spend a ton of my own money, but I didn't really mind (I was not buying school supplies, which were provided by my school, but rather things like clothes and food for children whose parents couldn't afford it). I quit because of the horrendous stress and focus on test scores, the demeaning administrators, the clique-y teachers, and the fact that after a few years I realized that any positive change I made for students was done only by waging an uphill battle against everything stupid, incompetent, and nonsensical that was constantly coming downstream from FCPS's bloated bureaucracy and all the levels of govt above that.

[Anonymous]

Trash Nothing.

https://trashnothing.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Forget the stupid treasure box. That's nonsense and won't do anyone any good. You do NOT need and in fact should not have one - it's really not good behavior management. Get to know your students instead and have a 5 minute dance/music break as a reward if you need one. Way better than some plastic junk.

Sweeping generalizations aren’t really useful. I use a treasure box when I need students to return something, like library books at the end of the year. It’s very motivating for some students and helpful in certain situations, just like a dance or music break is motivating for some students. Others are moved by quiet reading time, or teacher helper time, etc.

This thread has people wanting to nitpick how this teacher plans to run her classroom. OP, this is a taste of the micromanagement efforts you will get from admin, parents, and the general public. Take advice from educators you trust and let the rest roll of your back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Forget the stupid treasure box. That's nonsense and won't do anyone any good. You do NOT need and in fact should not have one - it's really not good behavior management. Get to know your students instead and have a 5 minute dance/music break as a reward if you need one. Way better than some plastic junk.

Sweeping generalizations aren’t really useful. I use a treasure box when I need students to return something, like library books at the end of the year. It’s very motivating for some students and helpful in certain situations, just like a dance or music break is motivating for some students. Others are moved by quiet reading time, or teacher helper time, etc.

This thread has people wanting to nitpick how this teacher plans to run her classroom. OP, this is a taste of the micromanagement efforts you will get from admin, parents, and the general public. Take advice from educators you trust and let the rest roll of your back.

I'm sorry that you haven't kept up with the times, but if you were the kind of teacher who reads research, keeps up with the profession and the best practices, and is self-reflective, then you would have already abandoned this type of material reward. Don't be angry with me because you are persisting in practices that are outdated and need to justify your inertia.

And anyway, a teacher crying because she can't afford to buy crayons definitely doesn't need to go into debt to buy plastic prizes for a treasure box. Shame on you for making her think she does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DH’s school in third world country did not have a treasure box. Many of his classmates are post graduate professionals around the world now. This stuff is not necessary for a good education and class decor will make no measurable difference to students

We are not in a third world country. This is the USA.

[Anonymous]

You could make the rounds of Little Free Libraries. Drop off some of your own books so that you're paying it forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DH’s school in third world country did not have a treasure box. Many of his classmates are post graduate professionals around the world now. This stuff is not necessary for a good education and class decor will make no measurable difference to students

Feel free to send your kids to DH's hometown school if you think the quality is superior that what you can get here.