School Supplies lists and Janitorial Supplies

[Anonymous]

17 pages and still complaining…if you don’t want to bring in supplies then don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School supplies should be school supplies. No baby wipes, no Clorox wipes, no tissues, no paper towels. Use what the school provides and what taxpayers have already PAID FOR! she should have cleaning spray they have toilet tissue they have paper towels. It’s very obnoxious to request parents to spend more money because you prefer something better than what’s already been purchased. This has to stop.

Teachers are not requesting “better” items… they are simply requesting the needed items that THEY DON’T HAVE or DON’T HAVE ENOUGH OF. No one is holding a tissue drive because they have a brand preference, they are holding a tissue drive because they have NO tissues! Same with cleaning supplies. There are not enough custodians to do the deep cleaning that is needed to maintain clean classroom spaces, so that falls to classroom teachers. Teachers are requesting these supplies because they don’t have them ! You seriously think all the teachers out there that ask for these items are asking because they are being snotty about a particular brand of tissue ?!

What a teacher on this thread said was she asks for wipes from parents because that’s easier than requesting paper towels in advance and using the provided cleaning spray. She prefers Clorox wipes and so asks the parents.

She prefers the Clorox wipes because the school provided paper towels suck for actual cleaning. Imagine using something equivalent to those super thin free gas station napkins to clean your house. Subpar cleaning result and lots of wasted time and effort. That is why there is a preference for the Clorox wipes, because they quickly and effectively get the job done.

Sure, but the PP ahead of you is saying that teachers aren’t requesting supplies because they don’t like what’s been given— which is exactly why you’re saying they’re requesting supplies.

I am sure you are right that Clorox wipes are nicer. The question is why it’s a parents job to buy a teacher nicer supplies.

I am given the opportunity to send kids to the bathroom to come back with wet and dry brown paper towels that don’t absorb water, leave a drippy mess, and don’t kill germs, they just spread them out, and make the desks too wet to work on. They also would run out fast if we used them for cleaning, and then I would be forced to wait a week before I moved the drippy germs around the desks.

So if someone buys you a $1.25 spray bottle and a $1.25 bottle of bleach to dilute with the (free) water and wipe down with the (free) paper towels that you dislike because they’re recycled, is that fine? Or does it have to be the absolute most expensive and wasteful product available in order to properly kill the UMC germs you’re dealing with?

What does class have to do with germs, other than the fact that keeping germs out of the classroom is a higher priority for people who don't have the option to work from home when they or their kids are sick?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School supplies should be school supplies. No baby wipes, no Clorox wipes, no tissues, no paper towels. Use what the school provides and what taxpayers have already PAID FOR! she should have cleaning spray they have toilet tissue they have paper towels. It’s very obnoxious to request parents to spend more money because you prefer something better than what’s already been purchased. This has to stop.

Teachers are not requesting “better” items… they are simply requesting the needed items that THEY DON’T HAVE or DON’T HAVE ENOUGH OF. No one is holding a tissue drive because they have a brand preference, they are holding a tissue drive because they have NO tissues! Same with cleaning supplies. There are not enough custodians to do the deep cleaning that is needed to maintain clean classroom spaces, so that falls to classroom teachers. Teachers are requesting these supplies because they don’t have them ! You seriously think all the teachers out there that ask for these items are asking because they are being snotty about a particular brand of tissue ?!

What a teacher on this thread said was she asks for wipes from parents because that’s easier than requesting paper towels in advance and using the provided cleaning spray. She prefers Clorox wipes and so asks the parents.

She prefers the Clorox wipes because the school provided paper towels suck for actual cleaning. Imagine using something equivalent to those super thin free gas station napkins to clean your house. Subpar cleaning result and lots of wasted time and effort. That is why there is a preference for the Clorox wipes, because they quickly and effectively get the job done.

Sure, but the PP ahead of you is saying that teachers aren’t requesting supplies because they don’t like what’s been given— which is exactly why you’re saying they’re requesting supplies.

I am sure you are right that Clorox wipes are nicer. The question is why it’s a parents job to buy a teacher nicer supplies.

I am given the opportunity to send kids to the bathroom to come back with wet and dry brown paper towels that don’t absorb water, leave a drippy mess, and don’t kill germs, they just spread them out, and make the desks too wet to work on. They also would run out fast if we used them for cleaning, and then I would be forced to wait a week before I moved the drippy germs around the desks.

So if someone buys you a $1.25 spray bottle and a $1.25 bottle of bleach to dilute with the (free) water and wipe down with the (free) paper towels that you dislike because they’re recycled, is that fine? Or does it have to be the absolute most expensive and wasteful product available in order to properly kill the UMC germs you’re dealing with?

What does class have to do with germs, other than the fact that keeping germs out of the classroom is a higher priority for people who don't have the option to work from home when they or their kids are sick?

Properly diluted Clorox and water spray left on desks to dry overnight (so no one has to have the indignity of using Brown paper towels) will kill more germs and be less environmentally wasteful than using Clorox or Lysol wipes. It will also cost $4.00 for the year.

So I have no idea why teachers in this area can only kill germs with the expensive environmental disaster products, I assume the germs are picky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School supplies should be school supplies. No baby wipes, no Clorox wipes, no tissues, no paper towels. Use what the school provides and what taxpayers have already PAID FOR! she should have cleaning spray they have toilet tissue they have paper towels. It’s very obnoxious to request parents to spend more money because you prefer something better than what’s already been purchased. This has to stop.

Teachers are not requesting “better” items… they are simply requesting the needed items that THEY DON’T HAVE or DON’T HAVE ENOUGH OF. No one is holding a tissue drive because they have a brand preference, they are holding a tissue drive because they have NO tissues! Same with cleaning supplies. There are not enough custodians to do the deep cleaning that is needed to maintain clean classroom spaces, so that falls to classroom teachers. Teachers are requesting these supplies because they don’t have them ! You seriously think all the teachers out there that ask for these items are asking because they are being snotty about a particular brand of tissue ?!

What a teacher on this thread said was she asks for wipes from parents because that’s easier than requesting paper towels in advance and using the provided cleaning spray. She prefers Clorox wipes and so asks the parents.

She prefers the Clorox wipes because the school provided paper towels suck for actual cleaning. Imagine using something equivalent to those super thin free gas station napkins to clean your house. Subpar cleaning result and lots of wasted time and effort. That is why there is a preference for the Clorox wipes, because they quickly and effectively get the job done.

Sure, but the PP ahead of you is saying that teachers aren’t requesting supplies because they don’t like what’s been given— which is exactly why you’re saying they’re requesting supplies.

I am sure you are right that Clorox wipes are nicer. The question is why it’s a parents job to buy a teacher nicer supplies.

I am given the opportunity to send kids to the bathroom to come back with wet and dry brown paper towels that don’t absorb water, leave a drippy mess, and don’t kill germs, they just spread them out, and make the desks too wet to work on. They also would run out fast if we used them for cleaning, and then I would be forced to wait a week before I moved the drippy germs around the desks.

So if someone buys you a $1.25 spray bottle and a $1.25 bottle of bleach to dilute with the (free) water and wipe down with the (free) paper towels that you dislike because they’re recycled, is that fine? Or does it have to be the absolute most expensive and wasteful product available in order to properly kill the UMC germs you’re dealing with?

What does class have to do with germs, other than the fact that keeping germs out of the classroom is a higher priority for people who don't have the option to work from home when they or their kids are sick?

Properly diluted Clorox and water spray left on desks to dry overnight (so no one has to have the indignity of using Brown paper towels) will kill more germs and be less environmentally wasteful than using Clorox or Lysol wipes. It will also cost $4.00 for the year.

So I have no idea why teachers in this area can only kill germs with the expensive environmental disaster products, I assume the germs are picky.

I’m a high school teacher with 6 minutes between classes. I usually teach over 150 students, many of whom come to school noticeably sick over the winter.

I usually clean every student desk between class periods when viruses are running rampant. It’s the least I can do to keep kids (and myself) healthy.

Occasionally I use a spray bottle and the cheap towels. That takes a lot longer than wipes, especially since what the school provides is not absorbent.

Since I’d also like the opportunity to check my email or run to the bathroom, I’ll admit that I default to wipes as they are the faster option.

Don’t worry. I tend to buy them myself, so you don’t need to contribute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School supplies should be school supplies. No baby wipes, no Clorox wipes, no tissues, no paper towels. Use what the school provides and what taxpayers have already PAID FOR! she should have cleaning spray they have toilet tissue they have paper towels. It’s very obnoxious to request parents to spend more money because you prefer something better than what’s already been purchased. This has to stop.

Teachers are not requesting “better” items… they are simply requesting the needed items that THEY DON’T HAVE or DON’T HAVE ENOUGH OF. No one is holding a tissue drive because they have a brand preference, they are holding a tissue drive because they have NO tissues! Same with cleaning supplies. There are not enough custodians to do the deep cleaning that is needed to maintain clean classroom spaces, so that falls to classroom teachers. Teachers are requesting these supplies because they don’t have them ! You seriously think all the teachers out there that ask for these items are asking because they are being snotty about a particular brand of tissue ?!

What a teacher on this thread said was she asks for wipes from parents because that’s easier than requesting paper towels in advance and using the provided cleaning spray. She prefers Clorox wipes and so asks the parents.

She prefers the Clorox wipes because the school provided paper towels suck for actual cleaning. Imagine using something equivalent to those super thin free gas station napkins to clean your house. Subpar cleaning result and lots of wasted time and effort. That is why there is a preference for the Clorox wipes, because they quickly and effectively get the job done.

Sure, but the PP ahead of you is saying that teachers aren’t requesting supplies because they don’t like what’s been given— which is exactly why you’re saying they’re requesting supplies.

I am sure you are right that Clorox wipes are nicer. The question is why it’s a parents job to buy a teacher nicer supplies.

I am given the opportunity to send kids to the bathroom to come back with wet and dry brown paper towels that don’t absorb water, leave a drippy mess, and don’t kill germs, they just spread them out, and make the desks too wet to work on. They also would run out fast if we used them for cleaning, and then I would be forced to wait a week before I moved the drippy germs around the desks.

So if someone buys you a $1.25 spray bottle and a $1.25 bottle of bleach to dilute with the (free) water and wipe down with the (free) paper towels that you dislike because they’re recycled, is that fine? Or does it have to be the absolute most expensive and wasteful product available in order to properly kill the UMC germs you’re dealing with?

What does class have to do with germs, other than the fact that keeping germs out of the classroom is a higher priority for people who don't have the option to work from home when they or their kids are sick?

Properly diluted Clorox and water spray left on desks to dry overnight (so no one has to have the indignity of using Brown paper towels) will kill more germs and be less environmentally wasteful than using Clorox or Lysol wipes. It will also cost $4.00 for the year.

So I have no idea why teachers in this area can only kill germs with the expensive environmental disaster products, I assume the germs are picky.

When a kid sneezes all over a desk, that another kid will be sitting at in 5 minutes, the solution is not to leave it wet to dry overnight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School supplies should be school supplies. No baby wipes, no Clorox wipes, no tissues, no paper towels. Use what the school provides and what taxpayers have already PAID FOR! she should have cleaning spray they have toilet tissue they have paper towels. It’s very obnoxious to request parents to spend more money because you prefer something better than what’s already been purchased. This has to stop.

Teachers are not requesting “better” items… they are simply requesting the needed items that THEY DON’T HAVE or DON’T HAVE ENOUGH OF. No one is holding a tissue drive because they have a brand preference, they are holding a tissue drive because they have NO tissues! Same with cleaning supplies. There are not enough custodians to do the deep cleaning that is needed to maintain clean classroom spaces, so that falls to classroom teachers. Teachers are requesting these supplies because they don’t have them ! You seriously think all the teachers out there that ask for these items are asking because they are being snotty about a particular brand of tissue ?!

What a teacher on this thread said was she asks for wipes from parents because that’s easier than requesting paper towels in advance and using the provided cleaning spray. She prefers Clorox wipes and so asks the parents.

She prefers the Clorox wipes because the school provided paper towels suck for actual cleaning. Imagine using something equivalent to those super thin free gas station napkins to clean your house. Subpar cleaning result and lots of wasted time and effort. That is why there is a preference for the Clorox wipes, because they quickly and effectively get the job done.

Sure, but the PP ahead of you is saying that teachers aren’t requesting supplies because they don’t like what’s been given— which is exactly why you’re saying they’re requesting supplies.

I am sure you are right that Clorox wipes are nicer. The question is why it’s a parents job to buy a teacher nicer supplies.

I am given the opportunity to send kids to the bathroom to come back with wet and dry brown paper towels that don’t absorb water, leave a drippy mess, and don’t kill germs, they just spread them out, and make the desks too wet to work on. They also would run out fast if we used them for cleaning, and then I would be forced to wait a week before I moved the drippy germs around the desks.

So if someone buys you a $1.25 spray bottle and a $1.25 bottle of bleach to dilute with the (free) water and wipe down with the (free) paper towels that you dislike because they’re recycled, is that fine? Or does it have to be the absolute most expensive and wasteful product available in order to properly kill the UMC germs you’re dealing with?

What does class have to do with germs, other than the fact that keeping germs out of the classroom is a higher priority for people who don't have the option to work from home when they or their kids are sick?

Properly diluted Clorox and water spray left on desks to dry overnight (so no one has to have the indignity of using Brown paper towels) will kill more germs and be less environmentally wasteful than using Clorox or Lysol wipes. It will also cost $4.00 for the year.

So I have no idea why teachers in this area can only kill germs with the expensive environmental disaster products, I assume the germs are picky.

Because… we aren’t supposed to be using bleach in the classroom. I know it is stupid, but it is true. I don’t really understand why wipes are allowed, but I have been told “no chemicals except what the custodians used and if parents bring in Clorox wipes that is ok”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School supplies should be school supplies. No baby wipes, no Clorox wipes, no tissues, no paper towels. Use what the school provides and what taxpayers have already PAID FOR! she should have cleaning spray they have toilet tissue they have paper towels. It’s very obnoxious to request parents to spend more money because you prefer something better than what’s already been purchased. This has to stop.

Teachers are not requesting “better” items… they are simply requesting the needed items that THEY DON’T HAVE or DON’T HAVE ENOUGH OF. No one is holding a tissue drive because they have a brand preference, they are holding a tissue drive because they have NO tissues! Same with cleaning supplies. There are not enough custodians to do the deep cleaning that is needed to maintain clean classroom spaces, so that falls to classroom teachers. Teachers are requesting these supplies because they don’t have them ! You seriously think all the teachers out there that ask for these items are asking because they are being snotty about a particular brand of tissue ?!

What a teacher on this thread said was she asks for wipes from parents because that’s easier than requesting paper towels in advance and using the provided cleaning spray. She prefers Clorox wipes and so asks the parents.

She prefers the Clorox wipes because the school provided paper towels suck for actual cleaning. Imagine using something equivalent to those super thin free gas station napkins to clean your house. Subpar cleaning result and lots of wasted time and effort. That is why there is a preference for the Clorox wipes, because they quickly and effectively get the job done.

Sure, but the PP ahead of you is saying that teachers aren’t requesting supplies because they don’t like what’s been given— which is exactly why you’re saying they’re requesting supplies.

I am sure you are right that Clorox wipes are nicer. The question is why it’s a parents job to buy a teacher nicer supplies.

I am given the opportunity to send kids to the bathroom to come back with wet and dry brown paper towels that don’t absorb water, leave a drippy mess, and don’t kill germs, they just spread them out, and make the desks too wet to work on. They also would run out fast if we used them for cleaning, and then I would be forced to wait a week before I moved the drippy germs around the desks.

So if someone buys you a $1.25 spray bottle and a $1.25 bottle of bleach to dilute with the (free) water and wipe down with the (free) paper towels that you dislike because they’re recycled, is that fine? Or does it have to be the absolute most expensive and wasteful product available in order to properly kill the UMC germs you’re dealing with?

What does class have to do with germs, other than the fact that keeping germs out of the classroom is a higher priority for people who don't have the option to work from home when they or their kids are sick?

Properly diluted Clorox and water spray left on desks to dry overnight (so no one has to have the indignity of using Brown paper towels) will kill more germs and be less environmentally wasteful than using Clorox or Lysol wipes. It will also cost $4.00 for the year.

So I have no idea why teachers in this area can only kill germs with the expensive environmental disaster products, I assume the germs are picky.

When a kid sneezes all over a desk, that another kid will be sitting at in 5 minutes, the solution is not to leave it wet to dry overnight.

Exactly.

I’m the teacher who posted above. I’ve been at this long enough that I can watch how viruses take over classes.

Student A comes with a 102 fever because he’s an AP student who doesn’t want to miss classes. He has his head down on his desk most of the period right next to the pile of soaked tissues he collects on the desk. (He maybe throws them away. Sometimes I do.)

He gives the gift of his germs to the 3-4 kids around him, who show up sick 3-5 days later. (They also won’t stay home- AP classes.) The kid who sits there during the next period usually comes in sick, too.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don’t send it. I send my kids with things but not communal things.

Exhibit A: Reasons why teachers ask for extra supplies

Or why they spend their own money on classroom supplies for kids who aren’t theirs.

Imagine if you had to pay for the ink toner and printing paper to do your job. Add to that, new teacher salaries are usually not high enough for them to live on their own in FFX County. So please, just send in the supplies. Your kid might end up sharing a pencil/marker here or there, it won’t be the end of the world.

Yeah, but the OP’s teacher is asking for too many pencils in my opinion.

welcome to federal employee land, except we don't get to deduct it from our taxes.

My husband is a federal employee. He does not bring his own supplies.

The teacher deduction is significantly less than what teachers spend and also doesn’t impact what I owe on taxes at all. I’ve had a student tell me it was my job to provide her supplies. No, honey, it’s not. I imagine her parents are on this thread.

Fed here. We absolutely don’t get supplies. If you want a pen, you buy your own. We don’t even have a credit card for my org to get supplies with. Printing is so restricted you have to have a reason and ask permission.

But I don’t mind sending supplies. Id like to just pay $100 and have the teacher get what she wants, but I’ll follow the lists since that’s not an option. I don’t like communal supplies though. My dd likes the hot pink Ticonderoga pencils, erasers that actually work and so on. So I donate the right amount of pencils and stuff, but then give my dd her favorites to keep at her desk and in her backpack. I remember liking my Lisa Frank folders and hello kitty pens and would have been so upset as a kid to get those confiscated and then been given some plain off-brand one instead.

Do you bring in pens for yourself or for 25 people who are not you?

Why would you print things without a reason? Teachers paying for their own copy paper aren't printing things "without reason". They are printing things like worksheets for your child to do. If your job involves receiving forms that public fills out, is creating those forms considered a "reason" that you can print, or do you have to pay for the forms?

I can only guess that this must be the result of poor school based management (ordering and spending of their budget). I’ve never had to buy my own paper.

ES Teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don’t send it. I send my kids with things but not communal things.

Exhibit A: Reasons why teachers ask for extra supplies

Or why they spend their own money on classroom supplies for kids who aren’t theirs.

Imagine if you had to pay for the ink toner and printing paper to do your job. Add to that, new teacher salaries are usually not high enough for them to live on their own in FFX County. So please, just send in the supplies. Your kid might end up sharing a pencil/marker here or there, it won’t be the end of the world.

Yeah, but the OP’s teacher is asking for too many pencils in my opinion.

welcome to federal employee land, except we don't get to deduct it from our taxes.

My husband is a federal employee. He does not bring his own supplies.

The teacher deduction is significantly less than what teachers spend and also doesn’t impact what I owe on taxes at all. I’ve had a student tell me it was my job to provide her supplies. No, honey, it’s not. I imagine her parents are on this thread.

I’d love to know the last time that federal employee above had to purchase toilet paper or tissues for the entire office. Or, for that matter, copy paper for the entire office.

That teacher deduction is considerably less than what I actually spend each year.

Different federal employee here. I routinely buy tissues for my whole office and the “last time” was immediately before mass layoffs. Thanks for asking.

Last school year, I bought over 50 boxes of tissues, at least a dozen reams of colored paper, close to 400 pencils, at least 30 sets of binder dividers, and at least a dozen binders for my students. That doesn't include all the "incentives" that I chose to buy because even in secondary school, students respond to the occasional prize.

I doubt most federal employees purchase that much for their offices year after year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School supplies should be school supplies. No baby wipes, no Clorox wipes, no tissues, no paper towels. Use what the school provides and what taxpayers have already PAID FOR! she should have cleaning spray they have toilet tissue they have paper towels. It’s very obnoxious to request parents to spend more money because you prefer something better than what’s already been purchased. This has to stop.

Teachers are not requesting “better” items… they are simply requesting the needed items that THEY DON’T HAVE or DON’T HAVE ENOUGH OF. No one is holding a tissue drive because they have a brand preference, they are holding a tissue drive because they have NO tissues! Same with cleaning supplies. There are not enough custodians to do the deep cleaning that is needed to maintain clean classroom spaces, so that falls to classroom teachers. Teachers are requesting these supplies because they don’t have them ! You seriously think all the teachers out there that ask for these items are asking because they are being snotty about a particular brand of tissue ?!

What a teacher on this thread said was she asks for wipes from parents because that’s easier than requesting paper towels in advance and using the provided cleaning spray. She prefers Clorox wipes and so asks the parents.

She prefers the Clorox wipes because the school provided paper towels suck for actual cleaning. Imagine using something equivalent to those super thin free gas station napkins to clean your house. Subpar cleaning result and lots of wasted time and effort. That is why there is a preference for the Clorox wipes, because they quickly and effectively get the job done.

Sure, but the PP ahead of you is saying that teachers aren’t requesting supplies because they don’t like what’s been given— which is exactly why you’re saying they’re requesting supplies.

I am sure you are right that Clorox wipes are nicer. The question is why it’s a parents job to buy a teacher nicer supplies.

I am given the opportunity to send kids to the bathroom to come back with wet and dry brown paper towels that don’t absorb water, leave a drippy mess, and don’t kill germs, they just spread them out, and make the desks too wet to work on. They also would run out fast if we used them for cleaning, and then I would be forced to wait a week before I moved the drippy germs around the desks.

So if someone buys you a $1.25 spray bottle and a $1.25 bottle of bleach to dilute with the (free) water and wipe down with the (free) paper towels that you dislike because they’re recycled, is that fine? Or does it have to be the absolute most expensive and wasteful product available in order to properly kill the UMC germs you’re dealing with?

What does class have to do with germs, other than the fact that keeping germs out of the classroom is a higher priority for people who don't have the option to work from home when they or their kids are sick?

Properly diluted Clorox and water spray left on desks to dry overnight (so no one has to have the indignity of using Brown paper towels) will kill more germs and be less environmentally wasteful than using Clorox or Lysol wipes. It will also cost $4.00 for the year.

So I have no idea why teachers in this area can only kill germs with the expensive environmental disaster products, I assume the germs are picky.

Because… we aren’t supposed to be using bleach in the classroom. I know it is stupid, but it is true. I don’t really understand why wipes are allowed, but I have been told “no chemicals except what the custodians used and if parents bring in Clorox wipes that is ok”.

I’ve worked in schools where kids have sprayed bleach or dry erase board cleaner in their eyes. That might be one of the reasons for the rule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School supplies should be school supplies. No baby wipes, no Clorox wipes, no tissues, no paper towels. Use what the school provides and what taxpayers have already PAID FOR! she should have cleaning spray they have toilet tissue they have paper towels. It’s very obnoxious to request parents to spend more money because you prefer something better than what’s already been purchased. This has to stop.

Teachers are not requesting “better” items… they are simply requesting the needed items that THEY DON’T HAVE or DON’T HAVE ENOUGH OF. No one is holding a tissue drive because they have a brand preference, they are holding a tissue drive because they have NO tissues! Same with cleaning supplies. There are not enough custodians to do the deep cleaning that is needed to maintain clean classroom spaces, so that falls to classroom teachers. Teachers are requesting these supplies because they don’t have them ! You seriously think all the teachers out there that ask for these items are asking because they are being snotty about a particular brand of tissue ?!

What a teacher on this thread said was she asks for wipes from parents because that’s easier than requesting paper towels in advance and using the provided cleaning spray. She prefers Clorox wipes and so asks the parents.

She prefers the Clorox wipes because the school provided paper towels suck for actual cleaning. Imagine using something equivalent to those super thin free gas station napkins to clean your house. Subpar cleaning result and lots of wasted time and effort. That is why there is a preference for the Clorox wipes, because they quickly and effectively get the job done.

Sure, but the PP ahead of you is saying that teachers aren’t requesting supplies because they don’t like what’s been given— which is exactly why you’re saying they’re requesting supplies.

I am sure you are right that Clorox wipes are nicer. The question is why it’s a parents job to buy a teacher nicer supplies.

I am given the opportunity to send kids to the bathroom to come back with wet and dry brown paper towels that don’t absorb water, leave a drippy mess, and don’t kill germs, they just spread them out, and make the desks too wet to work on. They also would run out fast if we used them for cleaning, and then I would be forced to wait a week before I moved the drippy germs around the desks.

So if someone buys you a $1.25 spray bottle and a $1.25 bottle of bleach to dilute with the (free) water and wipe down with the (free) paper towels that you dislike because they’re recycled, is that fine? Or does it have to be the absolute most expensive and wasteful product available in order to properly kill the UMC germs you’re dealing with?

What does class have to do with germs, other than the fact that keeping germs out of the classroom is a higher priority for people who don't have the option to work from home when they or their kids are sick?

Properly diluted Clorox and water spray left on desks to dry overnight (so no one has to have the indignity of using Brown paper towels) will kill more germs and be less environmentally wasteful than using Clorox or Lysol wipes. It will also cost $4.00 for the year.

So I have no idea why teachers in this area can only kill germs with the expensive environmental disaster products, I assume the germs are picky.

Because… we aren’t supposed to be using bleach in the classroom. I know it is stupid, but it is true. I don’t really understand why wipes are allowed, but I have been told “no chemicals except what the custodians used and if parents bring in Clorox wipes that is ok”.

Ok this needs to be called out and shamed. Schools need to be accountable for “rules” like this. There’s way way way too much offloading of employer problems into “beg the parents” and it’s embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:120 Ticonderoga pencils? You're exaggerating right?

Nope not kidding. 24 pack presharpebed pencils x 5 packs. Last year the teacher only let him have 2 pencils. This communal thing is crazy. We aren’t working hard to spend our money for other people.

There is no way I'd send him with that many pencils then. That's obscene. Nope!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don’t send it. I send my kids with things but not communal things.

Exhibit A: Reasons why teachers ask for extra supplies

Or why they spend their own money on classroom supplies for kids who aren’t theirs.

Imagine if you had to pay for the ink toner and printing paper to do your job. Add to that, new teacher salaries are usually not high enough for them to live on their own in FFX County. So please, just send in the supplies. Your kid might end up sharing a pencil/marker here or there, it won’t be the end of the world.

Yeah, but the OP’s teacher is asking for too many pencils in my opinion.

welcome to federal employee land, except we don't get to deduct it from our taxes.

My husband is a federal employee. He does not bring his own supplies.

The teacher deduction is significantly less than what teachers spend and also doesn’t impact what I owe on taxes at all. I’ve had a student tell me it was my job to provide her supplies. No, honey, it’s not. I imagine her parents are on this thread.

Fed here. We absolutely don’t get supplies. If you want a pen, you buy your own. We don’t even have a credit card for my org to get supplies with. Printing is so restricted you have to have a reason and ask permission.

But I don’t mind sending supplies. Id like to just pay $100 and have the teacher get what she wants, but I’ll follow the lists since that’s not an option. I don’t like communal supplies though. My dd likes the hot pink Ticonderoga pencils, erasers that actually work and so on. So I donate the right amount of pencils and stuff, but then give my dd her favorites to keep at her desk and in her backpack. I remember liking my Lisa Frank folders and hello kitty pens and would have been so upset as a kid to get those confiscated and then been given some plain off-brand one instead.

Do you bring in pens for yourself or for 25 people who are not you?

Why would you print things without a reason? Teachers paying for their own copy paper aren't printing things "without reason". They are printing things like worksheets for your child to do. If your job involves receiving forms that public fills out, is creating those forms considered a "reason" that you can print, or do you have to pay for the forms?

I can only guess that this must be the result of poor school based management (ordering and spending of their budget). I’ve never had to buy my own paper.

ES Teacher

Ok? You must work at a perfect school. Some of us have had to bring it in. It's not daily. For me, it's been 2-3 times over the past 5 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don’t send it. I send my kids with things but not communal things.

Exhibit A: Reasons why teachers ask for extra supplies

Or why they spend their own money on classroom supplies for kids who aren’t theirs.

Imagine if you had to pay for the ink toner and printing paper to do your job. Add to that, new teacher salaries are usually not high enough for them to live on their own in FFX County. So please, just send in the supplies. Your kid might end up sharing a pencil/marker here or there, it won’t be the end of the world.

Yeah, but the OP’s teacher is asking for too many pencils in my opinion.

welcome to federal employee land, except we don't get to deduct it from our taxes.

My husband is a federal employee. He does not bring his own supplies.

The teacher deduction is significantly less than what teachers spend and also doesn’t impact what I owe on taxes at all. I’ve had a student tell me it was my job to provide her supplies. No, honey, it’s not. I imagine her parents are on this thread.

Fed here. We absolutely don’t get supplies. If you want a pen, you buy your own. We don’t even have a credit card for my org to get supplies with. Printing is so restricted you have to have a reason and ask permission.

But I don’t mind sending supplies. Id like to just pay $100 and have the teacher get what she wants, but I’ll follow the lists since that’s not an option. I don’t like communal supplies though. My dd likes the hot pink Ticonderoga pencils, erasers that actually work and so on. So I donate the right amount of pencils and stuff, but then give my dd her favorites to keep at her desk and in her backpack. I remember liking my Lisa Frank folders and hello kitty pens and would have been so upset as a kid to get those confiscated and then been given some plain off-brand one instead.

Do you bring in pens for yourself or for 25 people who are not you?

Why would you print things without a reason? Teachers paying for their own copy paper aren't printing things "without reason". They are printing things like worksheets for your child to do. If your job involves receiving forms that public fills out, is creating those forms considered a "reason" that you can print, or do you have to pay for the forms?

I can only guess that this must be the result of poor school based management (ordering and spending of their budget). I’ve never had to buy my own paper.

ES Teacher

Ok? You must work at a perfect school. Some of us have had to bring it in. It's not daily. For me, it's been 2-3 times over the past 5 years.

I’d never say it’s perfect, but there must be a reason why you have to take in your own copy paper. What is it? I’m not arguing or doubting you, but why did you have to take in paper 2-3 times over the last 5 years and I haven’t over 30? My teacher spouse has been at 2 other schools and also has never had to supply copy paper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School supplies should be school supplies. No baby wipes, no Clorox wipes, no tissues, no paper towels. Use what the school provides and what taxpayers have already PAID FOR! she should have cleaning spray they have toilet tissue they have paper towels. It’s very obnoxious to request parents to spend more money because you prefer something better than what’s already been purchased. This has to stop.

Teachers are not requesting “better” items… they are simply requesting the needed items that THEY DON’T HAVE or DON’T HAVE ENOUGH OF. No one is holding a tissue drive because they have a brand preference, they are holding a tissue drive because they have NO tissues! Same with cleaning supplies. There are not enough custodians to do the deep cleaning that is needed to maintain clean classroom spaces, so that falls to classroom teachers. Teachers are requesting these supplies because they don’t have them ! You seriously think all the teachers out there that ask for these items are asking because they are being snotty about a particular brand of tissue ?!

What a teacher on this thread said was she asks for wipes from parents because that’s easier than requesting paper towels in advance and using the provided cleaning spray. She prefers Clorox wipes and so asks the parents.

She prefers the Clorox wipes because the school provided paper towels suck for actual cleaning. Imagine using something equivalent to those super thin free gas station napkins to clean your house. Subpar cleaning result and lots of wasted time and effort. That is why there is a preference for the Clorox wipes, because they quickly and effectively get the job done.

Sure, but the PP ahead of you is saying that teachers aren’t requesting supplies because they don’t like what’s been given— which is exactly why you’re saying they’re requesting supplies.

I am sure you are right that Clorox wipes are nicer. The question is why it’s a parents job to buy a teacher nicer supplies.

I am given the opportunity to send kids to the bathroom to come back with wet and dry brown paper towels that don’t absorb water, leave a drippy mess, and don’t kill germs, they just spread them out, and make the desks too wet to work on. They also would run out fast if we used them for cleaning, and then I would be forced to wait a week before I moved the drippy germs around the desks.

So if someone buys you a $1.25 spray bottle and a $1.25 bottle of bleach to dilute with the (free) water and wipe down with the (free) paper towels that you dislike because they’re recycled, is that fine? Or does it have to be the absolute most expensive and wasteful product available in order to properly kill the UMC germs you’re dealing with?

What does class have to do with germs, other than the fact that keeping germs out of the classroom is a higher priority for people who don't have the option to work from home when they or their kids are sick?

Properly diluted Clorox and water spray left on desks to dry overnight (so no one has to have the indignity of using Brown paper towels) will kill more germs and be less environmentally wasteful than using Clorox or Lysol wipes. It will also cost $4.00 for the year.

So I have no idea why teachers in this area can only kill germs with the expensive environmental disaster products, I assume the germs are picky.

When a kid sneezes all over a desk, that another kid will be sitting at in 5 minutes, the solution is not to leave it wet to dry overnight.

Exactly.

I’m the teacher who posted above. I’ve been at this long enough that I can watch how viruses take over classes.

Student A comes with a 102 fever because he’s an AP student who doesn’t want to miss classes. He has his head down on his desk most of the period right next to the pile of soaked tissues he collects on the desk. (He maybe throws them away. Sometimes I do.)

He gives the gift of his germs to the 3-4 kids around him, who show up sick 3-5 days later. (They also won’t stay home- AP classes.) The kid who sits there during the next period usually comes in sick, too.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Yup. It would be very hard on a lot of people, but teachers should just stop cleaning. Of course the kids will have a lot more absences as they repeatedly re-infect each other, and there will probably be less instructional time, since the teachers themselves will be out more frequently with their own illnesses. At the end of the year, maybe learning will have suffered. There might be fewer SAT vocabulary words reviewed in class, or a lot more lethargic kids and less than stellar group projects that, not incidentally, support social skills. But, hey! At least no one is begging parents for upscale sanitizing wipes. When little Timmy misses out on some future opportunities by fractions of points, it will apparently be worth it — because a few parents who could easily have done better chose not too.

I’m thinking back to the many times I watched kids sneeze on desks, and, occasionally even drool. How many parents wish I had just left it there for their kid?