Amazon wishlist from teachers in wealthy schools?

[Anonymous]

Here is an example that gets parents talking in a negative way: A local teacher recently posted a wish list on social media with a bar table and chairs, gumball machine and other frivolous items. She is married and has taught the same grade for 20 years, so no I don’t think she needs a wish list.

A brand new teacher? Sure, bring on the list, but it doesn’t need to be over the top either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is this "tacky" if they are using the supplies to benefit their classrooms? Do you suspect they are, like, reselling Mr. Sketch markers on the black market for a profit? If it was easier to get the supplies through their admin don't you think they'd do that?

I am an admin in higher education and I have access to a basically unlimited budget for supplies. If I spend my own money and get it reimbursed (which I approve because I'm in charge) it's easy and fast. If I go through the proper channels that do not require me to front money, then it can take WEEKS to receive what I need. That doesn't work for most teachers.

Most schools don't let teachers buy anything, quickly, with autonomy, even if they're wealthy. Somewhere there are allocations but more often than not they're centralized and timed or involve complicated request or grants from the PTA/PTO.

Being a teacher is hard if you are not wealthy or well off enough to get a box of markers or cardstock or books or snacks at will to support your teaching.

Because the “wish lists” are filled with a bunch of crap they don’t actually need.

Like what? Give us examples.

+1

NP OK I'll give examples!
-chairs and cushions for the classroom floor for kids to sit on
-bags of stuffed animals so each kid gets a "reading buddy"
-organizing bins for every single surface
-things to make fancy murals on each bulletin board
-framed art
-shelves
-mini fridge
-carpets
-prizes
-different themed decor every year

Things schools SHOULD provide but aren't:
-benches. My teacher last year bought benches for the playground because the alternative was that teachers stand the entire time or sit in the dirt.
-reams of paper
-tissues
-cleaning supplies
-soap
-whiteboard markers for teachers

Those are all appropriate. Who do you think pays for those things? Teachers. School system or school should pay and doesn’t.

I don't think they're appropriate. The school does provide shelves, but they aren't pretty enough for them.

I do understand decorating the classroom, but I think people would be surprised to see how over the top it is now. Every classroom is like a pinterest board threw up. The school does give $200-300 each year for classroom decoration, which I think is a good amount. Going over the top is an individual teacher choice.

I also think these wild classrooms are causing learning problems. They aren't soft and soothing and can be very distracting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is this "tacky" if they are using the supplies to benefit their classrooms? Do you suspect they are, like, reselling Mr. Sketch markers on the black market for a profit? If it was easier to get the supplies through their admin don't you think they'd do that?

I am an admin in higher education and I have access to a basically unlimited budget for supplies. If I spend my own money and get it reimbursed (which I approve because I'm in charge) it's easy and fast. If I go through the proper channels that do not require me to front money, then it can take WEEKS to receive what I need. That doesn't work for most teachers.

Most schools don't let teachers buy anything, quickly, with autonomy, even if they're wealthy. Somewhere there are allocations but more often than not they're centralized and timed or involve complicated request or grants from the PTA/PTO.

Being a teacher is hard if you are not wealthy or well off enough to get a box of markers or cardstock or books or snacks at will to support your teaching.

Because the “wish lists” are filled with a bunch of crap they don’t actually need.

Like what? Give us examples.

+1

NP OK I'll give examples!
-chairs and cushions for the classroom floor for kids to sit on
-bags of stuffed animals so each kid gets a "reading buddy"
-organizing bins for every single surface
-things to make fancy murals on each bulletin board
-framed art
-shelves
-mini fridge
-carpets
-prizes
-different themed decor every year

Things schools SHOULD provide but aren't:
-benches. My teacher last year bought benches for the playground because the alternative was that teachers stand the entire time or sit in the dirt.
-reams of paper
-tissues
-cleaning supplies
-soap
-whiteboard markers for teachers

Those are all appropriate. Who do you think pays for those things? Teachers. School system or school should pay and doesn’t.

I don't think they're appropriate. The school does provide shelves, but they aren't pretty enough for them.

I do understand decorating the classroom, but I think people would be surprised to see how over the top it is now. Every classroom is like a pinterest board threw up. The school does give $200-300 each year for classroom decoration, which I think is a good amount. Going over the top is an individual teacher choice.

I also think these wild classrooms are causing learning problems. They aren't soft and soothing and can be very distracting.

Which school gives that much money for decorating? That’s how much we get total for all supplies, including decorations, which is why my walls are blank.

[Anonymous]

^^Bare walls are fine and shouldn’t be shamed!

FWIW, you can print off a sound wall for free—which provides more of a learning resource than walls covered with chevron or polka dots (which are overstimulating to a lot of students).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is this "tacky" if they are using the supplies to benefit their classrooms? Do you suspect they are, like, reselling Mr. Sketch markers on the black market for a profit? If it was easier to get the supplies through their admin don't you think they'd do that?

I am an admin in higher education and I have access to a basically unlimited budget for supplies. If I spend my own money and get it reimbursed (which I approve because I'm in charge) it's easy and fast. If I go through the proper channels that do not require me to front money, then it can take WEEKS to receive what I need. That doesn't work for most teachers.

Most schools don't let teachers buy anything, quickly, with autonomy, even if they're wealthy. Somewhere there are allocations but more often than not they're centralized and timed or involve complicated request or grants from the PTA/PTO.

Being a teacher is hard if you are not wealthy or well off enough to get a box of markers or cardstock or books or snacks at will to support your teaching.

Because the “wish lists” are filled with a bunch of crap they don’t actually need.

Like what? Give us examples.

+1

NP OK I'll give examples!
-chairs and cushions for the classroom floor for kids to sit on
-bags of stuffed animals so each kid gets a "reading buddy"
-organizing bins for every single surface
-things to make fancy murals on each bulletin board
-framed art
-shelves
-mini fridge
-carpets
-prizes
-different themed decor every year

Things schools SHOULD provide but aren't:
-benches. My teacher last year bought benches for the playground because the alternative was that teachers stand the entire time or sit in the dirt.
-reams of paper
-tissues
-cleaning supplies
-soap
-whiteboard markers for teachers

Those are all appropriate. Who do you think pays for those things? Teachers. School system or school should pay and doesn’t.

Actually I think all of these things are totally unnecessary. There is soap in every bathroom and I’m sure it’s stocked in the janitorial closet should a teacher want to refill a dispenser for class (if there is a sink). The school also stocks bleach and spray bottles. The teacher doesn’t meant 20+ tubs of Clorox/Lysol wipes, those are expensive and wasteful. A spray bottle with 1:10 bleach and the brown paper towels are all that’s really needed. Tissues are not necessary, parents can send with their own child. Otherwise, they use brown paper towels. The school supplies black markers. Majority of work and teaching is done on Chromebook anyway

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is this "tacky" if they are using the supplies to benefit their classrooms? Do you suspect they are, like, reselling Mr. Sketch markers on the black market for a profit? If it was easier to get the supplies through their admin don't you think they'd do that?

I am an admin in higher education and I have access to a basically unlimited budget for supplies. If I spend my own money and get it reimbursed (which I approve because I'm in charge) it's easy and fast. If I go through the proper channels that do not require me to front money, then it can take WEEKS to receive what I need. That doesn't work for most teachers.

Most schools don't let teachers buy anything, quickly, with autonomy, even if they're wealthy. Somewhere there are allocations but more often than not they're centralized and timed or involve complicated request or grants from the PTA/PTO.

Being a teacher is hard if you are not wealthy or well off enough to get a box of markers or cardstock or books or snacks at will to support your teaching.

Because the “wish lists” are filled with a bunch of crap they don’t actually need.

Like what? Give us examples.

+1

NP OK I'll give examples!
-chairs and cushions for the classroom floor for kids to sit on
-bags of stuffed animals so each kid gets a "reading buddy"
-organizing bins for every single surface
-things to make fancy murals on each bulletin board
-framed art
-shelves
-mini fridge
-carpets
-prizes
-different themed decor every year

Things schools SHOULD provide but aren't:
-benches. My teacher last year bought benches for the playground because the alternative was that teachers stand the entire time or sit in the dirt.
-reams of paper
-tissues
-cleaning supplies
-soap
-whiteboard markers for teachers

Those are all appropriate. Who do you think pays for those things? Teachers. School system or school should pay and doesn’t.

Actually I think all of these things are totally unnecessary. There is soap in every bathroom and I’m sure it’s stocked in the janitorial closet should a teacher want to refill a dispenser for class (if there is a sink). The school also stocks bleach and spray bottles. The teacher doesn’t meant 20+ tubs of Clorox/Lysol wipes, those are expensive and wasteful. A spray bottle with 1:10 bleach and the brown paper towels are all that’s really needed. Tissues are not necessary, parents can send with their own child. Otherwise, they use brown paper towels. The school supplies black markers. Majority of work and teaching is done on Chromebook anyway

I agree with you that not everything on wish lists is necessary. The teacher influencers have really put pressure on some people to have a Pinterest-worthy classroom, and that’s not essential. I can empathize with teachers who want that, but also understand why it can leave a sour taste for parents.

However, you must have a very different school than the one where I work. We frequently don’t have soap or paper towels in any bathrooms, I don’t have access to a supply closet of any kind, and I definitely don’t have a sink. And I know that most of my students have trouble keeping track of their materials, so expecting them to bring their own tissues every day is unrealistic. So okay, feel free to be annoyed at the teacher who wants wall art and beanbag chairs, but realize that hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies are reasonable requests. Or accept the alternative that your kids are going to pick up germs.

[Anonymous]

I’ve never gotten a fine from my school for anything. Which schools give teachers money? I’m in a Title 1 school. We get classroom furniture and that’s about it. Before Covid, we’d run out of TP, paper towels, soap on the regular. Never saw the custodial staff do anything except empty trash cans. They certainly weren’t cleaning desks. I easily spent $1000 with the first two years of teaching on my classroom. Now that I have more time to think, I’ll do a Donors Choose for big stuff like a printer for my classroom and a rug.

[Anonymous]

Working in a "rich school" doesn't mean the teachers are rich or that they are given more money for their classrooms.

Most teachers' wishlists include items such as rugs, stickers, fidgets, classroom decorations, classroom organization items, etc. Schools rarely, if ever, supply those things or provide money towards those things. Therefore, teachers buy those things for their classrooms, and working in a "rich school" doesn't change that fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is this "tacky" if they are using the supplies to benefit their classrooms? Do you suspect they are, like, reselling Mr. Sketch markers on the black market for a profit? If it was easier to get the supplies through their admin don't you think they'd do that?

I am an admin in higher education and I have access to a basically unlimited budget for supplies. If I spend my own money and get it reimbursed (which I approve because I'm in charge) it's easy and fast. If I go through the proper channels that do not require me to front money, then it can take WEEKS to receive what I need. That doesn't work for most teachers.

Most schools don't let teachers buy anything, quickly, with autonomy, even if they're wealthy. Somewhere there are allocations but more often than not they're centralized and timed or involve complicated request or grants from the PTA/PTO.

Being a teacher is hard if you are not wealthy or well off enough to get a box of markers or cardstock or books or snacks at will to support your teaching.

Because the “wish lists” are filled with a bunch of crap they don’t actually need.

Like what? Give us examples.

+1

NP OK I'll give examples!
-chairs and cushions for the classroom floor for kids to sit on
-bags of stuffed animals so each kid gets a "reading buddy"
-organizing bins for every single surface
-things to make fancy murals on each bulletin board
-framed art
-shelves
-mini fridge
-carpets
-prizes
-different themed decor every year

Things schools SHOULD provide but aren't:
-benches. My teacher last year bought benches for the playground because the alternative was that teachers stand the entire time or sit in the dirt.
-reams of paper
-tissues
-cleaning supplies
-soap
-whiteboard markers for teachers

Those are all appropriate. Who do you think pays for those things? Teachers. School system or school should pay and doesn’t.

Actually I think all of these things are totally unnecessary. There is soap in every bathroom and I’m sure it’s stocked in the janitorial closet should a teacher want to refill a dispenser for class (if there is a sink). The school also stocks bleach and spray bottles. The teacher doesn’t meant 20+ tubs of Clorox/Lysol wipes, those are expensive and wasteful. A spray bottle with 1:10 bleach and the brown paper towels are all that’s really needed. Tissues are not necessary, parents can send with their own child. Otherwise, they use brown paper towels. The school supplies black markers. Majority of work and teaching is done on Chromebook anyway

Are you for real? You think every kid is going to carry around their own tissues? In middle school and high school, they are not going to do that. Even carrying a small pack of tissues would be a "hardship" for them, but carrying around Stanley cups is not, of course.

[Anonymous]

Not tacky because the purchases they are soliciting are for a good purpose (education of kids) and not just for their personal benefit.

No one is making you buy anything.

This is no different than a well off friend sending info about her kid's Girl Scout cookie sales. Buy or not, no guilt either way, but it's for the kids, not the adult, so it's fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is this "tacky" if they are using the supplies to benefit their classrooms? Do you suspect they are, like, reselling Mr. Sketch markers on the black market for a profit? If it was easier to get the supplies through their admin don't you think they'd do that?

I am an admin in higher education and I have access to a basically unlimited budget for supplies. If I spend my own money and get it reimbursed (which I approve because I'm in charge) it's easy and fast. If I go through the proper channels that do not require me to front money, then it can take WEEKS to receive what I need. That doesn't work for most teachers.

Most schools don't let teachers buy anything, quickly, with autonomy, even if they're wealthy. Somewhere there are allocations but more often than not they're centralized and timed or involve complicated request or grants from the PTA/PTO.

Being a teacher is hard if you are not wealthy or well off enough to get a box of markers or cardstock or books or snacks at will to support your teaching.

Because the “wish lists” are filled with a bunch of crap they don’t actually need.

Like what? Give us examples.

+1

NP OK I'll give examples!
-chairs and cushions for the classroom floor for kids to sit on
-bags of stuffed animals so each kid gets a "reading buddy"
-organizing bins for every single surface
-things to make fancy murals on each bulletin board
-framed art
-shelves
-mini fridge
-carpets
-prizes
-different themed decor every year

Things schools SHOULD provide but aren't:
-benches. My teacher last year bought benches for the playground because the alternative was that teachers stand the entire time or sit in the dirt.
-reams of paper
-tissues
-cleaning supplies
-soap
-whiteboard markers for teachers

Those are all appropriate. Who do you think pays for those things? Teachers. School system or school should pay and doesn’t.

I don't think they're appropriate. The school does provide shelves, but they aren't pretty enough for them.

I do understand decorating the classroom, but I think people would be surprised to see how over the top it is now. Every classroom is like a pinterest board threw up. The school does give $200-300 each year for classroom decoration, which I think is a good amount. Going over the top is an individual teacher choice.

I also think these wild classrooms are causing learning problems. They aren't soft and soothing and can be very distracting.

WHAT?

I am a MS department chair, so I do all the ordering for the department. We get approximately $1200 for the entire department, and that includes all supplies for the year. That's approximately $75 per teacher.

[Anonymous]

It’s “tacky” that we underfund our schools.

[Anonymous]

I’ve never worked in a school that gave teachers anything to purchase items for their classroom. Never. Must be wealthy schools with money to burn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't this a little tacky? We all know your school and parents are likely to pay for everything.

We all know you are catty and pathetic, yes.

[Anonymous]

A lot of the ask for extras is because schools want teachers to implement PBIS and then don't provide any of the materials to do so. A couple years ago my coworker was told she needed to provide a student with a specific type of candy as part of his behavior plan. The school did not provide the candy and neither did the student's parent. The teacher was told she had to provide the candy. Same with most of the other trinkets we're supposed to use for that system. I've had to set up Calming Corners before and was never given the funds for beanbag chairs, pillows, a rug, or any of the other stuff that went into the space.