School supplies -- buy the best or is it just pooled for the whole class?

[Anonymous]

As a teacher, I want to point out that you would be amazed at how many pencils a class goes through every day. The amount of time kids spend sharpening pencils, and the amount of noise that creates, is incredibly disruptive. The best solution is to have two cans accessible to the class, one with sharp pencils and another with dull pencils, so kids can quietly exchange one for the other. This requires a communal stash of pencils. Sorry to belabor such a minor point, but I wanted the nonteachers out there to understand that there is often a practical reason underlying our requests, not a political one!

[Anonymous]

We have gone to elementary schools all over the country, and this thread on DCUM is the first time I have ever heard a majority of moms who are on the side of those ridiculous school supply lists.

Everywhere else, including at our 2 fcps elementaries, the parents all complain about the lists.

Don't you people remember how fun and exciting it used to be to shop for school supplies? To comb through the bins trying to find the perfect kitten folder or to try to talk mom into the 48 count marker set? Much better than running around town trying to find the purple, yellow and orange vinyl pocket folder with brads.

I would rather receive a list to but for my kid that was not pull your hair out specific (like 4 folders, 2 notebooks, crayons, scissors, fat markers) and a list of class supplies such as wipes and glue sticks, and a request for extras for the kids who run out or don't have them. Keeping it simple is way better and much more fun.

[Anonymous]

Please forgive my ignorance but we are still 2 years away from K but we are in ffx co. What are these lists? Are parents supplying school supplies for the entire class?? And f so why? Does the county really not have enough money that parents are required to supply all supplies?!

Speaking as someone who went to public schools in LA that were always pressed for money (but kids provided their own supplies but not for the whole school), I find this odd, especially for what is supposed to be one of the best school systems.

[Anonymous]

PP--the supply lists are similar to the ones you would have had as a kid. Instead of each kid keeping his/her supplies in the desk, some supplies are kept in a communal area. It's not a big deal, really. And it's not odd.

What is odd is people spending too much energy on this. I was teacher in FCPS for over ten years. It just made sense to pool some of the supplies. It kept the desks neater and ensured that when it came time to use them, the supplies were there, easy to distribute and easy to clean up. That, in turn, meant MORE TIME FOR LEARNING. So when the kids needed to cut out something, seriously it was SO MUCH FASTER to have 2 kids pass out the scissors than wait for 24 kids to look through their desks to find them and then work through the 4-5 kids saying, "hey I can't find mine..."

[Anonymous]

PP here-- and as for the specific brands requested: yes, over time I came to find that some brands lasted longer than others and so I requested the better brands. And yes, some of those items were going to be pooled for the reasons I stated in the above post. Did some kids bring in different brands? Sure. It wasn't the end of the world. But if a parent had the time and money to buy the particular brand I asked for, then EVERYONE benefited in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two kids -- first grade and third grade FCPS.

Some of the supplies on the list indicate a preferred brand... do I buy the brand b/c my kid should have the best? Or are the items just going to be pooled and used by the whole class (not talking about kleenex here -- I know that is pooled)?

Do you send all three dozen pencils in on the first day? What do they do with that many pencils in the class room? Where do they store all the supplies? Is there a certain grade where the kid keeps what they bring?

Only the best for your snowflakes, OP. Otherwise, how else are they going to get into AAP?

This isn't even remotely about AAP, and yet, leave it to the AAP-obsessed parents on DCUM to bring it up as a slam!

My kid's scores were good enough to get into AAP, but I decided against it... so, AGAIN... you're wrong and full of ridiculous judgments. Fool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And some moms send in open packages of expired food when the class is making their Thanksgiving feast. I mean, why should I send in what the teacher asks for when I can just send in what's at the bottom of my fridge and about to be thrown in the trash? Who knows what my child will end up eating?

You're missing the point.

Does anyone know if kids keep their own supplies or not? That is the question. (And by the way, if you ordered through the PTA, they DID give you the crappy RoseArt crayons, not the nice Crayola ones.... btdt... buying my own this year).

No, the kids do not keep or use the specific supplies you send in, unfortunately. All the supplies are pooled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP--the supply lists are similar to the ones you would have had as a kid. Instead of each kid keeping his/her supplies in the desk, some supplies are kept in a communal area. It's not a big deal, really. And it's not odd.

What is odd is people spending too much energy on this. I was teacher in FCPS for over ten years. It just made sense to pool some of the supplies. It kept the desks neater and ensured that when it came time to use them, the supplies were there, easy to distribute and easy to clean up. That, in turn, meant MORE TIME FOR LEARNING. So when the kids needed to cut out something, seriously it was SO MUCH FASTER to have 2 kids pass out the scissors than wait for 24 kids to look through their desks to find them and then work through the 4-5 kids saying, "hey I can't find mine..."

i'm pretty sure we didn't get sent home with supply lists. i remember the school had pencils, scissors, art supplies, etc there. when we were old enough to carry around notebooks and folders and stuff, everyone just did their own shopping -- i never once remember my mom shopping off a list. everyone decided for themselves if they wanted trapper keepers or pencil cases or whatever. but there were always paper and pencils at the school funded by the school. again, this was LAUSD -- a school district not nearly as allegedly good as FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i'm pretty sure we didn't get sent home with supply lists. i remember the school had pencils, scissors, art supplies, etc there. when we were old enough to carry around notebooks and folders and stuff, everyone just did their own shopping -- i never once remember my mom shopping off a list.

When I went to school we did not have supply lists, either. But that was in the late 60s. I think times may have changed.

Do a quick Google search and see how many states post supply lists on their websites.

[Anonymous]

Costco sells Ticonderoga pencils relatively inexpensively, and I will third that Roseart crayons are like trying to color with candles....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'm pretty sure we didn't get sent home with supply lists. i remember the school had pencils, scissors, art supplies, etc there. when we were old enough to carry around notebooks and folders and stuff, everyone just did their own shopping -- i never once remember my mom shopping off a list.

When I went to school we did not have supply lists, either. But that was in the late 60s. I think times may have changed.

Do a quick Google search and see how many states post supply lists on their websites.

i should ask my teacher friends in LAUSD. my experience is from the 80s/90s but maybe things have changed more recently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'm pretty sure we didn't get sent home with supply lists. i remember the school had pencils, scissors, art supplies, etc there. when we were old enough to carry around notebooks and folders and stuff, everyone just did their own shopping -- i never once remember my mom shopping off a list.

When I went to school we did not have supply lists, either. But that was in the late 60s. I think times may have changed.

Do a quick Google search and see how many states post supply lists on their websites.

i should ask my teacher friends in LAUSD. my experience is from the 80s/90s but maybe things have changed more recently.

http://www.lausd.net/search/?cx=012518883040023400225%3A30biird4qzs&q=school+supply+list&sa=Search&cof=FORID%3A11

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'm pretty sure we didn't get sent home with supply lists. i remember the school had pencils, scissors, art supplies, etc there. when we were old enough to carry around notebooks and folders and stuff, everyone just did their own shopping -- i never once remember my mom shopping off a list.

When I went to school we did not have supply lists, either. But that was in the late 60s. I think times may have changed.

Do a quick Google search and see how many states post supply lists on their websites.

i should ask my teacher friends in LAUSD. my experience is from the 80s/90s but maybe things have changed more recently.

I went to public school in Brooklyn, and we didn't have this either (80's). Well they do now...
http://www.ps9.org/Docs/supply2012/kindergarten-supply-list-2012-13.pdf

[Anonymous]

We had supply lists in the 70's but it was assumed that you used what you brought. There wasn't any communal pile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both of my kids schools pool the supplies until at least 3rd grade. When folders, comp books, etc are sent in, they go into a pile. The teacher (randomly) slaps labels on them and passes them back out to the kids.
Every year we buy high quality supplies. Rigid plastic folders, five-star notebooks, hard back comp books, and every year my kids bring home floppy cellophane folders and dollar store thin floppy comp books, etc.
My solution...I buy extras. So when they come home with something junky, I just peel the label off and put it on a quality item that will last the whole year. That way I am ensuring my kids don't end up with junk, but not contributing to the problem by sending in crappy supplies.

Ok I can see that would suck, and I like your solution!!!