I have a friend from high school who is a teacher in a low-income middle school. Once a year, she posts a link to her Amazon wishlist on Facebook and I usually get a couple of things. She is also someone who truly gives back more than she takes and I am happy to help out. I wouldn’t want to be spammed with this sort of request, but once at the beginning of the year is completely reasonable.

When I started teaching at a well-respected magnet school in a large urban district, I got a gradebook and two red pens. That was it for the school year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The average pay for a teacher in MD or VA is over $70k. Not exactly poverty wages.

Cool, cool, cool. Then you won't mind donating a small % of your check to your job, right? I mean, heck, it's hard for the federal government or wherever to pay for stuff too, so you won't mind kicking in a few hundred dollars each month, right?

I mean, I am very pro-teacher. But just to be clear, I am a federal employee and I spend lots of my own money on my job.

Do you have to bring your own pen, that you paid for yourself otherwise you wouldn't have one, to a meeting? Do you have a grown-up chair in your office, that you paid for yourself otherwise you wouldn't have one, in your office? Do you have a bookshelf in your office, that you paid for yourself or else you wouldn't have one, in your office?

.

DP
This will vary though. That seems like an outlier example. We are both ES teachers with about 45 years experience between us and we’ve never felt like we’ve had to buy supplies, so that’s an example at the other end. Most people probably fall in between the two examples.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The average pay for a teacher in MD or VA is over $70k. Not exactly poverty wages.

Cool, cool, cool. Then you won't mind donating a small % of your check to your job, right? I mean, heck, it's hard for the federal government or wherever to pay for stuff too, so you won't mind kicking in a few hundred dollars each month, right?

I mean, I am very pro-teacher. But just to be clear, I am a federal employee and I spend lots of my own money on my job.

What kind of job? And define "lots".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The average pay for a teacher in MD or VA is over $70k. Not exactly poverty wages.

Cool, cool, cool. Then you won't mind donating a small % of your check to your job, right? I mean, heck, it's hard for the federal government or wherever to pay for stuff too, so you won't mind kicking in a few hundred dollars each month, right?

I mean, I am very pro-teacher. But just to be clear, I am a federal employee and I spend lots of my own money on my job.

Like what? My government office has a supply room and we buy our own items if we don't like what they offer but the point is that they offer it. I've never had to buy supplies other than a specific notebook that I preferred but it's not like I'm buying binders for presentations, pencils for my office-mates, a bookshelf and books, a rug, etc...

I'm a fed and I even managed to snag a free water bottle from the insurance fair on the first day. I guess I paid for my office plant but that's totally voluntary.

What are you buying?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ER Physician’s pay for their license, board certification, ATLS certification, continuing medical education units, and in some cases extra liability insurance.

Not to say teacher’s should have to pay for their supplies, they shouldn’t, but other professions have to pay for professional fees/items.

Teachers do pay for professional fees and items. I pay for my license every five years, for professional affiliation groups, for National Board Licensure, and for attendance at conferences to pursue professional development. I have zero problems with any of that. But why am I expected to buy the things I need to practice my profession: crayons, scissors, glue, pencils, paper, kleenex, and the 1000 books I am told (and agree I need) in my classroom library?

Again, that's like asking a doctor to pay for oxygen tubing, oxygen, anesthetic, syringes, gloves, etc.

Because they know you’ll do it.

ES Teacher

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our PTA gives every teacher a gift card before school starts - can you ask if yours does that?

Seconding creating an Amazon wishlist and posting it on all your social media (with what you posted here) and making it sharable and asking ALL your friends and family to share it too. I've bought from the wishlists of friends of friends before.

Also, teachers post on Buy Nothing all the time and people LOVE to give away their things. I had a teacher take a beanbag for her classroom last summer.

Hahaha title one school here. You think our teachers get gift cards?!?

I am on the board of the PTA at a Title I school and yes, we dedicate money to helping teachers buy supplies for their classroom at the beginning of the school year, because we know that a lot of your students aren't able to buy their own.

I give money to my local Title I’s PTO. My household donation, which is less than $1000, is a third of their budget. The teachers wanted to fundraiser for a $15k classroom library starter set from Scholastic, and over three years the PTO was never able to meet that target.

OP, use Reddit (r/teachers, r/teaching) and Twitter teacher groups (#edchat) to ask if anyone retiring or resigning is able to donate items you might need.

There are also folks who publish teacher wishlists in hopes of getting more eyeballs on them. Here’s one: https://www.reallygoodstuff.com/wishing-well?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5ZSWBhCVARIsALERCvypELdcbY2orT9Nh8Rua-OfCQNV-PYqWoJkg8EwQ8KTzDXbXsoa72IaAlcyEALw_wcB.

Some of the most successful teachers have a network of people who support them. It’s almost impossible to go it alone. Talk to friends and family in the corporate world. Some businesses have extra office supplies they’d be happy to donate. You might also be able to contact businesses in your community to see if any of them can donate items to your classroom.

Last, can you ask friends and family for help? Maybe your can have a shower-style supply drive party. Do you belong to a house of worship or other community organization that can help you with a supply drive?

Wishing you the best of luck. It *is* really hard to be a full-time teacher and a part-time fundraiser.

—A Former Teacher

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The average pay for a teacher in MD or VA is over $70k. Not exactly poverty wages.

Cool, cool, cool. Then you won't mind donating a small % of your check to your job, right? I mean, heck, it's hard for the federal government or wherever to pay for stuff too, so you won't mind kicking in a few hundred dollars each month, right?

I mean, I am very pro-teacher. But just to be clear, I am a federal employee and I spend lots of my own money on my job.

Like what? My government office has a supply room and we buy our own items if we don't like what they offer but the point is that they offer it. I've never had to buy supplies other than a specific notebook that I preferred but it's not like I'm buying binders for presentations, pencils for my office-mates, a bookshelf and books, a rug, etc...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The average pay for a teacher in MD or VA is over $70k. Not exactly poverty wages.

Cool, cool, cool. Then you won't mind donating a small % of your check to your job, right? I mean, heck, it's hard for the federal government or wherever to pay for stuff too, so you won't mind kicking in a few hundred dollars each month, right?

I mean, I am very pro-teacher. But just to be clear, I am a federal employee and I spend lots of my own money on my job.

Do you have to bring your own pen, that you paid for yourself otherwise you wouldn't have one, to a meeting? Do you have a grown-up chair in your office, that you paid for yourself otherwise you wouldn't have one, in your office? Do you have a bookshelf in your office, that you paid for yourself or else you wouldn't have one, in your office?

Yeah, right. You spend lots of your own money on your job ... LOL.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The average pay for a teacher in MD or VA is over $70k. Not exactly poverty wages.

Cool, cool, cool. Then you won't mind donating a small % of your check to your job, right? I mean, heck, it's hard for the federal government or wherever to pay for stuff too, so you won't mind kicking in a few hundred dollars each month, right?

I mean, I am very pro-teacher. But just to be clear, I am a federal employee and I spend lots of my own money on my job.

My spouse is a fed too and I don't believe you.

Anonymous wrote:The average pay for a teacher in MD or VA is over $70k. Not exactly poverty wages.

She's a new teacher, so she hasn't gotten a paycheck yet and may have school debt on top of it. It's outrageous that they have to pay for their own supplies AND for those of students whose parents were too irresponsible not to have children they couldn't afford.

Also, if you'd paid attention in school maybe you'd understand what the word "average" means.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you not getting paid? Most school districts pay year round even though schools out? For that alone, I say it’s fake.

What are you talking about? And no, not all school districts allow teachers to spread out their paychecks to cover the summer.

+1. In my district, teachers could choose to be paid over 10 months or 12 months.

Also, the school year hasn't started yet. How many people receive a paycheck before they even start a new job??

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The average pay for a teacher in MD or VA is over $70k. Not exactly poverty wages.

Cool, cool, cool. Then you won't mind donating a small % of your check to your job, right? I mean, heck, it's hard for the federal government or wherever to pay for stuff too, so you won't mind kicking in a few hundred dollars each month, right?

I mean, I am very pro-teacher. But just to be clear, I am a federal employee and I spend lots of my own money on my job.

On what? My DH is a fed too. He doesn’t spend any of his money on his job, unless you mean paying for his white collar professional wardrobe, and $300 noise cancelling headphones because he prefers them to the office issued earphones. But that would be stupid if that’s what you meant…

Amazon wish list! I would totally support a new teacher in need of supplies.