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Many parents by now have seen the subtle and not so subtle reminders of needed school supplies. Pens, pencils, markers—these are the items moms and dads long ago were expected to send with their children to class during the first days of instruction, setting the tone for a productive year of learning.
I don’t know that the fundamentals and building blocks of classroom instruction have changed dramatically since the late 1900s. Maybe the older students don’t need notebooks and pens since assignments can be turned in electronically now, but kids in the lower grades still need something to write with. And paper to write on.
But something that has significantly changed—and I don’t know when but it has become more pronounced with the advent of social media—is the requests from teachers to help them buy basic supplies for their classrooms.
Why are we being asked to subsidize classroom supplies? Why are teachers spending money out of their own pockets, reallocating money from their own household budgets so that they can provide the tools and environment for children, who are not theirs, to learn?
Some of the requests have included surge protectors, stickers, markers, file organizers, calendars, lamps, hand sanitizers, food and snacks.
Many teachers are filling in the gaps that parents have left unfilled for whatever reason, be it economic hardship or indifference. Teachers are making up the difference at their expense.
The National Education Association estimates that on average teachers nationwide will spend close to $1,000 of their own money to help kids learn in the classroom. That’s unacceptable.
Increasingly it seems like public education is becoming a private endeavor. That is not good for the community at-large.
As parents and civic-minded people give money and donate what they can they should also ask why this has become the norm in many school districts.
Why isn’t there enough funding available to help teachers do their jobs? Why are teachers spending resources on making and publicizing wish lists rather than focusing only on lesson plans. Why do educators also need to be fundraisers for our kids to succeed?
