I admit, I'm old, but I don't remember the constant whine about not being able to afford school supplies and constant request for the donation of supplies/$$ for supplies when i was in school in the 70's early 80's.

Do others remember it being a thing back then? I recall we all knew that is was an expense that had to happen every year and so we planned for it. I also remember that my cheap parents expected me to reuse pencils, pens, paper, notebooks left from the previous year and we didn't automatically buy new everything.

They show up at school with a cell phone. But hey, we can't afford school supplies don't ya know!

Picard said:

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They show up at school with a cell phone. But hey, we can't afford school supplies don't ya know!

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This is probably the most annoying thing.

Either mom and dad bought it or it was government subsidized.

Either way, we can spend money on that but not school supplies? It shows where priorities are.

Texasclipper said:

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I admit, I'm old, but I don't remember the constant whine about not being able to afford school supplies and constant request for the donation of supplies/$$ for supplies when i was in school in the 70's early 80's.

Do others remember it being a thing back then? I recall we all knew that is was an expense that had to happen every year and so we planned for it. I also remember that my cheap parents expected me to reuse pencils, pens, paper, notebooks left from the previous year and we didn't automatically buy new everything.

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families, even those that can afford the supplies, count on the "generosity" of teachers and other parents to get supplies for their kids. It's stupid what teachers pay out of pocket for everyday supplies.

I was talking with someone yesterday whose daughter is about to start her first year of teaching elementary school. According to him the only thing her classroom came with was her desk, the kids' desks, and a whiteboard. He said they've spent a couple thousand dollars on all the other stuff to get the class ready.

Now, I have zero empathy for anyone who chooses to become a teacher and then complains about their salary and having to buy supplies. You knew what you're getting into. But school funding (per capita student) has increased year over year much more than inflation. Where is the money going?

Don't forget they typically are driving a newer vehicle and have 400 channels on a tv in every room and every gaming system made. Why waste money on the basic needs when you can blow it on crap and expect everyone else to pick up the slack for you.

I will say this, it is bull**** that teachers can only write off $250 of total expenses for their classes.

NoahAg said:

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I was talking with someone yesterday whose daughter is about to start her first year of teaching elementary school. According to him the only thing her classroom came with was her desk, the kids' desks, and a whiteboard. He said they've spent a couple thousand dollars on all the other stuff to get the class ready.

Now, I have zero empathy for anyone who chooses to become a teacher and then complains about their salary and having to buy supplies. You knew what you're getting into. But school funding (per capita student) has increased year over year much more than inflation. Where is the money going?

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Athletics.

My niece is a sweetheart teacher and while she absolutely knew what she was getting into, the parents make it way worse than any student studying to be a teacher could ever expect. Elementary school teachers have to spend more time trying to raise someone else's little lunatic and when they call the parents in, nobody does a damn thing about it. You can guess the demographic in damn near every case.

NoahAg said:

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I was talking with someone yesterday whose daughter is about to start her first year of teaching elementary school. According to him the only thing her classroom came with was her desk, the kids' desks, and a whiteboard. He said they've spent a couple thousand dollars on all the other stuff to get the class ready.

Now, I have zero empathy for anyone who chooses to become a teacher and then complains about their salary and having to buy supplies. You knew what you're getting into. But school funding (per capita student) has increased year over year much more than inflation. Where is the money going?

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it goes to admin to put together a committee that they pay with money, to figure out if teachers can get a raise or not. And magically the money's always spent "on the kids instead". Still haven't seen where that money actually ends up, but not in the schools in most cases.

I was in elementary school in the 70's and we brought an extra cigar box with pencils, erasers, tissues in it. We also brought extra paper or a spiral notebook.

NoahAg said:

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I was talking with someone yesterday whose daughter is about to start her first year of teaching elementary school. According to him the only thing her classroom came with was her desk, the kids' desks, and a whiteboard. He said they've spent a couple thousand dollars on all the other stuff to get the class ready.

Now, I have zero empathy for anyone who chooses to become a teacher and then complains about their salary and having to buy supplies. You knew what you're getting into. But school funding (per capita student) has increased year over year much more than inflation. Where is the money going?

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Go far enough down that hole and you will find it ends in politician's pockets. Democrats mostly to be sure.

NoahAg said:

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I was talking with someone yesterday whose daughter is about to start her first year of teaching elementary school. According to him the only thing her classroom came with was her desk, the kids' desks, and a whiteboard. He said they've spent a couple thousand dollars on all the other stuff to get the class ready.

Now, I have zero empathy for anyone who chooses to become a teacher and then complains about their salary and having to buy supplies. You knew what you're getting into. But school funding (per capita student) has increased year over year much more than inflation. Where is the money going?

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Probably admin and DEI officers and training. Schools are dropping huge dollars on DEI related programs.

Muy said:

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My niece is a sweetheart teacher and while she absolutely knew what she was getting into, the parents make it way worse than any student studying to be a teacher could ever expect. Elementary school teachers have to spend more time trying to raise someone else's little lunatic and when they call the parents in, nobody does a damn thing about it. You can guess the demographic in damn near every case.

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in my sister's case. It was typically the $30000 millionaires. Her best parents were the ones with direct ties to the cartels because they didn't want their kids being front line fodder.

NoahAg said:

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I was talking with someone yesterday whose daughter is about to start her first year of teaching elementary school. According to him the only thing her classroom came with was her desk, the kids' desks, and a whiteboard. He said they've spent a couple thousand dollars on all the other stuff to get the class ready.

Now, I have zero empathy for anyone who chooses to become a teacher and then complains about their salary and having to buy supplies. You knew what you're getting into. But school funding (per capita student) has increased year over year much more than inflation. Where is the money going?

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Who are school administrators Alex?

Don't forget gaudy sports complexes. Can't teach kids without those!

I'm kind of glad that our school's education foundation started procuring school supplies just to save all of us from the parental *****ing and moaning over running to the office supply store / wal mart / amazon but can't find that green spiral folder college-ruled.

Given the amount of ISD taxes I pay to Richardson - hey maybe they can provide pen, paper, binders, etc.

That being said the above is all you need - maybe a calculator, but hell teach the kids to at least attempt calculations in the head first.

Texasclipper said:

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I admit, I'm old, but I don't remember the constant whine about not being able to afford school supplies and constant request for the donation of supplies/$$ for supplies when i was in school in the 70's early 80's.

Do others remember it being a thing back then? I recall we all knew that is was an expense that had to happen every year and so we planned for it. I also remember that my cheap parents expected me to reuse pencils, pens, paper, notebooks left from the previous year and we didn't automatically buy new everything.

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It's not about affordability.

When the government has been feeding these kids breakfast and lunch for free, this is more than likely about entitlement and yielding parental responsibilities to the government.

At our elementary school, most of the extra funds go to technology licenses that have to end up funneling into someone's back pocket, somewhere. Every kid from 2nd grade up has a computer which has 15-20 different "necessary" programs on it. All the use licenses cost $$$. One of our Spanish teachers won a grant this year for some new fancy program and it'll cost roughly $5,000 for the school for the year. All the technology companies have the school districts by the balls on subscription and renewal fees.

I just can't believe textbooks that got reused for a few years cost near as much per student.

NoahAg said:

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I was talking with someone yesterday whose daughter is about to start her first year of teaching elementary school. According to him the only thing her classroom came with was her desk, the kids' desks, and a whiteboard. He said they've spent a couple thousand dollars on all the other stuff to get the class ready.

Now, I have zero empathy for anyone who chooses to become a teacher and then complains about their salary and having to buy supplies. You knew what you're getting into. But school funding (per capita student) has increased year over year much more than inflation. Where is the money going?

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Administration?

I've seen "Assistant Vice Principal" and similar positions that make you ask "WTF!?". How do elementary schools, especially, need all the administrative staff?

Just go look at your kid's school admin staff and you'll see where the money goes.

When we were in school you had a principal, asst principal, secretary, janitor or 2, and a nurse...maybe a part time counselor. We didn't have a full time counselor until high school and this was in a 5A school.

Now you have director of overhead projectors and stupid **** like that.

Texasclipper said:

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I admit, I'm old, but I don't remember the constant whine about not being able to afford school supplies and constant request for the donation of supplies/$$ for supplies when i was in school in the 70's early 80's.

Do others remember it being a thing back then? I recall we all knew that is was an expense that had to happen every year and so we planned for it. I also remember that my cheap parents expected me to reuse pencils, pens, paper, notebooks left from the previous year and we didn't automatically buy new everything.

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Are you talking about students or "educators" already whining on face book that they have to fund their entire classroom and are already exhausted.

BigRobSA said:

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NoahAg said:

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I was talking with someone yesterday whose daughter is about to start her first year of teaching elementary school. According to him the only thing her classroom came with was her desk, the kids' desks, and a whiteboard. He said they've spent a couple thousand dollars on all the other stuff to get the class ready.

Now, I have zero empathy for anyone who chooses to become a teacher and then complains about their salary and having to buy supplies. You knew what you're getting into. But school funding (per capita student) has increased year over year much more than inflation. Where is the money going?

---

Administration?

I've seen "Assistant Vice Principal" and similar positions that make you ask "WTF!?". How do elementary schools, especially, need all the administrative staff?

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Paperwork pushers for the 504's and IEP's.

BigRobSA said:

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NoahAg said:

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I was talking with someone yesterday whose daughter is about to start her first year of teaching elementary school. According to him the only thing her classroom came with was her desk, the kids' desks, and a whiteboard. He said they've spent a couple thousand dollars on all the other stuff to get the class ready.

Now, I have zero empathy for anyone who chooses to become a teacher and then complains about their salary and having to buy supplies. You knew what you're getting into. But school funding (per capita student) has increased year over year much more than inflation. Where is the money going?

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Administration?

I've seen "Assistant Vice Principal" and similar positions that make you ask "WTF!?". How do elementary schools, especially, need all the administrative staff?

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THIS!

SidsBurnerAccount said:

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Texasclipper said:

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I admit, I'm old, but I don't remember the constant whine about not being able to afford school supplies and constant request for the donation of supplies/$$ for supplies when i was in school in the 70's early 80's.

Do others remember it being a thing back then? I recall we all knew that is was an expense that had to happen every year and so we planned for it. I also remember that my cheap parents expected me to reuse pencils, pens, paper, notebooks left from the previous year and we didn't automatically buy new everything.

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Are you talking about students or "educators" already whining on face book that they have to fund their entire classroom and are already exhausted.

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I was referring to the parental whine about having to buy supplies. But yes, since there was no FB in those days (a good thing), there was definitely no educators whining on FB about having to buy bulletin board supplies back in the dark ages.

I don't know how it is today, but back then I'm pretty sure teachers funded the bulletin board themselves but picked up supplies a little at a time over the years they taught.

Picard said:

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They show up at school with a cell phone. But hey, we can't afford school supplies don't ya know!

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And get dropped off in a Cadillac Escalade which has been equipped $30K in aftermarket bling.

NoahAg said:

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I was talking with someone yesterday whose daughter is about to start her first year of teaching elementary school. According to him the only thing her classroom came with was her desk, the kids' desks, and a whiteboard. He said they've spent a couple thousand dollars on all the other stuff to get the class ready.

Now, I have zero empathy for anyone who chooses to become a teacher and then complains about their salary and having to buy supplies. You knew what you're getting into. But school funding (per capita student) has increased year over year much more than inflation. Where is the money going?

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San Antonio ISD, Houston ISD, and Dallas ISD spend more per student than any other district in the state.

What does "needed to get the classroom ready" mean? What costs $2000?

Quote:

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I admit, I'm old, but I don't remember the constant whine about not being able to afford school supplies and constant request for the donation of supplies/$$ for supplies when i was in school in the 70's early 80's.

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You didn't have social media back then.

Schools have become a great case study of the Parkinson's law.

Go volunteer for a day at an elementary school ( I would tell you to just go hang out in the morning and look, but good way to get arrested)
Watch them drive up in nice cars, then wait for tardy bell late comers that have to walk kid in: still in pajamas, the man is there in car too, cig dangling out of mouth of both, and granny in the back seat too. Cussing Secretary about rules, then asking for kid to be given paper and pencil and if it is too late for breakfast. Then at ten kid has fever because he had one in morning and they gave him Tylenol and sent him on, and are now up there cussing Secretary about rules for a little fever.

Lol. You will find a way for your kid to get the hell out.
And they wonder why kids don't learn. No accountability. No investment- not even a pencil. Wait until college is free - it will ve as worthless as secondary school!

TXAGBQ76 said:

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What does "needed to get the classroom ready" mean? What costs $2000?

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It is basically a bunch of decorative BS that the female teachers use to compare to each other to see who has the cutest room.

And if the teacher doesn't have the cutest room, then the Mommies come up there to out-cute the other teacher's room.

Same reason women wear makeup and get botox. To impress the other women.

NoahAg said:

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I was talking with someone yesterday whose daughter is about to start her first year of teaching elementary school. According to him the only thing her classroom came with was her desk, the kids' desks, and a whiteboard. He said they've spent a couple thousand dollars on all the other stuff to get the class ready.

Now, I have zero empathy for anyone who chooses to become a teacher and then complains about their salary and having to buy supplies. You knew what you're getting into. But school funding (per capita student) has increased year over year much more than inflation. Where is the money going?

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That astroturf, the elevators for coaches to haul #$&@ to the press box, and the assistant curriculum coordinator's salary for 2nd grade math ain't gonna' pay for themselves!

B-1 83 said:

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NoahAg said:

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I was talking with someone yesterday whose daughter is about to start her first year of teaching elementary school. According to him the only thing her classroom came with was her desk, the kids' desks, and a whiteboard. He said they've spent a couple thousand dollars on all the other stuff to get the class ready.

Now, I have zero empathy for anyone who chooses to become a teacher and then complains about their salary and having to buy supplies. You knew what you're getting into. But school funding (per capita student) has increased year over year much more than inflation. Where is the money going?

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That astroturf, the elevators for coaches to haul #$&@ to the press box, and the assistant curriculum coordinator's salary for 2nd grade math ain't gonna' pay for themselves!

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If anyone is still buying astroturf, they should be shot. But I do agree about turf. Much more expensive than grass, and worse for the players.

And elevators are mandated by ADA.

Stupe said:

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I was in elementary school in the 70's and we brought an extra cigar box with pencils, erasers, tissues in it. We also brought extra paper or a spiral notebook.

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Apparently they don't teach cursive any more so paper, pens and pencils are irrelevant. My niece told me they don't grade tests either because it's not fair.