School Supplies for Teachers

Back to School season is in full swing in my town (and I assume all other towns that contain children). The displays at the front of Walmart, Big Lots, and any store that sells pencils are dedicated entirely to school supplies. This, of course, is not news to anyone over the age of five.

Nor is it news to any adult with a facebook that teachers have to pay for many of these supplies out of pocket. According to this study, teachers are forking over on average roughly $500 of their own money per year on pencils, pens, post it notes, dry erase markers, tissues, etc.

Some individuals are inclined to think So what? but I ask you: Does your job require you to buy your own stapler, your own printer paper, and more? I doubt it. I have yet to encounter a work place where I was expected to pay money to do my job. If I ran out of staples, I went to the supply closet to get new ones. Hell, we even had FREE coffee, sugar, and creamer. We also had free cider and tea.

This blog post outlines the ridiculousness of this situation. However, this example summarizes the point quite well:

So, let me get this straight— someone who is teaching our future leaders, doctors, lawyers, bankers, basically anyone who will be living for the next 50 years, is having to pay money to do their job? What if you went to the hospital and you needed, say a shot? You pay for the syringe, medicine, alcohol pads, and the materials needed for the nurse and physician to do their job. If they told you that either a) you needed to pay a supply fee for the syringe, medicine, alcohol pads and the materials needed to perform this job or b) you had to bring the supplies, you would probably either pay the fee, or bring the supplies so that the nurse and physician could do their jobs.

So why do teachers have to spend their own money for supplies to do their job when other professions do not? At first, I thought schools should incorporate a stipend in addition to teachers' salaries to account for this out of pocket expense (I still think this is a good idea). Then I wondered why parents weren't supplying their kids with the tools and supplies they needed to succeed in school in the first place.

Of course, there is one possible answer: they can't afford it. The economy sucks and everyone knows it. Then there is the significantly more obnoxious reason: they don't think they should have to. The blog post I linked to above contains just such an example. A woman needs to buy six EXPO markers, but there are only packs of 10 remaining. Here is her direct quote:

I’m not paying $6.79 for them. Then we would be giving them 4 extra markers. I’m not doing that. This is just ridiculous, they can buy their own markers if they want to use them.

As the saying goes, it takes a villiage to raise a child; however, it seems some adults have forgotten this. Teachers are not asking for supplies because they enjoy counting EXPO markers at night. They aren't asking for supplies because they get a sick satisfaction out of parting you from your hard earned money.

They are asking for supplies so they can educate your children.

Perhaps I am jumping to conclusions. Perhaps the woman with a vendetta against 10 packs of EXPO markers was simply having a bad day. We are human and we say things we don't necessarily mean when we're frustrated. But this does not help solve the problem at hand.

Teachers need supplies to be able to educate children to the level they deserve. Every child needs supplies to succeed in school. It is as simple as that.

With that in mind, I made a trip to Big Lots.

I often times find myself wishing I was able to make a difference in the problems that plague the country. I want to feed the hungry, house the homeless, and supply the schools. I can't do these things, at least on a large scale. The task of making a difference is daunting and I find myself overwhelmed before I've even begun.

Today I faced a similar wall. I can't possibly supply an entire classroom, much less an entire school. And then I remembered the starfish story. It's tired and worn, but the gist of it is even though it is impossible to save all of the beached starfish, you can make a difference to the ones you save.

(I just compared your children to starfish. I have no regrets.)

My sister-in-law teaches second grade, so I asked her what school supplies she runs out of first. She told me post it notes, dry erase markers, and pencils. So I got those and some other supplies I found on various lists online (you'd be surprised how many teachers blog about school supplies).

I put together three supply containers. Here is what is inside:

• 3 boxes of tissues
• 3 double packs of post it notes
• 2 apple-shaped packs of post it notes (because they're teachers, duh)
• 2 packs of paper (150 ct)
• 2 packs of pencils (15 ct)
• 2 packs of blue pens (10 ct)
• 2 packs of erasers (12 ct)
• 2 rolls of tape
• 2 packs of black dry erase markers (2 ct)
• 2 packs of color dry erase markers (4 ct)
• 2 packs of 4x6 index cards (100 ct)
• 2 packs of 3x5 index cards (100 ct)
• 1 thank you note

Here are the supplies in their containers before I put on the lids:

As I said before, my sister-in-law is a teacher, so one of these is for her. Thanks for what you do and good luck with the upcoming school year :)

I cannot make enough of these to solve the school supply problem. I can't even make a dent. But I can help when it is possible. If you are reading this, I ask you to do the same. Donate a pack of pencils, markers, crayons, whatever you can—it will not go unappreciated.

 About Samantha Bookwalter

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Samantha Bookwalter is freelance writer and social media specialist. She specializes in web editing, copy editing, copy writing, social media management, HTML, CSS, and other web-related acronyms. Samantha has an affinity for health and fitness; in her free time she enjoys working out with her husband and researching recipes that are not only healthy but delicious too.