I remember rolling my shopping cart through the grocery store with my son in tow. I was throwing in paper doilies from the bakery department. I had already thrown in a dozen glue sticks. 10 tubes of glitter. And 36 shot glasses.
No, I don’t have a drinking problem. That I know of. But they were on sale for 50 cents and I needed 36 because I had 36 5th graders that year and they were all going to come together (in my imagination) as these very sweet Mother’s Day gifts (the glasses were for mom to put rings and earrings, etc.), and we were going to write beautiful Mom’s Day poems, and I was really, really excited that the shot glasses were on sale, because the whole 36 Mother’s Day presents would only set me personally back about $40 bucks which was a whole lot less than the Mother’s Day presents we made last year.
(Watch Lily on ABC News with Diane Sawyer)
Now, the science projects were always a little more expensive. And I wanted my kids to have the poster board for the displays, but I figured they could still have plenty of writing space if we cut the poster board in half, and that would save me half the cost.
The classroom set of Old Yeller paperbacks was my most ambitious project. I rummaged though every thrift shop and yard sale, and actually came up with 18 copies, most around a quarter and most with almost every page still attached.
I got used to pulling out my wallet for my school kids. The same shopping trip for the shot glasses, my own little boy asked if he could have something-or-another. I remember telling him, “Sweetie, we can’t afford that.”
I remember it after all these years, because I happen to throw the classroom set of doilies in the cart just as I was telling him to put his something-or-another back. I always got my school kids things I wanted them to have. It was my decision. I knew that I had a and pencils and didn’t cover science and art materials.
Sometimes I’d send a note home to parents asking if they could donate crayons or markers. At my school, teachers could not require parents to provide materials. But random acts of charity were ok. Most parents were happy to help.
. They ask parents for crayons and markers. And Kleenix. And cleanser for the classroom sink. And toilet paper.
It’s dark days for many districts. Tough times are even tougher. as best they can. Some research shows that the average teacher in a public school will spend close to $500 a year on students. ()
At the same time, it’s harder and harder for some parents to pitch in. Some parents remain out of work. They’re fighting to put a meal on the table. They don’t have anything extra to send to school.
But we’re all trying to stretch that school dollar. Unless you live in what appears to be a School District Parallel Universe.
An amazing thing happened in August. Against all odds – with thousands upon thousands of teachers and school support professionals and parents calling, writing, visiting their members of Congress – The House of Representatives was called back from summer break for an emergency vote on an education jobs bill that would give districts millions of federal dollars in order to call back laid-off educators.
The Senate and the House and the President in a rare bipartisan show of common sense recognized that without their teachers and support staff waiting at the school door, class size would mushroom and entire programs would be eliminated. They recognized that a 1st grader only gets one year to be a first grader. A high school senior only gets one year to be a high school senior. Making sure districts had emergency funds to their students was a national priority.
Congress did the right thing and took a political risk. Teachers and parents are doing the right thing in making personal sacrifices for the good of their children. There are governors and superintendents who took the money and immediately did the right thing calling back laid off school staff. Class sizes will be smaller. Programs will be re-instated.
But, there are others who took the money… and immediately declared they would wait and see what things looked like next year before calling back the laid off teachers and support professionals. 
Someone explain to me how by recalling the laid off teachers and school support staff. Someone explain why they would sit on emergency funding that was given to them to make sure kids have the teachers and support staff they need.
I have seen amazing people make amazing personal sacrifices in these tough times. No one is asking for “wait and see” bureaucrats to make an amazing personal sacrifice. No one is asking them to do what teachers and parents do and pay for what students need out of their household budgets.
We’re asking them to spend the emergency education jobs funding for what it was intended. Now.
We’re asking them to call back the teachers and education support staff our students need. Now.
We’re asking them to do the right thing. Now.
I’ve probably spent more in gas going from store to store shopping for bargains these past few weeks – - $1 for 4 glue sticks! $1 for a pair of brand name student scissors! 1 cent for two-pocket folders – - 30 total – - so I went back six times! 50 cents for notebooks – 52 in total! Our legislative supply money was cut in half, so to your article I give a hearty AMEN and AMEN.
I find it the height of hypocrisy that some of our state legislators are crying foul when asked to accep the current federal dollars to call back teachers and make up our deficits when they would NOT even fund student growth out of state tax dollars. I feel a letter to the editor in this post and will work on it. However, tomorrow is the first day of school and there will be no tears from the students on the first day of school (or their teacher.) It will be a terrific day despite the bleak funding picture. Yep, they still haven’t let me out of third grade – - year number 36 is starting tomorrow and it is as exciting as ever!
Great post, thank you. I, too, am shocked at the amount of money I spend each year for “my kids” so that their school year goes well. (and Lynette, I was back at the store a few times to get the penny folders, too! (-: )
One of my parents works in the Defense Language Institute (military) and says it is shocking to him how much money is thrown around at that school because the military has such a huge budget. How about making sure education is fully funded so that our students can be educated about how to make peace and create a better world? Frustrating!!
Great post! I will have to admit that this is the first time in years that I didn’t spend more than $50 for my “kids” but I’m already feeling the burden in the classroom from parents that can’t afford the supplies (and we are only on day 3). I have kindergarteners without supply boxes or crayons, so they are having to share the crayons. A tough thing for a 5 year old to do, especially those who are away from mom and dad for the first time. Two years ago, I calculated how much I actually spent that year (being the first time in a new grade and having nothing for 3rd grade after spending 9 years in k-1) and discovered that I spent over $1000, just my luck since I wasn’t happy in 3rd and really don’t plan on using a lot of the books that I bought, but my “kids” did succeed. I wish that people realized how much teachers really do for the students and give credit where credit is due instead of constantly playing the blame game.
Is there a list available of the “wait & see” politicians?
It’s time for politicians to DO instead of just SAY the right things! I’m so sick of hearing all the platitudes & the constant refrain that “children are our future,” by those who turn a blind eye to what is actually going on in education at all levels.
Lily, here in California school districts STILL DON’T KNOW how much money they’re getting per student from the state, because the state budget is still deadlocked. For certain, it will be less for 2010-2011 than it was in 2009-2010, but we don’t know how much less yet. $274? $400? $600? With school district budgets scraping the bottom, with the school year already started, it’s hard to decide to spend more money when there’s still so much uncertainty.
I sure hope this initiative changing the budget to a simple majority vote passes in November. Schools can’t budget intelligently if they don’t know how much they will be paid.
Diane Ravitch changed her mind about NCLB but thought its goals were what we needed. She has commented that who wouldn’t want the ideas contained in the legislation. Well, before she embraced them, I could already see the inherent problems they presented. What took her so long? Friend of Education? Let’s get real. People like Alfie Kohn have raised the issues she now raises and has done so for years but was never listened to by people like Diane. If there is a friend to education, he is so much more deserving. But what do I know? I was a teacher for 30 years in the state of Utah working with Youth At Risk my entire career.
[...] was interviewed a few weeks ago in a back-to-school network story about how teachers and teaching assistants and even bus drivers often spend money out of their own pockets to get students what school budgets and parents can’t [...]
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