Supplies-Really Not Fair

amother

OP ↓

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 2:49 am

Every year I get a list of supplies for all my kids. We go to the store we pick the supplies we come out with a huge headache. Yay we're done!
But then school/cheder starts and each child comes home yet again with a fresh new list from each teacher/Rebbe!
Can't they give us the list all at once?!
I have no time in this busy busy season to go 10 times to the supplies and seforim store!!
Rant over.

amother

Chartreuse

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 3:14 am

Wait. Not worth it.

I buy just basics that I want in the house anyway to start with like pens, pencils, glue, scissor, eraser, sharperner, looseleaf paper, markers, crayons, hard plastic 2 pocket folders, pencil case that holds a whole lot.

I keep a few of these at home and wait for exact notebooks and loose-leaf size/s

Wait for everything else.

amother

Nemesia ↓

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 6:47 am

I know I'll have mad parents when I ask for supplies not on the list, but when the list was made, someone else was teaching that class, so her supply requests were on the list instead of mine. I try to keep it simple, but there are some things I need.

amother

Bellflower

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 7:04 am

You don’t have to buy supplies before school starts. Revolutionary. Send them with some basics and buy the rest when you get the teachers list.

Hashem_Yaazor ↓

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 7:11 am

We've instituted a policy in my school that whatever a teacher needs after school supply lists have been sent out, they should contact an administrator and we'll take care of it for them. We don't believe it's fair to parents. We do ask them to try to work with what was on the list in the case it went out before they were hired, and for the most part it works.

I've also made the executive decision to take off some supplies from the list that would make parents crazy trying to find them and the school will buy those in bulk, as well as specific items that are only for certain class placement that a parent won't know yet.

I wish every school was this considerate of their parent body.

amother

Catmint ↓

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 7:29 am

We don’t have that they have to use the general list sent out per grade. What I hate is going all over town to find the green highlighter and pink folder with 3 prongs. And then the kid comes home with it at the end of the year and it wasn’t touched.

amother

Ghostwhite

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 7:35 am

This has been going on for so many years, it’s mind boggling. The list my kids have is probably the same one I had as a kid.

I really don’t understand the difficulty in getting a list from the teachers every July and sending out a current list to the parents.

Why are people/institutions so resistant to simple changes for the better? Change can be scary, I understand, but this has been going on for too long.

I wish a principal or administrator can give a solid response to this. (Not talking to the ones who were brave and made the change)

amother

Magnolia ↓

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 7:42 am

amother Nemesia wrote:

Veteran teacher here. If you are asking for something so outside the norm that you can't make the list work, I'm really wondering what it is that you are sending parents back to the store to buy that you MUST have.

I also wonder why the secular teachers need to submit their supply lists well in advance but the rabbeim wait until the first day to send the list. By now I know what they will ask for so I just get what I get.

amother

↑ Catmint ↓

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 7:46 am

amother Nemesia wrote:

Then it’s your problem to get the school to add your stuff to the list and take off the irrelevant things. Why would you not deal with this before?

amother

↑ Nemesia ↓

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 7:47 am

amother Magnolia wrote:

The other teacher has a class set of very strong folders she resued year to year. I need the kids to each bring their own folder because I don't have the heavy duty folders and we can't find where to buy them even if the school was willing. She also used a curriculum with a workbook, but the school is switching this year to one that needs a notebook. So I am literally asking for a folder and a notebook. Under $1 a child. But the school isn't funding that and neither am I.

amother

↑ Catmint ↓

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 7:48 am

amother Nemesia wrote:

You have time now, tell the school to add it to the list! Come on don’t wait until school starts.

amother

↑ Nemesia ↓

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 7:50 am

amother Catmint wrote:

Then it’s your problem to get the school to add your stuff to the list and take off the irrelevant things. Why would you not deal with this before?

Because the list went out a month ago and they told us last week we're switching classes. They told us that it's too late to switch the supply list and just ask the parents when we get our class lists.

amother

↑ Catmint

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 7:51 am

amother Nemesia wrote:

I strongly disagree. Tell them to send an email with updates.

amother

↑ Nemesia ↓

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 7:56 am

amother Catmint wrote:

I strongly disagree. Tell them to send an email with updates.

I asked. They said no. They're using some fancy service that can't be adjusted. I'm not losing my job over it.
I also pointed out when they asked us for supply lists in may that we needed to know what classes we were teaching for that, and they shrugged it off, so I'm not the only teacher with this where they have the wrong list and admin won't change it.
Let them hear the complaints from the parents.

My point was it's not always the teachers fault- sometimes it's administrative issues.

(There was also the year I sent in an updated list and they just added it to the previous teachers list instead of replacing it)

renslet

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 8:12 am

Whenever I need something very specific, I buy in bulk and then sell them to the kids the first few days of school. It's so much easier for parents and then I know that each kid has what they need. (Yes there's always a few kids who don't pay, I give them anyway)

amother

↑ Magnolia

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 8:23 am

amother Nemesia wrote:

Got it. So in your case, it's not that you requested something that is not standard and expected, you are requesting davka standard, expected and the other teacher provided her own.

amother

↑ Nemesia ↓

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 8:24 am

amother Magnolia wrote:

Got it. So in your case, it's not that you requested something that is not standard and expected, you are requesting davka standard, expected and the other teacher provided her own.

Exactly.

amother

Skyblue

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 8:38 am

amother Nemesia wrote:

If you can't find where to buy the folders, how will the parents?
I'm a teacher btw. I get how tricky it can be with needing certain supplies, but if you ask parents to buy hard to obtain ones, chances are they'll buy substitutions that are completely off which is understandable. What else should they do?

amother

Cadetblue

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 8:38 am

renslet wrote:

I do this too.

As a parent, I make sure they have the basics to be able to participate in predictable class activities (pencils, scissors, glue stick) and wait for the very specific notebooks and looseleaf list that the teachers give on the first day.

amother

↑ Nemesia ↓

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 8:45 am

amother Skyblue wrote:

I don't need them to get the fancy ones. Standard ones are fine because they don't have to reuse. But my school bshitta won't buy single use supplies, only reusable or for special projects.