Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Taxes to Go UP Another 5%?":
The whole world is trying to "go green," worrying about emissions and using organic products, yet our school supply lists ensure that our community is doing our part to fill up landfills with lockerfuls of plastics that, if they even manage to survive the school year, get thrown away.
Educators believe that the more supplies you have, the better education you will get.
I had one binder when I went to middle school. It was denim and it only came in two sizes - small and large. The widths were predetermined and there weren't choices in 1/4 inch increments.
I never remember a teacher asking for anything specific in terms of inches for a binder except some didn't allow the small looseleaf. Mostly teachers didn't get involved beyond asking for something specific like a protractor or compass. Their focus was on teaching, not worrying about what paper we were using to write our notes on, what type of pen we used and I certainly was never asked to provide dozens of sharpened pencils as if I was expected to copy War and Peace straight through without the aid of a sharpener.
But back to that denim looseleaf. It had the multiplication table and useful formulas like converting feet to meters or inches to centimeters (which I never used) pre-printed on the inside back cover and a built-in clip on the inside front cover with killer grooves that really pinched your fingers if you got caught in it. Like everyone else I personalized the cover with hand drawn logos of rock bands, copied from popular albums and agonizing over details. Pink Floyd, KISS, AC/DC, the Rolling Stones tongue were all popular.
All my subjects were in this one looseleaf and as it got filled, I simply took the used pages out to make more room. We had textbooks that had our homework questions in them and we answered them on a sheet of paper in our looseleaf. We didn't get hundreds of pages of xeroxes to put holes in and manage.
I learned with these primitive supplies and methods. It seems like that by today's standards, providing only one source to keep school papers in is akin to child abuse.
Watching my child struggle to manage a file folder, agenda and various notebooks of different types and widths, I wonder how different his education would be if he didn't have to think about all the organization required by the learning and just focused on the learning.
Not only would it be cheaper (sorry Staples!) but I truly believe it would be better. Less is usually more.
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Thank you for making me laugh at the memory of getting my fingers pinched by that built in clip on the old binders! I am amazed each year at how many of those marble notebooks that were SO necessary in September come home in June with maybe 10 pages used...(in one case only 3!) I actually called the superintendent's office 2 years ago and left a message about this, asking him to try to get his staff to cut down on the books and supplies necessary. Then it hapened agin last year......maybe if more people called??
ReplyDeleteGreat posting. If all the supplies get used, I personally have no problem with it. Items that are not used can be recycled for next year. Those that are used only a little bit, like the notebook with only three pages filled, are a waste of money.
ReplyDeleteWhat should it matter in Plainview about a little more money on books . $20, $50, no problem . If residents could care less about their insane school tax bills that keep going up, then why would it matter if they have to spend another hundred bucks . That is nothing when your school tax bill approches 8,9,or even 10k a year . No problem:-}
ReplyDeletePerhaps we can also do something about the 70lb backpacks that is ruining kids backs and the ridiculous amount of homework. God forbid we let them enjoy their childhood.
ReplyDeleteHow about we lower our taxes by getting rid of the students who do not live in our district but attend here anyway....I personally know of several and they are NOT the students who come here for our special ed programs that the district knows about....wish the district would do something about checking residency every few years......
ReplyDeleteIf the district knows about the students then the student's school is likely paying us to bring the student here.If the school is not aware of the outer residency issue then it is up to you to notify the school. I know of one parent who called the schoola few years ago about a parent who lived in another town and brought their children to Plainview where the grandmother lived every morning so the bus could pich up the children. The parent who complained ,called the school and they looked into it and informed the parent of the children that they would owe the school $$$ for their children in our school. The result was that the children are now in their own school district. Community activism is not a spectator sport as many believe.
ReplyDeleteI think it is utterly ridiculous that these kids have to carry all these binders, folders, notebooks and whatever else they are given in school. My son has to carry 5 binders, a 3 subject notebook and folders besides the other accessories needed everyday. It is a waste that he has a locker in school because the locker is nowhere near his classes and it is so narrow he cannot fit anything in it anyway. We had to buy him a sports duffle bag just so he can carry his books. It is way to heavy, to expensive and just so ridiculous. What happened to a five subject notebook, maybe a folder, a pen and you are on your way.
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