Monday's Question of the Day - August 3, 2015

MoochNNoodles · Aug 3, 2015

Happy last full month of summer to you northern hemisphere members!

It's officially back-to-school season in my area. I believe my nieces and nephews go back to school next week. It seems so early; but they get a week of vacation time in October and the school year ends mid-May.

Do you enjoy the Back-to-School sales and shopping?

I admit. I'm a school supply junkie.

So is my step-dad. It doesn't matter if there is a school age kid to shop for or not.

I just got off the phone with my mother and I was telling her i was looking for highlighters for my planner and that those are the only school supply I haven't bought yet. She told me not to buy any till she checks her house because my step-dad buys a lot of things for their house.

A few years ago he bought a 24 pack of a particular pen brand because he wanted all the black and blue pens. Half the package was colored pens. They all came home with me and I have had fun with them! When my step-siblings and I were kids he'd load us up with stuff at the beginning of the year. If we needed pens; he bought the economy size box.

In the past; I have given him gift cards to Staples as birthday presents.

I use binders and page protectors for recipes I print off the internet or people give me. So I like the cute binders for those. Now is the time to find them! If you wait; they will just have standard ones or leftover ones out. So I've picked up quite a few of those. Please do not ask how many.

But it will be nice to spread out what I already have in the 2 binders so it's easier to find things. They are getting pretty full. Of course I needed more divider tabs too.

My kids and I also do shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child every year. We do at least 2. So I've been using the Back-to-School sales to get school supplies for those! Usually I'm searching the office section closer to Christmas and they don't have much of a selection when it comes to pencil sharpeners, cute pencils and that sort of thing. Or they are out of stock. What a difference this time of year!! I've found $1 pencil cases! I've put away pencils, erasers, sharpeners, colored pencils, crayons, paints, etc. Now when Christmas gets closer I'll only have to look for toys and maybe treats to add to the boxes.

My DD has apparently inherited the love of school supplies. She has to look at EVERYTHING in the school supply section. Somehow she convinced me to buy her a huge box of cute pencils a few weeks ago (for school).

She has her eye on a metal pencil box that looks sort of like a suitcase. But I'm not so crazy that I'd spend $10 on a pencil box so she's going to have to bring her case to the Grandparents on that one.

Even if it LOCKS! With a KEY!

Draco · Aug 3, 2015

I have no kids to go back to school shopping for.. but I do get a sense of comfort when I see the sales and supplies in stores. I guess because I actually miss school, it just brings back nice memories when I see them! I do take my time to go through the supply section when I see them.

sivyaleah · Aug 3, 2015

A time of year, I'm happy not to have children

Miriette · Aug 3, 2015

I graduated from college almost a year ago so no more school shopping for me. :'c Getting cute supplies was one of the few things I really liked about school. I still have a small collection of supplies I never got to use. (I'll find a use for you yet, Hello Kitty folders!)

denice · Aug 3, 2015

My 'kids' are grown with their own children so I am past the back to school thing. The kids in the district that I live in go back on Aug 13, they also finished up right before memorial day. They also seem to get more time off during the school year. I know there has been a movement for awhile to go to year around school with more time off during the school year. It really does make sense. The idea behind summers off came from when the country was largely agrarian. The kids were needed on the farm during the summer. When my father went to school they even got 2 or 3 weeks off in the fall shortly after they went back to school to help with the harvest.

Norachan · Aug 3, 2015

Back to school already? The summer holidays have only just started in Japan.

I don't have children, so I don't know about back to school sales. Like @sivyaleah I'm happy not to have any kids. Or any neighbours with kids. Or any neighbours.

(Bah humbug

)

Kat0121 · Aug 3, 2015

I'm pretty much done getting everything DD needs. She'll be a college junior in a few weeks when school starts up again. If she needs anything else, it will be notebooks and such. All the big stuff like textbooks and clothes are done.

Do I like getting all that stuff? NO. One does what one must though.

Oh yeah.. I'm SOOO glad that i don't have any others!!!

MoochNNoodles · Aug 3, 2015

Apparently I'm the odd ball... I loved these sales before I had the kids to buy for! I used to search out the glittery notebooks for my BFF's daughter.

Willowy · Aug 3, 2015

My mom is a school supply junkie too

. She has a few kids to shop for this year (a friend took in her 2 nieces so they need all the help they can get) but she also is going to ask the school how she can donate. She just can't stay away from school supplies!

micknsnicks2mom · Aug 3, 2015

i don't have children, but i'm not opposed to taking part in the back to school sales if it means i'll be able to buy a few items i use on a regular basis at a lower cost! i do have a plastic crayon box w/lid on my shopping list already, as well as red bic pens. and now i'm thinking about it, i may just see what kind of deal i can find on notebooks. i usually use legal pads for my budgeting and planning, but notebooks will do just fine -- especially if they cost less. hmmm......it looks like the 12-packs of least expensive legal pads cost less than the notebooks.

MoochNNoodles · Aug 3, 2015

Willowy said:
My mom is a school supply junkie too . She has a few kids to shop for this year (a friend took in her 2 nieces so they need all the help they can get) but she also is going to ask the school how she can donate. She just can't stay away from school supplies!

Donating is a great idea! I have a couple of teacher friends who work in poverty stricken districts and those kids have true needs for supplies. Last year one recieved a big box of things for her middle school aged students & she was just giddy over it all!

Winchester · Aug 4, 2015

sivyaleah said:
A time of year, I'm happy not to have children

That would be me.

I like to browse some of the back-to-school sales, simply because I like to stock up on pens, printer paper, and the like. My boss got the list of things they need to buy for the young son to start back this year. The list was double-columns and two pages long! And his son will be in second grade. I think that's more than a little ridiculous.

And nothing can have their son's name on it. Evidently when they bring the stuff in, it all goes into a closet and the teacher takes stuff out as she needs it throughout the year. Nothing like taking advantage of the parents whenever they can.

I've also heard of teachers who request all this stuff from their students' parents. Then they take it back to the stores and try to get money for the supplies. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's a racket. I'm really glad I don't have kids.

Willowy · Aug 4, 2015

Nothing like taking advantage of the parents whenever they can.

. . .I think the vast majority of teachers are doing as well as they can under the circumstances. A lot of them end up buying supplies out-of-pocket when the original stuff runs out. Yeah, in a public school these things SHOULD be covered by tax dollars but I think we all know how that goes

.

As for returning stuff, I don't blame them as long as they spend the money on the classroom. Like if they got 500 packs of paper but only 2 packs of pencils, it makes sense to return some of the paper and either exchange it for pencils or hold on to the money until a need comes up. If they're keeping the money for themselves, yeah, that would be dishonest.

It's really appalling how little regard this country shows for teachers/education. Guys who bounce a ball around for a living get millions but schools are chronically underfunded. Real good priorities there :/.

Kat0121 · Aug 4, 2015

Willowy said:
. . .I think the vast majority of teachers are doing as well as they can under the circumstances. A lot of them end up buying supplies out-of-pocket when the original stuff runs out. Yeah, in a public school these things SHOULD be covered by tax dollars but I think we all know how that goes

.

As for returning stuff, I don't blame them as long as they spend the money on the classroom. Like if they got 500 packs of paper but only 2 packs of pencils, it makes sense to return some of the paper and either exchange it for pencils or hold on to the money until a need comes up. If they're keeping the money for themselves, yeah, that would be dishonest.

It's really appalling how little regard this country shows for teachers/education. Guys who bounce a ball around for a living get millions but schools are chronically underfunded. Real good priorities there :/.

I agree. Teachers have such a huge impact on people's lives that so many take for granted. The don't get paid what they deserve and they certainly don't get nearly as much respect as they deserve. They are NOT glorified babysitters and should not be treated as such. There are so many great teachers who leave the profession because they cannot live on what they make. This should anger people. I also agree about bouncing a ball and making millions. it really is sad. DD had issues with a class in her senior year of HS and we had to see the guidance counselor on more than a few occasions. She was fantastic and always made time for her AND me. I sent her a box of 2 dozen fancy chocolate covered strawberries from Shari's Berries during teacher appreciation week that year with a thank you card. She loved it and said that guidance counselors always get overlooked during that time because they are not "teachers". I disagree. They are.

I'm not a big fan of the whole "buy supplies and don't put your name on it so we can call use it" thing BUT I see and understand why they do it. Some kids' families just can't afford stuff and using this method, they are not embarrassed by it when the teacher says, "get out your crayons" and they don't have any. No, it's not everyone's responsibility to provide for other kids, but it makes a difference to them. I know a lot of teachers buy supplies out of pocket and they should not have to. Not until they make basketball player salaries.

Kat0121 · Aug 4, 2015

Kat0121 said:
I agree. Teachers have such a huge impact on people's lives that so many take for granted. The don't get paid what they deserve and they certainly don't get nearly as much respect as they deserve. They are NOT glorified babysitters and should not be treated as such. There are so many great teachers who leave the profession because they cannot live on what they make. This should anger people. I also agree about bouncing a ball and making millions. it really is sad. DD had issues with a class in her senior year of HS and we had to see the guidance counselor on more than a few occasions. She was fantastic and always made time for her AND me. I sent her a box of 2 dozen fancy chocolate covered strawberries from Shari's Berries during teacher appreciation week that year with a thank you card. She loved it and said that guidance counselors always get overlooked during that time because they are not "teachers". I disagree. They are.

I'm not a big fan of the whole "buy supplies and don't put your name on it so we can call use it" thing BUT I see and understand why they do it. Some kids' families just can't afford stuff and using this method, they are not embarrassed by it when the teacher says, "get out your crayons" and they don't have any. No, it's not everyone's responsibility to provide for other kids, but it makes a difference to them. I know a lot of teachers buy supplies out of pocket and they should not have to. Not until they make basketball player salaries.

Actually, not even then.

MoochNNoodles · Aug 4, 2015

Kat0121 said:
I'm not a big fan of the whole "buy supplies and don't put your name on it so we can call use it" thing BUT I see and understand why they do it. Some kids' families just can't afford stuff and using this method, they are not embarrassed by it when the teacher says, "get out your crayons" and they don't have any. No, it's not everyone's responsibility to provide for other kids, but it makes a difference to them. I know a lot of teachers buy supplies out of pocket and they should not have to. Not until they make basketball player salaries.

That was what I read. They request more because they know some kids wont bring in much or anything off the list. I was tempted to look at one of the lists they have set out in Walmart. Just out of curiosity.

I wouldn't mind giving some extra to help out less fortunate kids in my kids classes. But I would still want DD to be able to have things that are her own; her own scissors, pretty notebooks/folders, etc. Make things like glue, tape, tissues, hand sanitizer and construction paper communal. I guess it's a fine line teachers get to walk. I'm glad we get to do all our own choosing.

Kat0121 · Aug 4, 2015

MoochNNoodles said:
That was what I read. They request more because they know some kids wont bring in much or anything off the list. I was tempted to look at one of the lists they have set out in Walmart. Just out of curiosity.

I wouldn't mind giving some extra to help out less fortunate kids in my kids classes. But I would still want DD to be able to have things that are her own; her own scissors, pretty notebooks/folders, etc. Make things like glue, tape, tissues, hand sanitizer and construction paper communal. I guess it's a fine line teachers get to walk. I'm glad we get to do all our own choosing.

It wasn't like that when DD was that age. We just bought supplies and when she needed something else, we just got her more. I think it's more of a recent thing. She's 20 now. The schools here in Florida often do supply drives looking for donated stuff but I don't think I've seen anything for that in stores lately. then again I may not have noticed because she really doesn't need much in that department any more. Now it's ridiculously overpriced textbooks.

denice · Aug 4, 2015

The church that I used to go to did the supplies things for a few kids each year. It was a Catholic church with it's own school but they did it for the public school, it was an area that had become more and more economically deprived. They would ask the school how much they needed and how many were boys and how many were girls. They would buy backpacks and fill them with the supplies. It was set up for individual children though rather than a common supply.

Willowy · Aug 4, 2015

They are NOT glorified babysitters and should not be treated as such

Haha, they probably WISH they were babysitters! :tongue2: Around here, daycares get $3 per kid per hour, so if a teacher had 30 kids in her class he/she would be getting $90 an hour. . .not bad! (of course, that's how much the daycare gets, not the individual workers). That really shows how underpaid they are even if they were just babysitting, not to mention having to rack up college loans and actually teach the kids stuff.

I do think kids should have some individualized stuff (sparkly notebooks, etc.) but other things like crayons should be interchangable. I know that when I went to public school, it was NOT GOOD when some kids had the 64-crayon set and others only had the 12-crayon set. That's probably why they made the changes.

misterwhiskers · Aug 4, 2015

I'm so out of the loop!!! When I was in school, the 70s mostly, the biggest part was book covers. Brown bags. We grabbed some old pens, some pencils, borrowed a beach tote from my siblings (big clear plastic)... Maybe bought one of those nerdy math things with a sharp end on one thing, you stuck a pencil in the other, and there were angles in it. Good lord, we didn't even have calculators. A new pair or jeans, new sneakers, a couple of cheapie notebooks, done. Didn't seem stressful to me, but I bet my mom flipped (we were dirt poor). Still, it took 20 years out of high school to not get all excited that time of year!! Lolz!! Can you tell I'm childless too? [emoji]128540[/emoji]

Monday's Question of the Day - August 3, 2015

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NOT Malfoy!

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In the kitchen with my cookies

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