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

[MoochNNoodles]

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]

I wonder if you can even get brown bags for book covers these days!?  That was THE thing to do when I was in middle school.  You'd get your friends to sign your books and we'd leave little doodles on them for our friends too.  

  In high school the school gave out book covers.  

I sort of remember my mother cringing at some of the things on my elementary supply lists.  These were the days before my Step-dad.  In particular the year they wanted us to have metal scissors.  I thought it was really great my Mom let me take our household orange handled ones.  Now I realize she just didn't want to/couldn't buy me new.  I was probably the kid who only ever had the small pack of crayons; I don't really remember.  I do remember liking things other kids had that I didn't.  But such is life; someone will always have bigger and better.  I'm ok with my kids not having the biggest and the best.  Hopefully I can teach them why we don't need to keep up with the Joneses.  

  We have a family friend who grew up pretty poor but is very successful now. Their kid has never wanted for anything.  That includes luxuries at a young age that I don't allow myself. now.  It's not up to me to decide how someone else raises their child.  And maybe they do things to keep her grounded that I do not see.  Its not for me to say.  But I do wonder if it's the wisest way to raise a child.  So I chose differently for my lil crew.  (Please don't take that as a judgmental statement; but more of an observation as we reach new parenting milestones with our own kids.  I tend to be a people watcher to see what works or doesn't work for others and apply it to our own decision making.)

 

[denice]

I agree that people who are well off can ruin their children by giving them any and all material things.  My parents were products of the depression and like others of that generation were big savers and lived below their means.  There were a lot of material things that they could have given me but didn't.  My father in particular was big on the hard work ethic and they both were huge on 'not putting on airs'

 

[Columbine]

I'm reading this and being really struck by the difference in the uk. Primary school (5-11 year olds) we weren't required to get any kind of staionary until aged 9 or 10 - then we had to have our own fountain pens and ink cartridges. That was it! Textbooks belonged to the school, and were kept/returned there as needed.

Secondary school (11-16/18): The school owns the textbooks, and supplies staionary (I think a small fee was paid for exercise books). We provided our own pens, pencils etc, and any extras we wanted (but didn't NEED). Very, very different! :lol3:

 

[happybird]

I'm a school/office supply junkie, too. I love pens, notebooks, folders, all of it. Ooohhhh, fine tip Sharpies! :9: I could spend an hour in each aisle of the big chain craft stores, looking at the packs of fancy colored pencils and scrapbooking supplies. I have no interest in scrapbooking, I just love all the pretty paper and little doodads that go along with it. My husband is afflicted, as well, but doesn't have it as badly as I do. We think it is because both of our Dads were federal gov't employees and brought home boxes of office supplies when we were kids in the 70's (there's your $100 toilet seats :anon.

We don't have kids, but I saw a friends' kid's supply list and was ridiculous- glitter pens, $5 glue sticks, all sorts of nonsense. It was easily over $100. I remember it was a big deal when we all had to chip in a box of Kleenex for the classroom. I do feel bad that some cannot afford the supplies, but do kids really need all this stuff to learn? We used pencils, notebook paper, a couple folders and a three ring binder and we were just fine. And if you were cool, you got a Trapper Keeper.

I wonder what the supply lists are like for very low income areas? I cannot image them thinking glitter pens are a necessary tool for education. There has to be a way to provide for all, without making parents buy extra supplies. That is what I want my tax money to go to- education, including better salaries for teachers, and infrastructure, not the Pentagon and the politicians.

 

[denice]

The low income areas at least here do things like the church I used to go to.  Those are also the districts where the teachers often end up buying supplies, at least as much as they can.  Teachers don't make much as it is, they make even less in low income areas.  I think too the kids don't have all the supplies like these huge lists, they come closer to what we had when we were in school.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I'm reading this and being really struck by the difference in the uk. Primary school (5-11 year olds) we weren't required to get any kind of staionary until aged 9 or 10 - then we had to have our own fountain pens and ink cartridges. That was it! Textbooks belonged to the school, and were kept/returned there as needed.

Secondary school (11-16/18): The school owns the textbooks, and supplies staionary (I think a small fee was paid for exercise books). We provided our own pens, pencils etc, and any extras we wanted (but didn't NEED). Very, very different!

I don't remember the lists being so involved when i was in elementary school.  I think the years I needed the most were in middle school. They assigned a lot of reports that needed covers and projects you needed poster boards and that sort of thing for.  I don't really recall projects that required those in elementary school.  Now I see my friends kids going to school with projects and even in period costumes.  I don't know if the costume part was required or extra credit; but geeze. 

We never had to buy books in the public school.  The kids in private schools here do.  At least for the ones I looked into.  That was a bit of a disapointment considering the cost of tuition.  The book prices were not negotiable. You paid the book fee and the school ordered them.  They also had lab and material fees.  I'm sure they still have supply lists too.  Elementary schools here all require uniforms now.  But those can be bought in just about any store; from Walmart to better brand stores.  

I'm a school/office supply junkie, too. I love pens, notebooks, folders, all of it. Ooohhhh, fine tip Sharpies!

I could spend an hour in each aisle of the big chain craft stores, looking at the packs of fancy colored pencils and scrapbooking supplies. I have no interest in scrapbooking, I just love all the pretty paper and little doodads that go along with it. My husband is afflicted, as well, but doesn't have it as badly as I do. We think it is because both of our Dads were federal gov't employees and brought home boxes of office supplies when we were kids in the 70's (there's your $100 toilet seats

).

We don't have kids, but I saw a friends' kid's supply list and was ridiculous- glitter pens, $5 glue sticks, all sorts of nonsense. It was easily over $100. I remember it was a big deal when we all had to chip in a box of Kleenex for the classroom. I do feel bad that some cannot afford the supplies, but do kids really need all this stuff to learn? We used pencils, notebook paper, a couple folders and a three ring binder and we were just fine. And if you were cool, you got a Trapper Keeper.

I wonder what the supply lists are like for very low income areas? I cannot image them thinking glitter pens are a necessary tool for education. There has to be a way to provide for all, without making parents buy extra supplies. That is what I want my tax money to go to- education, including better salaries for teachers, and infrastructure, not the Pentagon and the politicians.

Your lucky your husband is "afflicted" with you! 

  My DH just shakes his head.  When I worked in the medical office field I was always getting pens and things from the pharmaceutical reps.  It was awesome!  They stopped being able to give out freebies I believe.  But boy they were fun!  Some of those pens wrote beautifully too! 

I don't understand the glitter pen thing either.  I mean I'm having fun choosing the extras for us; but the craziest I've gotten is an extra set of counters and the 12 pack of sharpie highlighters.  Which were a better deal than the 4 pack, will get used AND included a PURPLE highlighter!  And blue.  

 
The low income areas at least here do things like the church I used to go to.  Those are also the districts where the teachers often end up buying supplies, at least as much as they can.  Teachers don't make much as it is, they make even less in low income areas.  I think too the kids don't have all the supplies like these huge lists, they come closer to what we had when we were in school.

I know several churches in our area do book bag drives.  The radio stations too.  I did see some pre-made bags in Walmart recently as well.  Our church gives the kids some supplies at the beginning of each year.  

Schools today do have some challenges they didn't when we were children. They have to keep up with technology!!  That alone is so expensive.  I remember typing a sentence on a computer in first grade and then not seeing a computer again until the 5th grade.  Schools also seem to face a lot more challenges with developmental and learning disabilities.  They need to allocate resources and trained professionals for that.  I have a couple friends who absolutely love teaching.  But I also have a cousin who jokes she has things backwards.  She's getting an associates degree in medical imaging after teaching for several  years.  She hated it!  Teachers are required to get masters degrees within so many years of beginning to teach as well.  All that schooling does not come cheap!!  

 

[denice]

I remember when I was still in high school and college which was the 1970's teachers and nurses were about equal in pay but that is no longer true.  A nurse isn't required to get a master's degree like most teachers are required to do.  Nurses with master's degrees average better pay than teachers even with the lowest paid specialist nurses.  The highest paid ones which are the nurse anesthetists average right around $100,000.  Teachers average about half that.

 

[stewball]

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.

You miss school!!!!!!!!!!!