Poll: How much did you spend on school supplies?
Voters were divided in our last poll about testing preschoolers for admissions to gifted and talented programs. One thing appeared to be clear, though: you’re not happy with the status quo–only 2% of responses supported leaving the system as it is! We appreciate your feedback:
“Fed Up Mom” thinks G&T programs are a waste of money. According to her, G&T classes have substantially fewer students at her school. “My child would have benefited from a smaller class but couldn’t have it because they wasted a teacher on the G&T kids,” she said.
Parent Alexandria Gecin agrees that all students need smaller classes and quality education — not just those who do well on a test. She added, ” G & T doesn’t test for high artistic ablility, musical ability, high maturity, great spatial skills or anything other than an ability to pass what is essentially a little kid’s IQ test.”
One mom, however, shared that G&T classes were her son’s ticket out of a bad local school. Many more of you shared your thoughts on our initial post about testing 4-year-olds. Thanks for joining the conversation!
Now as we head into the second week of classes, we’re wondering how much of a dent new school supplies made in your family budget. The Daily News reported Wednesday that some parents are struggling to pay for back-to-school items in these tough economic times. How did your family fare? Vote now, and add your comments below!
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When I first encountered the supply list in kindergarten, I was surprised. Now that my child is in middle school, it just seems like business as usual. In fact, I buy stuff throughout the year, mostly at Staples, when I see things on sale that I know we (or the class) will eventually need. The supplies have to come from somewhere, so its either this or pay higher taxes, and at least this way I know where my money is going. Actually, there is a third possibility, which is that when parents don’t provide, teachers end up buying supplies themselves. That is not fair to the teachers. By the way, my friends in the suburbs, where they do pay hefty property tax, still get handed the same sort of supply lists every year.
Comment by bkparent — September 11, 2009 @ 6:54 pm
I’d rather have higher taxes than all this piecemeal approach in education. It works splendidly in other countries where even higher education (even med or law school) is tuition-free.
Comment by Anonymous — September 14, 2009 @ 12:31 am
$45.00 this year. Note: by reusing binders & dividers that we had on hand, we saved probably $25.00, and in the process furthering the teacher’s request for ‘green’ supplies.
I don’t think ‘higher taxes’ are going to get these teacher-specific supplies into the hands of students faster than this method.
Comment by Agnese — September 14, 2009 @ 8:14 pm
I spent approximately $150 this year only because I stocked up on the usual supplies like marble notebooks, folders, pencils, etc. when they go on sale. Thank goodness I stocked up on the marble notebooks. Between the 3 kids I needed 30 notebooks total this year and they are not cheap. The number of supplies as well as the types of supplies is amazingly ridiculous. Is it necessary to have 3 rolls of paper towel per child for a class of 25 kids and over????
Comment by mom of 3 — September 17, 2009 @ 11:30 am
Acquiring school supplies is always an exercise in anxiety. In the schools my kids have attended or do attend, we have NEVER gotten the supply request list in a timely fashion, often getting the lists the first week of school……..AFTER all the sales are over, and after all the shelves have been cleaned out. I try to pre-empt that problem by buying in advance of the list things that are on sale – spiral notebooks, pencils, binders, composition books, markers, etc. But I always end up withhout some items or other that I didnt anticipate, or in possession of things that wind up not being requested (This year for example, I have about 20 composition books, and neither of my kids classes requested them!)
And then there are the ridiculous special requests. My daughter’s 4th grade teachers decided that the STANDARD 3-subject spiral notebook (of which I pre-ourchased several at a good sale price) would not be “appropriate”? And so I had to track down a 6×9 3-subject spiral for which I wound up paying 3 times what I paid for the 8.5×11 one.
Schools should all get on the epipack program… (do a search…)
Comment by james — September 18, 2009 @ 10:22 am
Yup, by the time we got our list and went to Staples, the dude laughed at us. “Plastic 2-pocket folders? We sold out of those in August!”
Comment by Julie — September 18, 2009 @ 11:47 am
School supplies are standard. I kind of buy some of everything when the sales begin in July even if I am out of town! I got pencils, pks of 8, for $.01 each pack. Folders were $.01. Composition notebooks were $.25. Spiral notebooks were $.01 each. Crayola crayons were $.25 for a pack of 24. I even got 2 reams of copy paper for $.01 each after rebate! It helps to sign up on the store websites so that you get the circulars before they go public!
Comment by xio — September 18, 2009 @ 5:37 pm