What Kinds of Things DO Teachers Buy for Their Classrooms?

[proud2BlibKansan]

After swinging through Target and dropping another $10 bucks on supplies that I need for an upcoming science lab, I decided to pull out my envelope o' receipts and see how much I've spent on school purchases so far this year.

Grand total: $875 -- and that only includes the stuff I remembered to save receipts for.

It also doesn't include the money that I've spent on registrations and travel to conferences -- another $535 that had to come out of my own pocket after the state of North Carolina gutted the teacher professional development budget to pay the bills.

Here are five spending highlights I thought you might get a kick out of:

The most expensive single purchases: A Livescribe pen ($122), a subscription to Poll Everywhere ($50), and a wired router to get my classroom's three computers up and running ($42.46).

The most common purchases: Science lab materials including 9 thermometers ($57), mineral oil ($19), milk ($4.82) and spaghetti ($10.58).

The purchases that I probably could have lived without: New books for my classroom bookshelf ($113).

The purchases that are the most direct result of slashed #edbudgets: Cleaning supplies including a mop and mop bucket to clean my lab floors ($42.48) and the rental of a carpet cleaner to clean the carpets in our team's other classrooms ($36.91).

The cheapest purchase: A kickball ($6.53)

more . . . http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/the_tempered_radical/2011/11/what-kinds-of-things-do-teachers-buy-for-their-classrooms.html

[plumbob]

1. 60 packing boxes to put up my teaching materials on US History,

economics, and senior English to make room and get ready to teach US Government = $120.56

Various pens, pencils, a stapler, tape, Scantrons, map colors, and 26 reams of colored paper = $256.10

10 print cartridges so far : $185.25

$561+ with about 20 more print cartridges to use by the end of the year. Somewhere around $930+.

All of this was bought by the district up to 4 years ago.

[LeftyMom]

2. It might be worthwhile to look on ebay for the print cartridges

I get knockoff ink on there for about a tenth of the cost of the kind at the office supply store, and it works fine.

I know you shouldn't have to pay for it at all, but since that's the bulk of your costs I thought I'd make a helpful suggestion.

[plumbob]

9. Thank you. I do appreciate it. Some teachers have taken to having

the kids copy everything by hand off the projector, but that's a bit too monastic for me.

Our district also chose not to give step increases or raises to anyone except the top two administrators in the district, who got $14,000 each. The #2 guy has been here for 6 months total.

[JackDragna]

3. LEECH! USELESS UNION DRONE!

By god, if there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's this: those who can, do: those who can't, teach! Why don't you get a real job, like all of us here in REAL AMERICA! We work until our BOSS says WE'RE done for the DAY! We take whatever he WANTS TO PAY US! BY GOD, it's what JESUS WANTS!

[Skittles]

4. people if you have any teacher friends GIVE 'EM SOME CASH

I tell them it's for the extra sh** you buy and they always love it :)

[Initech]

5. The fact that teachers have to buy ANYTHING proves our system is broken.

And Reagan broke it - hell he broke the education system beyond repair with the shit that he pulled - and has mostly gone unchallenged this whole time for.

[Luminous Animal]

6. I'm helping a 3rd grade teacher buy a good used laptop so she can utilize "overhead" technology.

Microsoft gave the district a steep discount on some education hardware but the district has no money to buy the laptops to make it work in the classroom. It is killing her that resources are sitting there unable to be used. (P.S., we are also trying to find a benefactor to help out of the rest of the school.)

I love my teacher friends. They work so hard and get so much shit from above and below.

[FLyellowdog]

7. Retired now for 10 years, but back in the day...

I bought a computer, a printer, reams and reams of paper, shelves and shelves of books for class library, and countless pens, pencils, and crayons. It's what we do if we're able. :hi:

[lbrtbell]

8. Don't forget what parents are forced to buy now

Kleenex for the classroom (just to use one example)...remember when that was provided by the schools?

What next? Each kid has to bring in a package of toilet paper at the beginning of the year?

Money being poured overseas into wars, while parents and teachers have to pay to supply their schools.

Yeah, that's fair. :mad:

[plumbob]

10. Here's a link to the lists in our district.

http://www.ectorcountyisd.org/ecisd/lib/ecisd/schoolsupplylists/2011AlamoSupplyList.pdf

And I've put the second grade list below for the school our granddaughter attends.



Second Grade
1-White 2 inch ring binder with pockets and plastic protector (no Trapper Keepers)
1 set - 8 or 10 tab plastic insertable dividers
6 Colored folders with brads and pockets
4 spirals (Daily math and reading and spelling)
3 packages of regular #2 wooden pencils (No Mechanical pencils)
3 boxes of Kleenex
1 set of ear buds from Dollar Tree
1 bottle of gel sanitizer
1 bag of baby wipes
2 box of 24 count crayons
1 box of 12 count map crayons
1 box of 10 count washable markers
1 supply bag
1 supply box
1 bottle glue
1 pair of scissors
5 packages of notebook paper (wide ruled)
1 pencil sharpener with trash compactor
1 12 inch ruler
2
nd
grade parents please know that you will have to replenish pencils and notebook paper throughout the year.