What if a teacher just refused to buy classroom supplies with their own money?

[CC27]

bluestateguy (41,452 posts)

What if a teacher just refused to buy classroom supplies with their own money?


We all know that teachers are usually forced to spend several hundred dollars of their own money for classroom supplies. For a mostly low paid profession this is rather ridiculous.

Hypothetically, let's say a tenured teacher said to their school principal, "you know what, this is not my responsibility to pay for. Teachers are undercompensated as it is, and I am not going to be reaching into my own pocket to pay for things that it is the school's responsibility to fund."

What would happen then? Seriously

Why don't you ask pam? She buys blankets.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026692641

[DLR Pyro]

What if our schools only had to accommodate legal U.S. Citizens?  Imagine how much educational funding would be available for the children of legal citizens  if we didn't have to spend it on ESL instruction, free lunches or classroom overcrowding.

[Carl]

What if our schools quit paying useless teachers that exist under tenure rules?
What if teachers unions demanded high standards rather then schools be dues creating "jobs" mills?
What if graduating students were either ready for college or entering the workforce instead of not being able to read or even count back change at a cash register?

[SVPete]

What if schools were forced to cease forcing parents to purchase "school supplies" "for their kids", which the teachers then pool as available to whichever students grab them?

What if unions stopped siphoning off $$ that should go into classroom supplies into salaries and bennies?

What if the Feds and states stopped mandating PC crap that balloons schools' administrative staffs?

What if the Feds and states stopped mandating PC crap that balloons schools' textbook spending?

In addition to stopping the "free" meals crap, what if Jr. High and High Schools stopped with the $$-sucking daycare centers for students who pretend to be adults when pleasurable?

[jukin]

Where does all the money go?

I read that in Baltimore the per student cost is near $19,000.00. 30 students per class means each class is getting $570,000.00+/- depending on attendance per year. That is a huge amount of money.

Where does all the money go?

[DumbAss Tanker]

I don't believe teachers above elementary school level really spend much of anything on expendable supplies for students.  Elementary and kindergarten/pre-school teachers are another story, of course.

[Duke Nukum]

How could this be? Don't the teacher's unions protect teachers from stuff like this? And if not, what good are they?

[FiddyBeowulf]

newfie11 (6,918 posts)
38. My daughter is a teacher in SD

SD has the lowest paid teachers in the country. Yes she does buy things for her kids.

Education should be a high priority as that's the future of this country.

I guess that's why the wealthy send kids to private schools!

Obama, Clinton, most lefties and lots of public school teachers...

[FiddyBeowulf]

How could this be?

Two words:
Scott Walker

You think the unions are squealing now, wait until he gets elected. 

[Texacon]

I wanna know who the marketing genius is that has convinced 80% of the American public that our teachers are underpaid.  I want to hire THAT person.  I want 80% of the American public running around saying that MY profession is underpaid.

I saw a story on the news several years ago and they took the time to actually work some numbers.  Teachers in our area, salary figured out by the hour, put them in a league with aeronautical engineers.

It wasn't a popular story with the teachers in the area, as you can imagine.

KC

[GOBUCKS]

Tue May 19, 2015, 06:47 AM
newfie11 (6,918 posts)
38. My daughter is a teacher in SD

SD has the lowest paid teachers in the country.

According to its local press and the teachers' union, no state ranks higher than 47th in teacher pay.

It's an amazing statistic.

The first 46 states change, but your state, whatever it is, is usually ranked 47th.
 

[dane]

What if schools were forced to cease forcing parents to purchase "school supplies" "for their kids", which the teachers then pool as available to whichever students grab them?

What if unions stopped siphoning off $$ that should go into classroom supplies into salaries and bennies?

What if the Feds and states stopped mandating PC crap that balloons schools' administrative staffs?

What if the Feds and states stopped mandating PC crap that balloons schools' textbook spending?

In addition to stopping the "free" meals crap, what if Jr. High and High Schools stopped with the $$-sucking daycare centers for students who pretend to be adults when pleasurable?

Every year we meet the teachers whose classes our grand and great-grand children are in.  We give the teachers our email and phone numbers, and tell them that if they need 'classroom supplies' the school won't provide, or if any of their kids don't have the personal supplies they are supposed to have, to let us know.

We are retired, not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but believe this is the right thing to do. 

[SVPete]

Tue May 19, 2015, 06:47 AM
newfie11 (6,918 posts)
38. My daughter is a teacher in SD

SD has the lowest paid teachers in the country.

So ... the cost of living in Somewhereville, SD is the same as in San Jose, CA or San Francisco, CA? A grossly obvious apples-to-apricots comparison!

[jukin]

I wanna know who the marketing genius is that has convinced 80% of the American public that our teachers are underpaid.  I want to hire THAT person.  I want 80% of the American public running around saying that MY profession is underpaid.

I saw a story on the news several years ago and they took the time to actually work some numbers.  Teachers in our area, salary figured out by the hour, put them in a league with aeronautical engineers.

It wasn't a popular story with the teachers in the area, as you can imagine.

KC

I have some teachers that are friends and they earn well north of $80K/YR with every holiday, Christmas, Easter, and all of summer off. PLUS the kicker is a pension that matches their last year salary with COLA, and free medical insurance for life after working 25 years. The pension alone is worth an extra $100k+ a year.

As to my question above of where does the $500,000/class-year go, it goes into the pensions of not the one teacher but the 5 that are behind them.

[redwhit]

I've never understood this complaint and every single teacher makes it where I live.  You've got a union.  Go to the union rep, say that you need classroom supplies and management isn't allowing the funding.  End of problem, right?

Oh, you mean the teacher's union doesn't work that way?  It's more of a democrat party slush fund?

That's usually the point that the teacher I'm talking to leaves.

[Carl]

I have some teachers that are friends and they earn well north of $80K/YR with every holiday, Christmas, Easter, and all of summer off. PLUS the kicker is a pension that matches their last year salary with COLA, and free medical insurance for life after working 25 years. The pension alone is worth an extra $100k+ a year.

As to my question above of where does the $500,000/class-year go, it goes into the pensions of not the one teacher but the 5 that are behind them.

Yes,and admit it is a tough job at times thanks to liberal coddle kids to make them dumb and useless policies,but there is nothing underpaid about teachers relative to the vast majority of the country acreage.

[Texacon]

I have some teachers that are friends and they earn well north of $80K/YR with every holiday, Christmas, Easter, and all of summer off. PLUS the kicker is a pension that matches their last year salary with COLA, and free medical insurance for life after working 25 years. The pension alone is worth an extra $100k+ a year.

As to my question above of where does the $500,000/class-year go, it goes into the pensions of not the one teacher but the 5 that are behind them.

Plus most of them are not in the scam known as social security. 

The teachers at our school, in a small rural area, start in the upper $30's and can get to the upper $50's to mid $60's depending on position.  Our superintendent is in the mid $100's.  Our cost of living is very low and in our area, those are good salaries for full time workers.  They can also move to another area that is less than 30 miles away and bring those salaries up substantially.

No, I'm not in the camp of teachers being underpaid.  Of course, I don't think anyone is underpaid or overpaid.  You are paid what you agree to work for.  If you feel you are underpaid you have no one to blame but yourself.

KC

[J P Sousa]

I'm moving to a new town and decided to look up the school district info. I'm way too old to have school age children BUT I want to see school expenses which become TAXES.

The new district; Base Teacher Salary is, $69,453. This salary is â–² 52%  above the national average.   

[Texacon]

The new district; Base Teacher Salary is, $69,453. This salary is â–² 52%  above the national average.   

Doesn't seem too bad for 180 - 200 days of work per year.  $70,000/year and roughly 60 - 80 days off, and this is base. 

I've got a friend who has worked for his company 30+ years.  He gets 6 weeks of paid vacation plus about 11 paid holidays.  41 days off after 30 years.  I think he makes about $15k - $20k more per year than that base salary.

We all make our choices.

KC 

[obumazombie]

What if suspended teachers didn't get paid ?
Wouldn't that save a lot of money ?

[Ralph Wiggum]

I don't believe teachers above elementary school level really spend much of anything on expendable supplies for students.  Elementary and kindergarten/pre-school teachers are another story, of course.

You're correct, DAT.

The middle school & high school level teachers spend little or nothing.  Yes, elementary teachers do.  The former Mrs. Wiggum usually spent a few hundred bucks a year.  But guess what DUmmies?  It is a tax write off.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Also, I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating.  Not all teachers are unionized.  My ex never was.

Yes, there are certainly substandard teachers, just like any profession.  I try to defend them most of the time, not all.  Just wanted to state that for the record.

[txradioguy]

Has this idiot seen the list of what parents are supposed by at the start of ever school year?

Very little these days...at least where I've had to put my kids in school was for just the individual student...most of it was stocking the teachers supply closet.

Better quesiton would be "what if the parents stopped using their own money to buy classroom supplies?"

[txradioguy]

I'm moving to a new town and decided to look up the school district info. I'm way too old to have school age children BUT I want to see school expenses which become TAXES.

The new district; Base Teacher Salary is, $69,453. This salary is â–² 52%  above the national average.   

That's almost 20K more than I make a year  and I've been at my job 17 years.

[thundley4]

Also, I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating.  Not all teachers are unionized.  My ex never was.

Yes, there are certainly substandard teachers, just like any profession.  I try to defend them most of the time, not all.  Just wanted to state that for the record.

I had no problem with any of my teachers when I was in high school.  I'm friends with two of them on Facebook and both of them are fairly conservative these days.

One of those did send a note to my dad about me not working up to my potential even though I had A's in the three math courses he taught my senior year.

*I went to a small county school with only 53 kids in my class.  4 of my teachers had taught my 5 brothers and sisters, my oldest sister is 10 years older than I am.