Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/99816
her shelves. Really?! that teachers should be paying either, and It is appalling how much money it seems usually when they find that I do, they have district administrators have for laminating, words for that as well. paying four or five people to lead trainings It just reminds me how much some people at one time when two would don���t understand about the be sufficient, as well as the economy of our school system, IS IT OK FOR TEACHERS huge amount of copying they and that is when I usually TO PAY FOR SUPPLIES OUT OF POCKET? are able to do for themselves. invite them to my class for I doubt any superintendent a day to see what actually NO has to scrimp in a given does go on and how many YES month or borrow money from supplies are used each and family members or is only every day of the school year. able to afford to rent and not buy housing. Rhonda Espinoza Pleasant Valley Education Kim Darling Loisel Association Fremont Unified District Teachers Association Photos by Scott Buschman I F T E A C H E R S w A N T T O P AY for supplies out of pocket, it���s OK, as long as it���s voluntary. I pay for supplies because it is important to me that my students have what they need to function in the classroom. I spend around $1,000 annually, depending upon the needs of my students and the needs of my class. Most of our students come from working and low-income families who may struggle to get the basic needs in the family met. Yes, it is a struggle. My income decreases every year; the needs of the students don���t. But it seems like the right thing to do, because it takes the anxiety of needing something out of the equation of educating students. If a child is worried about needing something for school, it���s difficult to focus. Another benefit is control: I am providing exactly the items I want my students to have, as well as providing uniformity to manage the classroom, such as color-coded notebooks. And there is a level of quality control that I can provide, so that students are not coming to school with items that won���t last the year. In some cases it is because I want my students to have something that will result in a valuable learning experience for them, and there may be no other means to make it happen. I try to find high-quality, discount items before school begins and throughout the year. It���s easier that way. I don���t want any of my students to be put in the position of having to tell me they don���t have something they need, and then having to ask for help to provide it. I would rather take care of it up front, so we can do what we are there to do, without the worry. For me, there are many reasons that it is worth it; probably the most notable is that maybe it makes a difference in the life of a student. Maybe you won���t ever see the result of what you did, but that doesn���t mean it���s not important. Vallejo Education Association member Marnee McKenzie is a fifth-grade teacher at Steffan Manor Elementary School. P u B L I C E D u C AT I O N is supposed to be funded by taxes, not teachers. I don���t think there���s any other profession where workers are expected to buy supplies out of pocket and it���s considered part of their job. If you worked for a corporation, would you be expected to bring your own paper and pens? Of course not. But teachers do it. I don���t think we should. It���s not OK. I don���t think we should be expected to buy supplies. It is not part of our job. I���ve done it in the past, but I haven���t spent a dime of my own money this year. But we are lucky at our school to receive grant and foundation money for our students. Public schools should receive funding for basic school supplies. This includes binders, lined paper and pencils. I fully believe that anything a teacher needs in the classroom ��� or anything a student needs to do the work ��� should be provided. If parents can���t afford it, the schools should provide these things for students, so teachers don���t have to pay out of pocket. I am a teacher, and I don���t make a ton of money. I don���t have an extra $250 to pay for books in my classroom, or paper, or colored pencils. I have to buy school supplies for my own children. I spent over $100 this year for school supplies just for my kids. There are times when I���m broke and have to budget ��� and I���m sure that���s true for other teachers, since we are underpaid compared to other professions. I take issue with how schools are treated and how teachers are treated, period. It���s not right. And it���s gotten worse. Teachers are buying more than paper, pencils, books and binders for students these days. Now there is such a focus on testing that teachers are buying supplemental materials out of pocket to prepare their students for testing. When will it end? Ravenswood Teachers Association member Harmony Hayes is a sixth-grade teacher at the San Francisco 49ers Academy in East Palo Alto. Y O u R O P I N I O N S A R E w E L C O M E . Letters to the editor must include a name and contact information and are lmited to 250 words. Send your thoughts to editor@cta.org. November 2012 www.cta.org PAYING FOR TEACHING SUPPLIES I thought that we all did this; I know that I���ve always spent thousands each year for needed things to make my job possible. I do it because I believe that teachers make a difference in the well-being of our students; that what we do is important and that it matters. However, this is where comparing us to the private, corporate sector is equally important. How many CEOs pay for work-related supplies AND earn salaries below $80,000 annually? How many lawyers regularly work hours each week that aren���t ���billable���? How many white- or blue-collar people work added hours not for double time, or time and a half, or regular pay, but rather do their jobs for free? LynnAnne Lange United Teachers Los Angeles INVITE PARENTS IN TO SEE SUPPLIES USED I do spend my own money on supplies each year for my students, so they have color-coded spirals and folders. The parents also send in supplies. And as a parent I also have to spend money on my high school student. But it���s not right that teachers have to spend so much money out of their pocket on supplies to make their classroom run correctly. Yet as a teacher, I am constantly reminded by parents in other professions where I am the patron, such as nurses, hairdressers, chiropractors, that they don���t see why they have to spend any money on their ���own��� student to go to school, as it should be the ���state��� paying for all the necessary supplies as was done when they were in school. They also don���t believe 7 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TEACHERS AND TEACHERS Regarding the article on paying for supplies, I want to express my admiration for Marnee McKenzie. I have been a math teacher at Florin High School in Elk Grove for nine years, and during that time I have been able to see the difference between Teachers (those who love the kids and whose passion is to teach) and Teachers (those who believe that teaching is just a job). Every year I have the privilege to teach around 150 to 160 students. When I teach, I feel that I am the father of those kids. Maybe the school day is over and the kids are gone, but they remain my kids. As a father I don���t mind spending some money for my natural kids because I love them. In the same way, as a teacher I don���t mind spending (let���s say investing) some money on them. Thanks to my students, I have a job; they are my customers. It would be terrible teaching without caring for them. May the Lord bless all those teachers who don���t mind buying stuff for their kids. I have learned that the more I invest in them, the more I get back. As an immigrant from South America, I feel happy and thankful to this great nation. The United States has made possible The American Dream in my life. For me, the way to payback is to teach the best I can and form good citizens among my students. Manuel Mego Elk Grove Education Association TO THE EDITOR I understand we���ll see articles on reading in the February magazine. I thought this would be fun to share. My nephew Shawn was ���caught��� reading a book and ignoring the lonely game remote just within his reach. This is a big deal, right? As an English teacher I was shouting in my head, ���He chose the book! He chose the book!��� As an auntie, I am just glad that he still thinks it is cool to get books as presents. Bridget Lockhart Garden Grove Education Association 2013 READ ACROSS AMERICA BOOK READING TAKES YOU PLACES! In honor of CTA���s 150th anniversary, we are featuring the book Our California for Read Across America this year. Written by Pam Mu��oz Ryan and beautifully illustrated by Rafael L��pez, Our California is a wonderful way to explore our beautiful state through reading. Watch for more about Read Across America in the February Educator. Learn more at www.cta.org/raa. December 2012 ��� January 2013 www.cta.org 9