California Teachers Paying for Their Own Supplies and More

[Kadie]

California Teachers Paying for Their Own Supplies and More



By KRISTIN KLOBERDANZ / MODESTO – Mon Oct 11, 4:55 am ET


snip...
Welcome back to school in budget-strapped California, where pencils, paper and textbooks are indeed prized goods - and their availability in classrooms is increasingly dependent upon the resourcefulness of teachers. As a matter of financial survival, teachers share tips for donation websites, clip coupons together in staff rooms and learn how to spruce up garage-sale items (bought with their own pennies, of course). They buy cheap whiteboards and pull used worksheets out of the trash, because paper is a hot commodity. They bring in their own vacuums and have learned how to patch up frayed furniture. And every teacher has become a master solicitor of goods. "It's regrettable, but it's become a necessity," California state superintendent Jack O'Connell says of his educators' newfound need to scrounge for basic supplies. "These innovative teachers, they remain the unsung heroes." (See TIME's video "Can Michelle Rhee Save Our Schools?")

It's a dire time for public education in California. Nearly $17 billion has been cut from schools over the past two years, and a possible $2.4 billion more in cuts are expected in the next year. Teachers have been forced to take pay cuts and endure furlough weeks. And thanks to the 18,000 education-department layoffs last year, classrooms have grown in size. To keep their classrooms afloat, and to avoid even further out-of-pocket expenses (which, since two years ago, have increased from approximately a few hundred dollars to about $1,500 annually), many California teachers are scrambling to find fresh ways to thriftily educate their students and maintain their physically crumbling classrooms.

"I've gotten really good at scrounging," says Vicki Nosanov Goldman, who struggles to teach an Introduction to Foods class with no budget. "For extra credit, I have kids bring in fruit from their trees and veggies from their families' gardens." Nosanov Goldman spends her Sundays combing sale ads, searching for grant money and excavating garage sales for anything from computer carts to pots and pans. And she has learned to ask for help. "I always ask business owners if they have pens with their logo on them so that I can distribute them to the students," says Nosanov Goldman, who has been teaching for 22 years. "I've never had to beg like this." (See an interactive graphic on how well children in your state test.)

Even the cleanliness of the classroom is often dependent on the teacher's pocketbook and labor, now that custodial services are being cut. Sidor, Nosanov Goldman and many other teachers across the state can be found late into the evening scrubbing and vacuuming their rooms - with their own supplies. Elizabeth Fifer, an eighth-grade teacher in the Calexico Unified School District, has no one to call when her classroom literally falls apart. "Duct tape has been my friend for the past couple of years," she says, describing how she can use the sticky stuff to fix everything from broken chairs to carpet snags. It also may come in handy if she rips one of her curtains, which are made of paper. Her school, located near the border of Mexico, cannot provide window shades. "I hung maps of the world over the windows this year," she says. "It's an inexpensive way to put up blinds and give them some geographic education."

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20101011/us_time/08599202443700

[JuniperLea]

1. This is nothing new, really...

It was the same when my kids were in elementarly school 20 years ago... and the same when I was in school a lot longer ago than that. I remember getting a list of supplies I would need, and my parents buying them... same goes for my kids. Both my parents, and I, bought extra so there would be more in case some other kid's parents couldn't buy for them. I have three kids, but I routinely bought enough to fill a dozen childrens' lists.

It still stinks, but you'd think something would have changed by now.

[Kadie]

3. this paragraph really got to me...

Even the cleanliness of the classroom is often dependent on the teacher's pocketbook and labor, now that custodial services are being cut. Sidor, Nosanov Goldman and many other teachers across the state can be found late into the evening scrubbing and vacuuming their rooms - with their own supplies. Elizabeth Fifer, an eighth-grade teacher in the Calexico Unified School District, has no one to call when her classroom literally falls apart. "Duct tape has been my friend for the past couple of years," she says, describing how she can use the sticky stuff to fix everything from broken chairs to carpet snags. It also may come in handy if she rips one of her curtains, which are made of paper. Her school, located near the border of Mexico, cannot provide window shades. "I hung maps of the world over the windows this year," she says. "It's an inexpensive way to put up blinds and give them some geographic education."

I remember when I was in school and the teachers needed help with supplies, however, we still had the custodian come in when something wasn't working and the classrooms were cleaned frequently.

It starts with a little and really snowballs. You would think the educational experience would get better, not worse. We live in a high tech age, and our classrooms are literally falling apart.


:(

[supernova]

2. My mother bought her own supplies in the 70s

and 80s. And we were a small rural district in NC.

She bought paper, staples, pens and pencils for kids who forgot, scissors. Her bill was a little low because she was Jr High Math teacher. The art teachers are who I really felt for in the supplies war.