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Questions for Teachers re school supplies
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Notsobusy




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 10:20 pm
There are some things I wonder about every year while shopping for school supplies and I would love if some teachers can explain.

What's the difference to the teacher if a looseleaf is hard or soft covered? Very often the same teacher will ask for one or more of each type and I can't understand why.

Same with the 1"/ 1.5" / and 2" looseleafs. Same teacher asks for multiples of each one. Does it really make a difference? Usually they don't fill up the 2" ones.

Why is it that every year at least one of my kids brings home an item that was on the list, saying my teacher said we don't need it? They usually bring it home halfway through the school year when it's already damaged from sitting in their desk. And, it's usually the most expensive and/or hardest to find thing on the whole list.

Anyone else feel free to chime in with any other questions.

Any teachers, I would love to hear the answers.
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patientmom




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 10:27 pm
My question this year is why my third grade son needs 6 boxes of tissues!?!
my daughters, in first and second grade need 3 each...
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amother
Puce


 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 10:30 pm
I'm a first year teacher and I asked for 2-inch binders. I really should have gone to Staples and looked. When they showed up on day 1, I realized they were way bigger than we actually need. Whoops...will take note for next year! Smile

Some kids brought more of certain things than I asked for, no idea why. I sent those home within the first couple of days.
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Notsobusy




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 10:33 pm
patientmom wrote:
My question this year is why my third grade son needs 6 boxes of tissues!?!
my daughters, in first and second grade need 3 each...


My kids need one each. But then they ask for more periodically during the year, so I guess it evens out.
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Notsobusy




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 10:38 pm
amother wrote:
I'm a first year teacher and I asked for 2-inch binders. I really should have gone to Staples and looked. When they showed up on day 1, I realized they were way bigger than we actually need. Whoops...will take note for next year! Smile

Some kids brought more of certain things than I asked for, no idea why. I sent those home within the first couple of days.


I guess if you're a first year teacher you get a pass on some things Wink . But some teachers are so specific, one teacher wants 3 soft covered 1.5" and 1 hard covered 2". Another teacher wants 1 hard covered 2" and a soft covered 1".

Kids bringing more than you asked for is strange. Unless if it's crayons or markers, those they always want more of.
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Optione




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 10:38 pm
As teachers, we go through our school supplies lists in June. If a teacher was only hired in the summer, the school supplies list was already made, and not tailored to that teacher's desires. That being said, I am very makpid to only ask for exactly what we need.
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amother
Puce


 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 10:41 pm
glutenless wrote:
I guess if you're a first year teacher you get a pass on some things Wink . But some teachers are so specific, one teacher wants 3 soft covered 1.5" and 1 hard covered 2". Another teacher wants 1 hard covered 2" and a soft covered 1".

Kids bringing more than you asked for is strange. Unless if it's crayons or markers, those they always want more of.


I'll hazard a guess that it's because the soft-covered squish more easily into desks/cubbies, but the hard covered are more durable/look nicer for binders that are supposed to be saved for years? But I really have no idea What
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miami85




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 10:44 pm
There are probably more "real" answers but having lived through that same scenario when I was a kid a couple of "reasons" thrown around were--1)the list was made by a different teacher 2) Teachers want a specific system of organization so that when s/he says "Ok class, take out the 'red' binder or the REALLY big notebook--everyone knows what she's talking about" and there's uniformity. 3) Sometimes its from "living and learning". Growing up it was "no TrapperKeepers"--why? I never really understood I think teachers had bad experiences with them.

I used to always be so excited to get my school supply list mid-way through the summer until my mother tempered my excitement and said, we'll go the first day of school after you find out what you REALLY need--of course I know why that doesn't work for everybody, but there was some chochma to it.
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rachelbg




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 10:44 pm
Teacher weighing in here:

Rather than bind my enormous workbook for the year, I have it hole-punched and ask the students to bring in a specific sized binder that will hold them together. That way they can add pages or their own sheets as needed, or also remove sheets to do for homework as needed and not have to transport the whole thing home every night.

I know what size my giant workbook is, and ask for a binder of that size accordingly.

And you should see how fast kids go through tissues... (and how annoying it is when they each are leaving the room 4 times per pd. just to run to the bathroom to blow their noses in hard paper towels when there are no tissues available.)
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patientmom




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 10:50 pm
I was in the classroom too, I understand needing tissue boxes in the room, I just don't get why he would need 6 boxes...3 I get, even 4, but 6?
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animeme




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 11:11 pm
1) The problem with Trapper keepers was that the rings we're cheap plastic and stopped working well really early in the year. And the folder we're side pockets and papers fell out.

2) One of my kids' teachers asked for a 3 inch binder once. The parents mutineed when they saw the price, so the teacher backed down and said that two would be fine and they would empty it halfway through.

3) Why doesn't each kid just bring in their own tissue box and replace it as needed? Then nobody needs to even get up. And one of my teachers this year asked for binder paper to pool, like the tissue boxes, instead of just what my child uses. For some reason that irks me. It's way more than my kid would use. What do you think?
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BetsyTacy




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 11:21 pm
I am not a fan of pooled resources. They tend to be looked as "free" and not as cared for as one's own supplies. Furthermore, the quality of paper varies widely. Fancy paper with reinforced holes, or the kind that will fall out of the binder in 2 seconds.
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Notsobusy




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 11:30 pm
Another thing, why do teachers care what color highlighters? One wants yellow/pink/green another asked for yellow/pink/blue. I can see that in a younger grade it might make a difference, but one is for my dd in 7th grade. At that point they're old enough to choose their own color highlighter.
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mommyla




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 11:32 pm
My son's list was reasonable this year, but I don't understand the "please send $20 for additional supplies" thing. I bought the school supplies, including the 24 pencils for a class supply, and all necessary seforim - $20 will more than cover the one or two cheapo projects that they'll do over the year.

Either buy the supplies or have the parents buy the supplies - why both?
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BetsyTacy




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 11:34 pm
I agree glutenless, (even with your avatar!) I can't stand the middle school teachers who insist on binders when a child would prefer using a spiral. At the age of 12, can't they figure out what works for them by themselves? The teacher might think they prefer to intersperse handouts in the binder, but for some a spiral and a folder work best. Suggest, don't demand. I remember one of my kids stuck her spiral notebook in the binder just to placate the teacher (and it just gave me another school supply to buy).
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Notsobusy




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 11:36 pm
rachelbg wrote:
Teacher weighing in here:

Rather than bind my enormous workbook for the year, I have it hole-punched and ask the students to bring in a specific sized binder that will hold them together. That way they can add pages or their own sheets as needed, or also remove sheets to do for homework as needed and not have to transport the whole thing home every night.

I know what size my giant workbook is, and ask for a binder of that size accordingly.

And you should see how fast kids go through tissues... (and how annoying it is when they each are leaving the room 4 times per pd. just to run to the bathroom to blow their noses in hard paper towels when there are no tissues available.)


This explanation makes sense. But I don't think it's always the reason, at least it doesn't seem to be.

In case anyone's wondering, I had a frustrating day of school supply shopping. We went to 4 different stores and are still not done. And we had stocked up a lot on sale items and this is with my kids reusing whatever possible from previous years.
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BetsyTacy




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 30 2015, 11:45 pm
My experience is that many teachers don't think it through. Some ask for items before they realize that they are specialty items--a 2 subject notebook when 2 1 subject ones for $.25@ would do?

What kid wants to lug home 2" binders which are actually full? They weigh a ton.

Last year one teacher asked for 3 binders on the first day of school. I duly trotted out my reserves. All were brought home on the last day of school, a bit worse for wear. None had ever been used.

One Hebrew teacher insisted on the 6 color highlighter pack-blue, orange, yellow, pink, green and purple. Are you kidding? Since then I have seen it and bought it (no teacher has never asked for it again).I told my kid that she would have to cope by combining blue and pink to make purple.
She survived.
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boysrus




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 31 2015, 12:10 am
Re: teacher asking for specific colors of highlighters:

My son's 6th grade Rebbi asked for 4 specific colors. We thought that was ridiculous until we saw what he needed it for. He needed it to help them learn gemara. (I dont learn gemara so I cant even explain it well) He would tell them to highlight the mishna in one color, the gemara's question in another, different Tannaim (or is it Amoraim?) in different colors. It was all about color coding to help them learn, and believe it or not, it was very effective for my son.

I am sure that the majority of teachers who ask for specific colors probably have reasons why they ask for them.
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Notsobusy




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 31 2015, 12:24 am
BetsyTacy wrote:
I agree glutenless, (even with your avatar!)
LOL
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wifeandmore




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 31 2015, 1:06 am
glutenless wrote:
Another thing, why do teachers care what color highlighters? One wants yellow/pink/green another asked for yellow/pink/blue. I can see that in a younger grade it might make a difference, but one is for my dd in 7th grade. At that point they're old enough to choose their own color highlighter.


Former teacher of seventh grade here :-)

So that the class can have the same colors as each other when marking techilot, sofiot and shorashim (and I used the same on the board as well)
:-)
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