Back in the day (my day, a very, very long time ago), shopping for school supplies was an annual event highlighted by the excitement and status of getting a fountain pen that came with an assortment of dark-blue, ink-filled cartridges that we inserted into a compartment. Sure, the pen leaked and smeared sometimes; but why, we wondered, would any self-respecting kid (or even adult) want a regular boring pen?
On the appointed day, my father would take us to a local toy store called Big Top, a mile from my home in suburban New York, for the coveted supplies. The pen was free if we spent the required $5 or $10 dollars on school items. (While in the store, we could also browse the Superman comics, priced at 10 cents apiece, or maybe buy, dad-willing, some bubblegum/baseball card packages for a nickel or Bazooka gum, one cent each.)
Second only to the pen, we wanted the “right” book covers. Yale? For sure. Harvard, yes. Something else? It depended on the college mascot depicted. And we figured we were really grown up when, by later grades, we bought three-ring hard blue notebooks and paper, instead of two-holed. And some of the erasers – especially the ones that somehow could get rid of pen marks – were prized. (We may also have bought a box of 64 new crayons with a built-in sharpener, but we would keep these at home in a safe location, which our younger siblings could not find.)
Picking out the “best” supplies was an annual ritual we looked forward to, even if, as we got older, we were less eager for summer to end.
Three decades later when it was time for me to shop for school supplies with my then-elementary-school children, the local Staple’s was the place to go. It had everything we might need: lots of loose-leaf paper, various binders, reinforcements, BIC pens, maybe some glue, and narrow assignment pads. Despite the downside of a big-box store, going shopping for school supplies was still an event, a happening, a family adventure (at least in the early years). My children embraced the process, enjoyed picking out things, crossing items off the list provided by the school. I spent perhaps $35 on each child annually.
Fast forward to now. I am an Oak Park grandparent. My daughter’s daughter will be going to (I won’t name which) kindergarten in August. Here is the list of required supplies provided by her school, supplies that will mainly be collected, stored and used communally:
My thoughts:
• What happened to the days when kindergartners only had to bring a mat for rest time, a change of clothes (for “accidents”), an apron to protect clothes during finger-painting, the “right” lunch box and thermos and maybe a black-and-white, speckled notebook?
• Headphones (but not earbuds)? OK, OK. I get that times have changed. Will some of the kids be wearing the high-priced status ones (BEATs, Sony) or is a cheapo generic one OK since it will likely get lost or destroyed?
• 22 Elmer glue sticks? What happened to the white paste we used to have in the jar with a stick, or the paste we made with flour and water?
• Five Clorox EcoClean wipes? Apparently you must buy the right kind (plant-based) or your wrong ones may be confiscated. Also five? How do they come up with that number? Or do they mean five containers?
• And hand sanitizers? Really? In lieu of good old-fashion soap?
• Bring your own Play-Doh? One container? What size? What color? OK. This will last about a day before the lids are off and it dries out.
What happened to the days when affluent school districts provided most of these supplies in exchange for a generous amount of tax dollars? (It should be noted that even this is not enough: School-based PTOs raise funds to supplement classroom supplies even further, and many teachers use their own funds for added supplies.
Separate from who should pay for what, is that the fun of shopping in person for school supplies has been lost.
To make things easier for an adult who has to search out these supplies, the school happily offers a one-place buying option: School Tool Box.
For $160.29 (plus tax?), they will ship the kindergarten supplies to your home (headphones not included; shipping free if you spend $85). This is not just a great convenience but presumably a bargain as well; on Amazon the supplies cost well over $225 (cheap headsets, free shipping on Prime).
The School Tool Box also doesn’t include a $5 requested donation. Or the $25 or $50 donation the site suggests, which are “available to donate to help purchase supplies for a student [sic] in need.”
The 5th grade box for this same school is a whopping $199.63. It includes items like latex-free eraser caps and rulers. Oh and yes, you must send a roll of paper towels and two boxes of Ziploc bags. (Band-Aids and colored paper are optional add ons.)
The costs of boxes for other area schools seems to be less, but that may be deceptive. The $81 kindergarten box at another school does not include (the site says in a helpful pop-up ad), the required standard-size school backpack or bookbag. (It notes that smaller sizes are not acceptable.) Nor does it include the required art smock and change of clothes. And by the way, you will need a “secure-top water bottle” to label and bring daily.
Yet another local kindergarten box at $78.46 includes the warning: “Students may be asked to replenish supplies at the teacher’s request throughout the year.” (Oh my! Maybe they will keep a credit card on file for automatic supply replenishment!)
All of this is distinct from something called “student fees.” Here in Oak Park, that is $180 per child per year for the elementary schools – more for middle school. To me, it seems like just a way to get around raising more money via taxes.
Here are some ideas to raise even more. The schools need to emulate the airlines.
How about “priority” lining up; no more doing it randomly or alphabetically or by height.
How about paying for seat selection? Extra charge to be put in the back where you can’t be seen by the teacher or in the front for those who have vision or hearing challenges.
How about paying for unlimited use of a bathroom (and the paper towels you already generously paid for)?
You just can’t keep good ideas from spreading.
Donna Greene is a volunteer copy editor for Wednesday Journal/NewswellChicago.