Hi! My name is Rae and I’m a Millennial artist and educator in North Texas. At the start of every year, there’s buzz about school supplies on social media. Particularly, whether or not supplies should be bought by the parents and whether or not they should be shared with the whole class or kept by each student. At the end of the day, school supplies are material objects that can be replaced. We should teach children that the community of our class and the harmony of our homes are more important than material things. Some kids might not have the family funds to buy everything on the list. If all the supplies are pooled, everyone gets an equal chance to learn.
From a teacher’s point of view, some supplies are personal and some are communal. This designation might not be obvious to parents and schools might not list their supplies by such categories. Teachers should have developed common sense for the operations and logistics of a classroom, with an academic goal, containing dozens of students and supplies. A teacher’s knowledge is probably greater on the topic and should be respected over a parent managing less children in a domestic setting. A new teacher, or a replacement teacher, might not have refined procedures in place and they are still experimenting with how supplies are used and stored. They might not even be the ones who drafted the school supply list and could be just as surprised as parents about what it contains. I’d ask parents to be patient and understanding because you were new parents once just as teachers must have their first year before becoming veterans.
If it were my class, all of the school supplies would be considered communal unless that shifts with communication during the school year.
If it were my class, all of the school supplies would be considered communal unless that shifts with communication during the school year. Because the amount of time and space it would take to contain and store each student’s pile of personal supplies is too great for the size of typical classrooms, it’s best to house them communally by category. The flow of the class would be interrupted if supplies were separated and stored for each student because students needing to travel to, or search for, a specific item with their name on it would waste time or prolong transitions. A full list of school supplies items would not fit in a typical desk or cubby, so they would have to be stored around the room, kept together by name, creating a less efficient use of space. It’s much more efficient to store supplies by category and allow communal use as needed. That way, I can keep the flow of the class, projects, and stations smooth or top-up supplies as they run out with remaining stock.
Communal supplies that can be retrieved by the student with a hand signal is much better than students asking other kids for a pencil or paper during instruction. This behavior could be misinterpreted as talking at inappropriate times, cheating, or lead to bullying and theft. The level of responsibility, independence, and dignity involved in navigating your classroom as a child is important as they grow. It also makes for a great class job to refresh, disinfect, top-up, or organize the communal supplies. Some students have a harder time caring for supplies while others are more capable. Communal supplies help teach sharing, caring, and repairing relationships without taxing parents with costly replenishment for the kids still learning.
Specialized or personalized supplies can create distractions in class and become toys. If it were my class, I’d want all supplies to be plain and unadorned…except tissue boxes! Supply boxes like the ones from EPI School Supplies seem to be the easiest solution. The sparkle pencils and cartoon notebooks would be perfect for staying at home for personal use. A donation of fancy, funky school supplies for the in-class prize box is another great idea as kids take these prizes home.
Please understand that classrooms prioritize learning and it functions as a community. Pooling resources of any amount is an efficient and kind teachable moment.
Have a Pleasant Day!
-Rae