Public School and our money
By dreamertink
@dfollin (25347)
United States
January 22, 2009 5:03pm CST
My boys are now adults and my daughter will be 12 tommorow.My son's went to public school.When I was pregnant with my girl I decided to homeschool her.I have never been anywhere near well off financially and each year the month before school started we would go shopping and a lot of times I would have to borrow money.I would have to buy them new school clothes,making sure that they had sneakers for gym class.Then I got school supplies from the list that the school sent me.
Then on the the first day of school they would come home with the big manila envelope,called a packet.Inside was the forms to be filled out and many things requesting money.Like student insurance,gym suits for the older kids,art supply funds wanted,tissues for the classroom,and a new school supply list to replace what I had already bought
.One year when my youngest son was in elementary school after school had been started for about 3 months,he came home and said that the teacher said that he needed to bring a pencil to school the next day.I asked him what happened to the 2 ten packs I sent at the begining of school.He answered me saying that he did not know,but he got no work done all day because he did not have a pencil.I picked up the phone called his teacher and asked her where he pencils were and she said that they were all given out.I told her that I was under the assumption is that his name was put on them and that they were for him.I also told her that I could not afford to pay for my kids supplies more or less the other kids as well.She seemed puzzled.Then I told her that we were getting assistance and he was getting free lunch.Then the teacher explained that it was an error,that his name was not put on the low income list and that he would receive more free supplies and the grades he missed would be made up with no penalty.
Periodically I would get for the boys field trip and party forms,but I would have to send in anywhere from $5 to $30!A lot of times I did not have the money and they couldn't participate and they would get teased by the other kids.They also teased them about not having the right clothes.You know how kids are.
A relative had to buy a computer for her grandaughter to do her homework....... and she was in kindergarten!My former roomate didn't believe me when I told her that public school was not free,then her son came home with his packet and then the next day with a sign up permission slip for an after school spanish class for $125.She was reading it.And I started laughing,because I was right,lol.Then she looked at me and said that she would just tell her kindergartner that she cannot afford it and that he cannot go.I told her that he would get upset and start saying how someone else could go.She didn't believe me again.She called her son back into the room and I was right again,lol.And she was wondering why I homeschool my daughter.
Our county announced yesterday that it was finalized that they had a budget cut and there is only about 60 kids to 1 teacher and that some grades are going to be combined.Most of the sports have been cancelled.I remember about 15 years ago my son was in high school and he wanted to play football and they wanted me to pay $100 for his uniform.I couldn't afford it and I still feel very bad about that.When the new commentator was telling the budget cuts story he said there will be a teacher to a ratio of one and a half kids and not to worry it does not require surgeory! Lol!
Where is our tax money going?The teachers are not paid well,that's for sure.
.One year when my youngest son was in elementary school after school had been started for about 3 months,he came home and said that the teacher said that he needed to bring a pencil to school the next day.I asked him what happened to the 2 ten packs I sent at the begining of school.He answered me saying that he did not know,but he got no work done all day because he did not have a pencil.I picked up the phone called his teacher and asked her where he pencils were and she said that they were all given out.I told her that I was under the assumption is that his name was put on them and that they were for him.I also told her that I could not afford to pay for my kids supplies more or less the other kids as well.She seemed puzzled.Then I told her that we were getting assistance and he was getting free lunch.Then the teacher explained that it was an error,that his name was not put on the low income list and that he would receive more free supplies and the grades he missed would be made up with no penalty. Periodically I would get for the boys field trip and party forms,but I would have to send in anywhere from $5 to $30!A lot of times I did not have the money and they couldn't participate and they would get teased by the other kids.They also teased them about not having the right clothes.You know how kids are.
A relative had to buy a computer for her grandaughter to do her homework....... and she was in kindergarten!My former roomate didn't believe me when I told her that public school was not free,then her son came home with his packet and then the next day with a sign up permission slip for an after school spanish class for $125.She was reading it.And I started laughing,because I was right,lol.Then she looked at me and said that she would just tell her kindergartner that she cannot afford it and that he cannot go.I told her that he would get upset and start saying how someone else could go.She didn't believe me again.She called her son back into the room and I was right again,lol.And she was wondering why I homeschool my daughter.
Our county announced yesterday that it was finalized that they had a budget cut and there is only about 60 kids to 1 teacher and that some grades are going to be combined.Most of the sports have been cancelled.I remember about 15 years ago my son was in high school and he wanted to play football and they wanted me to pay $100 for his uniform.I couldn't afford it and I still feel very bad about that.When the new commentator was telling the budget cuts story he said there will be a teacher to a ratio of one and a half kids and not to worry it does not require surgeory! Lol!
Where is our tax money going?The teachers are not paid well,that's for sure.3 people like this
12 responses
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
23 Jan 09
I know just what you mean here. It is ridiculous what they expect parents to fork out and on very little notice. I am a single mom and so had to work and therefore, homeschooling was not an option. Sports are outrageous! My daughter is into basketball and has been so I saved up for it but it wasn't easy. $80.00 just for the sneakers!! They had to have certain ones bought at a certain store! Twice she has gotten a detention for holes in her jeans. Initially, I thought that perhaps she'd gone to school with a hole in the butt although she is pretty modest as a rule. It was a little hole in the knee!! There was another hole near her but but I had patched that for her. They were (are) her favorite jeans and they were not disgusting. I called the school and told them that I strongly oppose this. She will wear those jeans as long as she wants to. Now I go to the school regularly and see girls with low cut tops and make up plastered etc. My girl is not one of them. She dresses neatly and with taste. Even with the hole in the knee, she looked clean and pretty. She wears them and has only gotten one other detention. Yes, I'd love to know just where our tax dollars go too. And also ...the lottery...supposedly that supports our education...does it? grrrr.
@dfollin (25347)
• United States
24 Jan 09
Our state lottery also supposedly is supporting the schools.I can't believe she got detention for a small hole in her jeans! Thats crazy!I'd call the school back and tell them,that if they don't like hers jeans then they can buy her another pair.Is it the same teacher that is giving her detention? Maybe it is a teacher that doesn't like her because she is proper looking.
1 person likes this
@dfollin (25347)
• United States
24 Jan 09
You know,I read about a single parent that homeschooled.Her mother babysat the kids during the day while she worked and in the evening they did their homeschool.She said that it worked out great.There is no law saying when you need to teach them.A lot of times if I am busy during the day we do our lesson's at night or even skip a day or two if we are too busy.
If we have something to do I show my daughter before we leave the house how to do it and she takes her book and pencil in the car and do it there or even in the waiting room at the doctors office.A homeschooling friend of mine has her kids mostly do their leasons at night,they work better then.A lot of times my daughter does too.
If we have something to do I show my daughter before we leave the house how to do it and she takes her book and pencil in the car and do it there or even in the waiting room at the doctors office.A homeschooling friend of mine has her kids mostly do their leasons at night,they work better then.A lot of times my daughter does too.@sid556 (30960)
• United States
24 Jan 09
Yes, as a matter of fact it is the same teacher. If she gets another detention, I'm going up to the school and talk to the principal. It is just ridiculous. There is so much about the public school system that could use improving. I really wish that I had the time to home school but at this stage, my daughter would rebel as she really does like school for the most part.
1 person likes this
@youngsweetheart (772)
• United States
23 Jan 09
My daughter started kindergarten last fall. Her school supplies cost us less than 20 dollars, and she's had one field trip (to see Charlotte's Web live) which cost 8 dollars. There are fundraisers, but I am not obligated to buy anything, and there are the fun Scholastic Book Club order forms, but again, I'm not obligated. So I have to say that so far, school is costing me very little.
Except for the uniforms. Good Lord, I've spent nearly one hundred dollars on the cheapest ones I can find, and they barely fit my daughter, who is very tiny. I say if my kid can't wear her normal clothes to school, the school should help me out with some of the cost of the uniform. It's ridiculous, and SO not a money saver for us. A uniform costs me nearly 5 dollars more than a typical non-uniform outfit for my daughter. Drives me crazy. Not to mention that once back to school season is over, they're hard to find!
But it's true - public school costs money. Not in tuition, of course, but there's book fees and field trips and fundraisers and God only knows what else. Education certainly isn't free, or cheap.
@dfollin (25347)
• United States
23 Jan 09
Wow,I loved getting the Scholastic Books.I think that I was more excited about it then my boys were.
Education is not free or cheap,far from it.
Education is not free or cheap,far from it.@youngsweetheart (772)
• United States
23 Jan 09
When my daughter brought home her very first Scholastic order form, I was beside myself with glee - one of my favorite parts of school was ordering those books! We try to get at least one book every time, to encourage both of our kids to read and love books.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
23 Jan 09
I thought it was bad when we had to buy binders, calculators, and the text books for our sons, and when I went to high school, we had to get a zipper binder, and pay for the text books, but we could not just keep the old binder, we had to buy a new one each year. And the text books were not old, they were new. Now I have friends whose children go to a Christian school and they have to pay tuition on top of that. Yet every now and then, almost every month there are kids knocking on the doors asking for money to buy supplies, selling candies.
You wonder where the money is going. A kindergarten kid does not need a computer. I mean this is not in Beverly Hills is it?
1 person likes this
@dfollin (25347)
• United States
23 Jan 09
No this is in Fairfax County,Virginia.We always had to buy binders every year and our text books were provided.But,when my boys were in school they had the parents buy some of them.In the Christian schools everything is provided,at least when my oldest son had kindergarten in a Christian school.Kids always sell at the door and here those are fundraisers to buy extra things for their classrooms.
@izathewzia (5134)
• Philippines
23 Jan 09
I sutided at public school also. Because my mom has little money to send us four. So all of my siblings and I went public school for education. Most families are doing the same. But I think, the most important is, we get educated. It doesn't matter whether it is public or private school. As long as we learn the right things.
1 person likes this
@dfollin (25347)
• United States
24 Jan 09
I hope that the schools that you and your siblings are going to good schools.No,it does not matter if you go to public or private.That was not my point.I am saying that public schools in this area and in other places that other mylotters told us about cannot educate properly if they are having to spend so much time dealing with the budget cuts.When they are now combining classes and having 1 teacher to 60 kids,that effects the education.
@aidenofthetower (1814)
• United States
23 Jan 09
I don't think that school cost quite this much when I was going (which wasn't really that long ago since I am 25). But I do know that there were times that my mom would struggle because she didn't have a lot of money either. We didn't get new school clothes. Instead we usually got "new" clothes when someone sent a bag of hand me downs our way. We did get school supplies. Plus field trips (though there were a few I had to miss and if I did go I was usually the only one to have a bag lunch). Once I was kicked out of McDonald's because I brought a bagged lunch and came in with the rest of the class (I was the only one who didn't order). I ended up having to eat lunch on the bus with the bus driver (she bought food at MD and then ate on the bus to be with me). In high school I had some awesome opportunities (I participated in a class that went on a field trip every Friday, did debate and forensics), but I got to do those things free because we did the fundraisers and raised a lot of money.
I am planning on homeschooling my kids. This isn't because of the cost of school, but rather the better education that it can give. It would be nice if tax money that we pay for public school could be allocated for homeschool use. I am sure most homeschool parents would like this and we certainly could make it go a lot farther then the public school can!
1 person likes this
@dfollin (25347)
• United States
24 Jan 09
My son's that I was speaking about are 28 and 25.That was nice of the bus driver to sit with you.If my daughter had been there with you,she would had bought you a hamburger,whatever she had money for.That's just the way she is.I took a forensics class in college.I loved it and I got an A.Did you follow thru with it?
Homeschooling my daughter I know what she's learning and who she is friends with.I wish we could write it off on our taxes.At least I know where my money is going to.I know what books and curriculums I am buying,unlike with my taxes.
@aidenofthetower (1814)
• United States
24 Jan 09
When you ask if I followed through with forensics...it makes me wonder if you mean the science of forensics. High school forensics is a group of speech competitions. I did it for two years and probably would have continued on, but my couch quit and I didn't like who they replaced her with. First year I took fourth in regionals and did horrible at states (but I probably would have done better had I not been so sick). Second year I took second at regionals and didn't go to states because it was the same weekend as Acquire the Fire (a Christian program). There is a program in college and I considered doing it, but decided that with my work/school schedule it would be too much.
There are a number of reasons homeschooling is such a great option if parents are determined to make it work and actually do something with their kids. I am looking forward to it. My son is 2 1/2 and we have started doing a few things together...pre-school stuff. It has been fun.
1 person likes this
@alyssakenzie (462)
• United States
23 Jan 09
The amount of money they are expecting you to pay now for sending a child to public school is down right outrageous. I help take care of my niece and it cost well over a hundred dollars for me to only get a portion of what she had to have for school. Than they were taking them on field trips twice a month and they wanting a crazy amount for them to be able to go. They think it is better to learn by seeing than reading which I understand but it gets out of control when it is costing the parents so much money. When I was in school we may have went on two field trips a year and neither of them usually cost more than five dollars and most of the time they were free. School lunches are also getting close to three dollars a day so now it is a lot cheaper to pack their lunch and send it than to pay that much for a lunch that is never all that great. It is bad when we start to pay more to send our kids to public school than if we sent them to a private school and paid the tuition!!
1 person likes this
@dfollin (25347)
• United States
24 Jan 09
Our county is limiting the field trips to 3 or 4 ,but they charge prices for them.When I went to school all of the trips were free except for an amount for lunch or souvonier.And usually we had to pack our lunches.I don't think i had a field trip that really costed anything till I was in junior high school when an amusement park opened about 2 hours from the school.
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
23 Jan 09
It does seem to cost alot for everything. The teachers, I feel for. They are not getting paid enough. We have had bussing taken away. They want 200 dollars if you want to play sports and you have to buy uniforms and such still. It is crazy. My son cannot do sports, we do not have the money. It is sad. They don't even use school books in most of the classrooms. It does make you wonder where the money is.
1 person likes this
@dfollin (25347)
• United States
23 Jan 09
Yeah,in what few sports that they have they have to pay $100 a year,plus get the uniform as well.Come to think of it some of the books had to be bought for my boys and that was in the late 80's and early 90's.
@Yestheypayme2dothis (7874)
• United States
23 Jan 09
It has been so long since I have been in a public school that I had no idea it was like this. It was not like this when I was in school. When it came to basic things like pencils, you just knew to bring one and that was it. We did not have to buy a bunch and give them to the teacher. If anyone forgot a pencil he or she could get one from the teacher or someone else and then give it back. No teacher would keep you from doing school work if you did not have one. That is ridiculous. The schools have really changed. In high school, we had three things that cost money...our gym uniform that we used for 4-6 year...I say 6 years because you could use the one from junior high if it was the same kind...school pictures, and school ring.
1 person likes this
@dfollin (25347)
• United States
23 Jan 09
That's the way school was for me too.We had book bags and backpacks and we always had 2 or 3 pencils in there.My son also lost a sports notebook (spiral)that I specifically spent a little extra on because he really wanted it.It got put on the shelf in the classroom closet and was given to a kid who did not have a spiral notebook.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
23 Jan 09
i was a single mom & i know exactly what u are talking about. it always irritated me that they had to have certain supplies because that's what the teacher wanted no matter how expensive they were. i thought i was doing well to even get the enrollment paid for. then they wanted u to bring paper towels, toliet paper, liquid soap & the list went on & on. i thought that was ridiculous to. doesn't sound like it has improved any since my kids got out of school. i think the teachers make pretty good here & they should but teachers aren't like they were when i was in school. they were more buisness back then & i think that was good.
@lisa0502 (1724)
• Canada
23 Jan 09
I know exactly what you have been through. I am also a low income family. They always stick you with those extra costs and stuff. They do have a waiver form you can sign here in Canada in order to not pay school fees but the problem with that is that they are not allowed to do any of the extra things. They would not be able to go swimming for example. It is hard on the kids so I have to try to make up the money for all of this. I am on government assistance and they give me about 90 dollars per kid for school per year. Well all of the school supplies cost that then we have to pay another 90 or 100 dollars for school fees. And when it comes to school supplies they want certain brands and of course they are the most expensive supplies. They say that it is so that kids do not get teased. But what about us poor people? Then on top of that all of the school field trips, and other extras that they have. I am not quite sure how we are supposed to deal with it. There is a band camp that my son was supposed to go to. It costs 325 dollars. Well needless to say he can not go. I am so frusterated with the system. They are all for middle to high class people.
1 person likes this
