Teachers Buying School Supplies

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I appreciate the information, but I still find it surprising. I don't think any teacher I had would pay a nickel.

Many teachers are strongly invested in the education of their students. In addition, eschewing altruistic motives, it's very difficult to teach students if they don't have the necessary supplies – making sure all the students are equipped to learn makes the job of teaching easier.

My cousins who teach will run a GoFundMe (usually around this time of year), so the cost is spread a bit.

But yeah, teachers are paid garbage wages, the subject of attacks by parents and politicians, are the first lines of defense against shootings, and also have to pay out of pocket for supplies.

It's like we don't value education in this country, or something.

I think about 45% of the public school teachers in the New York City school system are paid over $100,000/year.

I think that the "year" is much less than a year due to vacations, etc.

I think those teachers can receive pensions at 55 years of age.

I think that generally if they are not found to be good teachers, they can not be fired. Rather they are put in a "rubber room" often for years at full salary while their cases are adjudicated. Some of these teachers are charged with sex with students.

The top teacher salary is nearly $86,000

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/teacher-pay-by-state

Here are the 10 states with the highest teacher pay:
New York ($85,889)
California ($83,059)
Massachusetts ($82,042)
Connecticut ($76,465)
New Jersey ($74,760)
Washington ($73,049)
Maryland ($70,463)
Alaska ($70,277)

The shorter year means a lot of them work another job or summer school.

I know my cousins are not making top tier. And fer chrissakes they're not harming children.

My daughter-in-law gets unemployment during the summers.

They start in the $50k's - the salaries I posted above are not starting salaries - that's usually after 10 - 15 years of service. I think they are definitely underpaid for the responsibility they have.

Why do you think you're so ill informed on this?

It's a complete distortion of the truth.

Mame-

I will accept your figure of $85,889 as the average teacher pay in New York State. I quoted New York City figures, which are higher.

jespah-

Yes, the shorter school year results in many teachers having another job or summer school. Thus their total income is even higher than the numbers quoted.

izzythepush-

I don't think that I am ill-informed.

So you deliberately spread lies about teachers' pay and conditions.

The teachers belong to a union and they can certainly be fired. There is a 'step' process in most, if not all, contracts between the employer and the union which outlines the disciplinary procedures. If there is sufficient cause and the procedures are followed, they can be fired.

NYC Says It Will End Absent Teacher Reserve Formerly Known As "Rubber Rooms"

Teachers purchasing supplies for students is a growing trend | USA TODAY

Published Aug 29, 2019

From the same post that listed the top ten salary states


Below $30K/year, you will have trouble paying for rent and food, so some of these numbers are very low, especially for college graduate positions. You're in NY and yes, NY does better, but NY also taxes its population to pay for services. A lot of places pride themselves on having low taxes but then claim they have no money to pay decent salaries. One aspect of this is cutting funding for room supplies. My brother's wife is a teacher (1st grade) and she works hard decorating her room every year. She works in a school where most students come with supplies but even then she spends a fair amount. She is also expected to put together lesson plans and do other admin work after school hours so it's not like she works 8-3.

A New York teacher exposes our state school-system sham — where guessing gets you a pass

By Karol Markowicz

August 21, 2022

What is the point of an end-of-school-year exam? New York state seems unsure.

A teacher has put out a detailed exposé proving a child can pass New York’s algebra Regents exam by simply guessing all Cs.

Ed Knight weaves on Medium a great tale of a student named River who finds himself in legal trouble and ends up missing most of the school year. Knight admits he has a soft spot for River, a child of a single father who lives in a trailer, and when River comes to him for advice on taking an exam for which he has zero knowledge, Knight suggests the “Cs” trick.

What’s absolutely appalling is that it worked. River actually deviated to two B answers when both correct answers were C — and still managed to pass the exam.

Knight explains this works because a student needs to score only 19.8% to pass the exam. A travesty.

While we may all know about the end of merit and rigor in our public schools and how dumbed-down our schools have become, seeing it in such stark terms is still jarring. What’s the point of a test that can be passed with guesswork? What’s the point of school if a kid can guess on the exam, pass it and move on to the next grade?

What’s worse is that this is happening mostly to public-school kids. They take the Regents exam to showcase what they’ve learned; it’s a part of their final grade in the course. Some private schools use Regents tests, but academically rigorous ones do not. Knight notes the exams are “state tests with college scholarships and graduation requirements on the line.” And a kid needs only 19.8% to pass it. Shameful.

Would private-school parents, who want rigor, stand for it? Would they accept their kid not needing to hit 20% on a test to succeed? Why should public-school parents with fewer options be made to accept such failure?

Of course, one can argue it’s a win that the algebra Regents gets administered at all. Last school year, the history Regents was canceled statewide due to a mass shooting in Buffalo. If that doesn’t make sense to you, it’s because it doesn’t make sense.

It’s wrong that those without means have their kids stuck in systems that deemphasize education in this way. It’s an embarrassment for the New York school system. But it’s also abominable that kids who don’t just guess all Cs on this weak exam — who actually put in the work and study — can’t easily exit this system for a real education.

Recently, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law an expansive bill granting Arizonan families school choice. The law gives up to $7,000 per family to opt out of the public-school system. It was so popular that the state’s school-choice website crashed when it went into effect. In February, Wisconsin’s school-choice website similarly crashed.

Parents want options. It’s not right that only rich parents have those options in New York.

Corey DeAngelis, a school-choice activist whose tagline “Fund students, not systems” has resonated with parents across the country, told me, “New York is way behind the curve on school choice. New York doesn’t have any initiatives allowing families to take their children’s taxpayer-funded education dollars to the education providers of their choosing.”

He added, “Children shouldn’t be trapped in failing government schools any longer. Education funding is meant for educating children, not for protecting a particular institution.”

Parents wouldn’t be making a run from public-school systems if their child’s academic needs were being met. But academics seem to be a side hustle at schools right now, something teachers will get around to after they finish going over gender ideology and critical race theory. Every moment spent on woke ideology is a moment not spent on academics. And it shows.
What do you think? Post a comment.

Knight exposed how broken the New York state system really is. Now it’s up to parents to demand New York do something about it.

No, teachers are not instructed to do this. Usually there is a list of supplies parents are supposed to provide for their child(ren) and some that is shared by the classroom.

There are simply some parents that do not care or do not have the financial resources to do so. The teacher is then left with either a student with no pencil or notebooks or to buy some and give them to those that need them. There are some resources that help, but no where near having a well supplied classroom. Most simply open their pocketbooks and help.

I think most teachers do this to a certain degree; most teachers do care about their students.

What you say here is

"I think..."

Well you can think whatever you want, but the reality is much different.

And many teachers work a job over the summer because they do not earn enough. The "vacations" you mention are often times of classroom planning. Teachers do not just walk into the classroom on day 1 at opening bell and teach and then pack up at 3 and go home.

Much of their work time is spent out of the classroom, planning, grading and doing administrative work (not to mention going out and buying school supplies).

And when you think about how many classes/students are teaching (i.e. not just one class of 30), it can really add up! It's appalling that they have to pay for anything at all, especially if they're a new teacher on a low salary.