Public Education rant

[australorpchick]

I was just notified by DD that once again, we need to purchase another book that she needs for her high school class, that the school is not providing and she needs it by Monday. This is the 3rd time this semester that we received a last minute purchase notification. What's the point of passing out a supply list and syllabus at the beginning of the year, if more things are going to be added, at the last minute, whenever the teachers feels like it?!

I know about the education budget cuts and I don't know a single family that hasn't had to cut their budgets as well, so not feeling a whole lot of sympathy for these districts who continue to build elementary schools the size of high schools, high schools the size of colleges and remodeling of 3 year old football fields.

We were bamboozled into signing up for a semester of voice lessons (you had to agree to a full semester) at $20/week for 1 30 minute lesson a week. We were told this was highly recommended for the upcoming regional tryouts. After we signed up, we found out there was only one or two lessons before the actual tryouts. How many different shirts does one choir need?

It seems like every time I save a penny, the school's asking for another dollar!

Thanks for letting me rant.

 

[gamebirdsonly]

I know how you feel .

 

[cameron]

This is a public, state funded school? And yall gotta buy that stuff? Mandatory classes? Only stuff I had to pay for was extracurricular crap. Some of our math and English books may be from the Reagan days but they are still free. If I was you, I'd be emailing your school and state superintendent.

 

[welasharon]

We don't ask our students to purchase books. I have never heard of such. Extras maybe or for an art classes using beyond the norm supplies...but a required text???? And what about those who can't afford to? Does their child do without??? I would be calling someone.
sharon

 

[teach1rusl]

At my son's high school, we had to pay "rental fees" for text books, which I believe came to about $180 his senior year. He did have to purchase novels for English, although I guess he could have tried to find them at our local library (I found them as cheaply as I could, used on Amazon). And he had to purchase art/drafting/lab fees/equipment.
Of course at the high school level, they also required rather expensive calculators for the more advanced math classes too. Add onto that the "typical" supplies such as binders, notebooks, tabs, etc.

 

[redhen]

I can not even imagine having to PAY for a childs books for school. That is beyong sickening..
I dont believe that i even would do it...

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I recall having to purchase a few novels during high school. That was back in the dark ages. But also had to purchase a few novels for my kids' schools. Never had to purchase texts for public schools. As to last minute, YOU were notified at the last minute, but when was your child told? Chances are it was mentioned quite a while before you got word; maybe even listed in the course syllabus.

 

[rufus]

When I went to high school, we had to purchase all of our books, and it wasn't cheap. We had to take real good care of them so that we could hand them off to younger kids in the family when they needed them.

Going to the University, the books were really expensive, and worse they changed the text so often that we couldn't really recycle many of them.

For what it is worth, money spent on the kids' education is the best money spent.

Bite the bullet and pay up. This is what you signed on for when you had kids.

Rufus

 

[fuzziebutt]

I am soooo glad that mine aren't in school anymore. They need to try to tell me to purchase a book. They sent a note home while the oldest one was in kindergarten that they needed money for toilet paper and such. I sent him to school with a 12 pack of Charmin. The kids never let another note make it home. And I did not send mine to school to raise funds for anything.

Sorry, your rant, not mine!!

 

[redhen]

Quote:
Toilet paper??

I'd say some parents in areas like that NEED to start making a BIG fuss.. I would demand to see how EVERY penny of that school budget is being spent...
It's public school, thats supposed to be funded by the taxes we ALL pay! UGh...