Unfair

Unfair.

No one told me that I HAVE to buy notebooks for the kids in my class. No one told me that I HAVE to put backing paper and borders on my bulletin boards or walls. No one told me that I have to give them breakfast on the morning of the state tests. BUT. They need notebooks. They deserve to come into a room with a little color to mask the holes in the closet and the institutional color on the walls. And by all means, they absolutely must have something in their tummy before they take a test terrifies them because those 3 hours determine whether or not they go to the next grade. So…I’ve always found the sales and swiped my credit card. At least, I told myself, I got that $110 in my bank account sometime around December.

The $110 was from Teacher’s Choice. It used to be $220…which was awesome and almost covered what actually was needed for a classroom of 28 students. Still, the $110 was a nod of respect to the fact that you can find us in every Staples, Target, WalMart, and Dollar Store in the state. We are thrifty, creative, and inspired. I was SO looking forward to the beginning of August when the window for Teacher’s Choice spending opened up. And then I read the notice in the UFT paper. TEACHER’S CHOICE SUSPENDED FOR THIS YEAR.

Don’t get me wrong: I am SO glad that layoffs were averted. I don’t want any educator to be out of a job (and this is not the place where I want to rant about the evaluation system…right now). But I couldn’t help thinking once I read that we wouldn’t get a cent this year: if I were an actress, I would be having a catered lunch on set. If I were an engineer, I would not be buying my own paper for a copier that never works. If I were a librarian, I wouldn’t be buying books with my own money to put on the shelves. Honestly, I don’t even think I would have to buy my own stapler or pens…
I'm not saying that those jobs are easier or get any more thanks than mine. My mom is a librarian and I know how thankless and stressful it is. I also know that EVERY industry is facing financial crisis right now, and I am certainly thankful for my job.

So now I’m stuck. Because, despite the fact that no one told me I HAVE to buy those things for my classroom, they do say that I must show a skillful use of the physical environment of my classroom. It must be clean and welcoming. And honestly, they need scissors and notebooks. My first priority is for the backing paper and borders because no one is going to do that for me. I guess I’ll just have to really stress the importance of buying these basic supplies to parent this year, and hope that they have the resources to do it.

I’m just really upset right now with the priorities of our nation in general. Here I am, stating the obvious: the distribution of wealth and resources is absurd. Ugh.