for kids and women at the shelters I worked at. I get it.
But I also understand that the more you give, the more the politicians will take and assume you will keep giving.
At what point are you paying more to teach than being paid to teach?
What if your co-teacher cannot afford to spend their own personal money on supplies for THEIR classroom - the teachers selling plasma, working second jobs, going to food banks. Will you also supply their students? What about the next school district - the one that can only have school 4 days out of 5?
I understand that feeling of "they need this more than me". You have no idea how much I get it.
What I am seeing play out is something has to give - teachers cannot sustain the burden of buying classroom supplies, provide lunch for students but now it is become less of something teachers do in emergency situations but more and more expected of them. It is not fair to the teachers, it is not fair to the kids. And I know parents cannot afford the ever growing lists of school supplies that teachers need to keep the class running and help supply for the year.
At some point teachers will be paying for the lights and gas to run the electricity in the school.
(I have a feeling somewhere that is already happening)
I am NOT saying make the children suffer and withhold your funds for yourself.
But this business model of the teachers paying thousands of dollars of their own money (when they can't afford to) to do their job shows how little we value our children, their education, the people we trust to educate them.
I don't know how to show those in power what would happen if you stopped using your money.
There was a great movie called "A Day Without A Mexican" that showed how life would be if all the immigrants just poofed disappeared.
The sad thing is if every teacher stopped using their money, no one but the kids would suffer - and they are the last ones that should.
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