To My Son’s Teacher: You Can Have Whatever You Like

A few years ago (ok, apparently ELEVEN YEARS AGO), T.I. came out with a catchy song called “Whatever You Like,” where he eloquently rapped about giving his lady, well…whatever she wanted.   After a week of leading a group of 8 rising kindergartners at Vacation Bible School, I realized my childhood dreams of playing school and being the teacher where I got to decorate bulletin boards and fill out my large green grade book were good to be left in the past, as I am clearly not cut out for the full-time care and teaching of multiple children in a classroom setting.  Four half-days were about as much as I can take.  I give every teacher I know serious props for what you do each day because you deserve all the breaks, appreciation weeks (you guys need appreciation MONTHS), and pay raises and benefits galore.  For real, thank you!!!  I know you all are gearing up to start another school year (and some of you are spending your summer break at conferences to be even better than you already are-whaaattt?!?!) and that means it is time for school supply shopping!!

I have always loved school supplies and back to school shopping.  For my son’s 2nd birthday, we had a “wheels on the bus” themed party and asked for school supply donations for Big House Foundation and last year we shopped for a child’s school supplies through Big House.  I don’t mind dodging crazy people to get the last composition notebook or going to multiple stores to find the perfect blue pencil case.  So this year, you can imagine how excited I was at the prospect of school supply shopping for my rising kindergartner–then I found out that the kids don’t necessarily get to keep their own supplies and we were told not to label anything for our kids.  Kind of bummed, I decided to just buy the supply box through the company selected by our school to handle the blunt tip scissors, Crayola markers, and Elmer’s glue.  So I’ve purchased the required items and checked that box…I am done right?

WRONG.  You are so WRONG.  These teachers need more than just little blunt tip scissors for your babies.  This article from Huffington Post gives a great overview of what teachers are actually having to buy for their own classrooms and it makes me feel sad and angry.  Most teachers come out of their own pockets to decorate their rooms and provide alternative seating, books, and even soap and paper towels for your kids to wash their grubby hands with after recess.  They don’t get paid much and certainly nowhere near what they deserve for all they do.  My third grade teacher had this awesome chart where you could earn points through good behavior and other things to cash in for a reward.  We all know that she didn’t have “reward prizes” in her budget (if teachers even got a budget back in 1989), but here I am 30 years later telling you about the happy meal I got from Mrs. Foyt for earning reward points, so she was on to something (and clearly her investment was worth it).  

So when you see that list of “additional” or “requested” items that are not required, don’t get frustrated.  Get your wallet out and buy at least one thing off that list (or ALL the things if you can afford to do so).  Do it for the teacher who is teaching your little one to read, tie his shoes, or add and subtract.  Do it for the teacher who wipes the tears from your child’s eyes when she cries about her puppy dying.  Do it for the teacher who doesn’t go to the bathroom all day because he or she doesn’t have an aide and can’t leave the kids alone for 5 minutes.  Do it for the teacher who is at school before 7 AM and leaves at 3:30 PM only to go to her part-time job to help make ends meet.  Do it for the teacher who misses her own child’s school program because she is leading your child’s program.  Just do it.  They do so much for our kids and the least we can do is bring them some kleenex, extra dry erase markers, stickers, and bandaids.  

I dedicate this blog to my son’s future kindergarten teacher, to whom I raise my glass and rap to T.I.’s tune:  copy paper or clorox wipes…I’ll get you extra supplies ’cause you can have whatever you like!