Spending your own money on resources...

[YoureAllABunchOfBastards]

I am totting up how much I have spent this summer. Once I factor in new laminator and laminating pouches, it is over £100.

And I don't know if we have any sodding exercise books, so I might have to go and buy some of those at some point. Bloody hell.

[BlowOnMySackbutt]

Is this your own money you're spending?

[YoureAllABunchOfBastards]

Yes.

Bloody loads of it.

[PicInAttic]

Prob about same but only on things that, in my head, I justify as being my choice. For example, I've bought fancy metal trays/tubs in 4 bright colours for table trays because the boring ones at school make me miserable. Have bought silly pegs for my washing line and bright coloured magnets for my board. Have bought slightly more expensive pens for marking. All of these things are provided by school but in 'boring' makes/styles.
I don't buy exercise books, pencils, handwriting pens or whiteboard pens Tec because - in my head - they are necessities to do the job and I refuse to pay to work.
(My family think teachers/TAs buying school stuff is ridiculous but that might be because of what they actually see me buy ... !)

[PicInAttic]

etc not Tec - Don't know why it always auto corrects that. I've never typed Tec !

[Notsoskinnyminny]

We get a £250-£300 budget in June and after essentials such as handwriting pens, glue sticks, pencils etc we're free to buy whatever we need/want for the new year. Exercise books, laminating pouches, art supplies etc are purchased for the whole school.

[IguanaTail]

The school should buy exercise books. Surely.

[BlowOnMySackbutt]

It's scary to think how much of the average teacher's salary actually goes back to the school in this way.

[MissMillament]

I have spent hundreds this year. There are new GCSE spec and new A level spec in my subject and I have spent nearly a hundred quid on books for those alone so that I can use them for lesson planning ideas. Plus basic stuff for my classroom like highlighters, glue sticks, coloured pens and a laminator and laminating pouches. Other stuff that is not necessary but makes my life easier includes a remote control pointer for the computer so I am not trapped behind the desk when using a powerpoint and a filing tray for my desk.

[EvilTwins]

I have spent a lot on books and stationery (for me) but if I move to a different school, it's coming with me. Likewise DVDs, CDs etc. Very often it's quicker and easier to think "oo, I think I'll use that play/film/novel with yr 10/12" and order it from Amazon rather than look up three different suppliers and put a requisition order in.

Pens, stickers, other stationery - I like to have nice things in my classroom and it makes marking nicer to do it with a decent pen.

[YoureAllABunchOfBastards]

God, I forgot about the books I have bought for the new specs.

The school will have bought exercise books but I have seen no sign of them yet and we start on Wednesday. I have no idea if we have copies of the set texts either.

I have bought some frivolous stuff for display and organisation, but a lot goes on essentials like pens.

I did spend a happy hour with my laminator this afternoon though - sad case.

[IguanaTail]

Can you imagine another public service like that? A hospital with no syringes. A battalion going to war with no bullets.

I find it disgraceful that teachers are expected to subsidise like this.
I've painted my classroom before. If I added up how much I've spent on school stuff over the years it would add up to many thousands. So depressing.

[amarmai]

wow bet this is universal. I am a retired teacher who spent $1000+ every year that i taught in canada. In my last years before retiring i was in the oldest portable classroom in a giant city education dept. I had to clean it, paint it , take all the desks into the schoolyard and hose and scrub them out, rent a carpet cleaner and clean the carpet about 10 times and it was still coming up with dirt, in my summer holidays, just to make it reasonably decent for children to be in. People have no idea of the expense and physical labour that teachers do for their children.It was worthwhile on the whole. Wouldn't resent the way we are used to subsidise the system if we were allowed to claim expenses on the Income Tax. Funny how men's work allows way more expense claiming. Waiting for someone to point out that men teach too. Sure, so they do- a small% -but mainly females.

[KinkyDorito]

Another here who has spent loads. I've wound it up now - can't afford to do it. I make do with what I get.

[IguanaTail]

The whole system would collapse. It relies on teachers being mugs.

[MissMillament]

I just bought myself a staple gun this morning - oh and tissues and wipes - and that is sure as heck getting my name on. I also have hidden my highlighters and glue sticks at the back of a cupboard as people are far to prone to rifle my drawers.

[YoureAllABunchOfBastards]

Gutted in Lidl just now as they had sold out of electric pencil sharpeners.

I used to hold the budget. Every summer holiday I would put together a goody box of pens, rulers, pencils etc for each member of the dept. they collected exercise books and so on from the cupboard.

Now everything is locked away (if it exists) in a different building. I have no idea what has been bought - I suspect pens won't be part of it, but I have some hoarded for me and my mates. Exercise books have been mentioned but no sign of them turning up.

[amarmai]

where i worked we supervised lunches in the classroom- so once cleaning up was done , we were lucky to get to the washroom. If it was a rainy day, a too cold day, a too hot day --- we had to supervise all lunch and recesses, so portable teachers sometimes could not get to the bathroom all day = bladder problems for life. In the main building teachers could spell each other off as they can stand in the hallway and watch into 2 open classrooms. How many extra courses have you done in your 'holidays' mn teachers ?

[ladygracie]

Where did you get your metal tray/tubs from & what do they look like? I realise that is not the topic but I'm interested!
I was thinking something similar earlier - looking around my house to see if I have anything I could use as a book trolley thing if I'm not allowed to buy one. That's not normal surely!

[glamourousgranny42]

I spend loads on stationary and resources. Books for the new spec, models, dvds , by the time I have put a request in and it's approved (or not) I need the resource so I buy it myself. I put orders in June and told it would have to wait until August. I needed stuff to plan for the new year. So I get stuff myself or end up waiting and getting stuff late l.