Parents should pay for exercise books

[DorothyL]

I know in the US and Germany, and probably other countries, parents are handed a stationery list before the beginning of the academic year - nobody has a problem with it. It would make such a difference to school budgets, and when students leave page after page blank etc (which they do!) they would not be wasting school money.

The point I made badly is that we don't really have much say as to where and how our taxes are spent.

Getting cross because 'your taxes' are/aren't being spent in '(add your own)' is not really an argument ....

I am with hermione. I want to pay taxes for this sort of thing.

You know what would happen. Children going into school ashamed because their parents couldn't or wouldn't pay, and their education suffering. FSM is not a good enough guide to which parents would do this.

I also think that teaching children to use every scrap of paper is counterproductive. Children sometimes leave space for good reasons. My mum teaches remedial maths, and spends ages patiently training students to leave enough space so that their work is readable, and so they can go back over it and correct. I teach English for 18-21s and teach them to double space, and it goes against the grain. They've all been taught to save paper without thinking whether it is helpful.

Trills, I'm off to google thst challenge.

For what it's worth, it really lifted my spirits reading what you wrote here.

It's a small thing - but you've made someone, in some other part of the country, feel a bit happier about life and other people.

No money left for exercise books after having to buy an iPad for school.

I live in a country where we have to buy the children's school supplies. It is quite expensive, I'm not sure you realise what you're asking , having said that school supplies are very expensive due to high tax, not cheap as chips as in the UK.

Many families cannot afford to buy school supplies if they are on minimum wage or benefit, so there is a school supplies grant that goes to the family. The chances are the money would not suddenly become available to schools but instead re-directed to the families that need it and the school grants would be cut to compensate.

I already pay for my DS's books in school and maybe some of his friends books through the 40% tax I pay. Making parents pay again for this is silly and also gives yet another reason for children from poorer backgrounds to either go without, be bullied or made to feel'different' because their parents can't afford to buy books.

Children should be able to go to school each day without having to worry about whether or not they have the right equipment to work with.

It is like that in Spain.

Many poor families cant afford these books, so their children dont get any.

In such a system, not even basic primary education is available to the poor, in reality. They dont have text books, no writing books, so cant do homework. It keeps the poor Down, and their children without ability to better themselves.

I rather we all pay tax.

What a ridiculous thing to moan about. what about the children of families who can't afford it / don't want to pay it / think education isn't important? What happens to those children.

Are you kidding BertPuttocks ?

Im sorry but have you any idea how disruptive it is to the start of each lesson to issue paper to children who have, yet again, left their book at home, pens to children who have lost them since their previous lesson, rulers to many, many children who just cant be arsed to bring them to school?!

Children are reaponsible for bringing in basic equipment. We do them favours taking away every little piece if personal responsibility they have.

Ssh don't tell anyone but a lot of schools now run at at loss. Disparate times ahead.

Moving to secondary school it is hoped that you pay into the school fund, buy maths/art/English packs and when they reach GCSE our school will be expecting them to supply own exercise books / folders.

In 5 years the only thing that will be 'free' will be the buildings and teachers.

In theory, I don't mind the idea because there's nothing wrong with expecting parents to make a direct financial contribution to their children's education. But it would always be one of those things that some children got for free, and because of that, it's divisive. It wouldn't be right that some parents would not have to pay and some would, and I think it's important that we hang on to the things that everyone in society can benefit from.

OP I know teachers in America, who, because of that system, end up spending a portion of their wage on materials for the students whose parents won't provide for them.

So essentially your plan for improving standards in school would be give teachers a pay cut?

Thanks thecatfromjapan :)

I was at secondary school when it was ''first year' not 'year 7' we had to provide our own stationery then, no exercise books provided. My dc have to provide their own stationery.

CalleighDoodle - Why would I be kidding about thinking that children should be able to go to school without having to worry about having the right equipment?

The buying power of a school buying 1000 exercise books should represent better value than me going to a shop to buy books specified by the school.

What Trills said.

Forcing parents to buy basic school equipment would mean that some children didn't have the correct equipment, or in some cases any equipment at all. The disruption caused by lack of equipment in lessons would be enormously costly in terms of learning time.

And many teachers already spend considerable amounts of our own money buying equipment for the children in our class, or for our classrooms. We can't afford to keep covering costs from our own salaries.

If the government want to save money within education, they could stop re-writing the curriculum every couple of years- that must cost a fortune!

No- just no.

Why should the childless by choice taxpayer have to fork out for school books?

Well, it depends if you want the doctors treating you in years to come to be trained at universities, or by witches, I suppose? And whether you think it's good to have people able to read and write in skilled roles all over the country, so they can earn the taxes to fund your pension provision, the entire country's physical and social infrastructure, and your end of life care. You never know - given enough education, some may even understand the basic economic argument which demonstrates that an educated workforce is essential to a highly advanced economy.

Yabu

Universality is key to our state education system. And anything that relates to children. Because it stops stigmatisation.

We have to provide stationery (france) but there is a back to school grant that is paid to all parents on low and middle incomes (below about €35k for a family of four). The grant per child is about €300 and the cost of stationery, folders, pens, maths equipment etc for a secondary school child comes to about €100-€120 (probably a bit more if you factor in replacing consumables like pens over the year).

On the other hand we don't have to pay anything for uniform or school shoes, they just wear ordinary clothes and trainers, it's a big saving versus a lot of UK schools. I have UK-based friends whose uniform costs are in excess of £300 - in state schools!