AIBU to want teachers to stop buying resources out of their own pockets.

[washandrepeat]

For years I've read about teachers having to pay for their own photocopying once the budget has been used up plus other resources. Now I am reading that some teachers are having to purchase their own soap and sanitisers for their classes as the budgets won't stretch.

We seem to be one of the only nations, not funding schools to deal with the pandemic. We also seem to have some of the biggest class sizes in Europe, especially compared to the wealthiest European nations. Since when did we accept this for our children? 21 is the average in OECD countries, 23 in France and 21 in Germany. These are some of the reasons why school there can go back with social distancing. Why do we put up with this as if we can do not better?

Why are property developers allowed to build hundreds of new properties in an area without a whiff of new schools to provide for the growing population in these areas?

This isn't a debate about should schools open or not or a teacher-bashing thread if anything this pandemic has shown how we never stand alongside the teachers. Perhaps if we'd listened in the past we might not be in the current situation.

AIBU to want the teachers to stop spending their own money to pay for the Governments failings and for Head Teachers to support them in doing this.

You are right.

However given the rubbish budgets we have had for years we are all in the habit of buying some of our own resources be in pens, posters, stickers, books. Some teachers bring in food occasionally and one maths teacher I know provides his form with breakfast once every half term including bacon sandwiches, pain au chocolate, fruit!

I used to do loads of colour printing at home (pre lockdown)

Don't blame teachers for wanting to stay safe - if sanitizer isn't provided, they have every right to bring it in.

It's a brilliant idea but unfortunately the government and school heads have become used to the fact that when there are shortages, teachers will buy them in order to ensure that students don't go without.

And actually prepares to be totally flamed it would be really useful if parents made sure their children had some of the equipment that we have to buy. I work in an affluent area and see children dropped off in new cars, holding decent phones and wearing labelled trainers / backpacks. However, across this year I've had to buy pens, text books and various other bits for those students as they never turn up to school with them. How on earth can you fail to buy your children pens etc and expect teachers and schools to buy them? If this was a poor area, I'd understand but parents have turned round and told me that I should supply their child, not them.

I am a Primary teacher and have never used my own money to buy resources for school. I have stated this before on various teaching forums, and am met with the usual cries of "but it's for the children!"
If school won't pay, then I certainly won't. A few years ago, i asked for the money to buy some ingredients for our food technology lesson and was told that there was no money for it and that I would have to buy the food myself. I admit I was tempted to, but didn't in the end and made a note on the planning to explain why the lesson had not been taught.

@MooseBreath

Don't blame teachers for wanting to stay safe - if sanitizer isn't provided, they have every right to bring it in.

I'm not remotely blaming them, I think it's appalling that they have to do this and that parents and the media aren't collectively outraged.

I envy your strength of mind Poloneck. I can't bear the thought of adding up how much I have spent over a career starting in the early 80s. However I have to admit that a lot of the motivation was to make my own life easier. For example if you have enough glue sticks for one between two then it saves unnecessary movement around the class (and thus avoids more opportunity for disruptive behaviour). I have done the same with coloured pencils etc.

I agree with eyemaka though about pens etc in secondary. If I ever mentioned it to parents they would say they had drawers full of pens at home, and the kids probably had pens in their bags but couldn't be bothered getting them out. There is nothing more depressing than lending out half a dozen pens in a lesson which you have paid for to then find them snapped in half on the floor when the class has gone. I got really tired of being treated like shit by teenagers - the alternative was "Well I can't do it then if I haven't got a pen and you won't lend me one" and then sitting and being disruptive.

I am guilty of this. There is never any money in the buget to buy DT and some science resources so I have spent up to £30 resourcing an individual lesson. Many children turn up with no equipment and I have provided those myself too. I just never wanted the children in my class to go without but see it is part of the problem.

Honestly I wish everyone would stop subsidising their employers. Stop working through your lunchbreak. Stop working unpaid overtime. Stop excessively covering other colleagues' work when they are long term sick. Stop buying stuff. NONE of these things are the responsibility of the employee. They are all the result of pisspoor management and underfunding, but we dont know the extent of the problem because it is hidden by well meaning employees covering everything up.

I just never wanted the children in my class to go without but see it is part of the problem.

The thing is, it isn't the teacher's responsibility to make sure that the children don't go without. Why should schools provide equipment when they know that the teachers will just cough up?

@washandrepeat

Can you reference your source for “We seem to be one of the only nations, not funding schools to deal with the pandemic”? I work in finance for a group of schools and have recently completed a number of claims for additional government funding to cover extra costs associated with COVID including sanitiser, etc. The funds are there and have been well published.

Here’s the link to the website detailing this addition funding -

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-schools/school-funding-exceptional-costs-associated-with-coronavirus-covid-19-for-the-period-march-to-july-2020

I used to buy a kid in my tutor groups food for his cooking lessons every week for the 3 month rotation!!

@StrictlyAFemaleFemale

Honestly I wish everyone would stop subsidising their employers. Stop working through your lunchbreak. Stop working unpaid overtime. Stop excessively covering other colleagues' work when they are long term sick. Stop buying stuff. NONE of these things are the responsibility of the employee. They are all the result of pisspoor management and underfunding, but we dont know the extent of the problem because it is hidden by well meaning employees covering everything up.

Well said! Unfortunately in teaching, there's always a lot of emotional blackmail involved and when I refuse to be swayed by it, I'm considered heartless!

Everyone needs to pay more tax so schools and NHS can be properly funded but everyone is obsessed with paying as little tax as possible or expect rich people to pay for everything.

I would happily pay more tax if it was spent properly.

Absolutely agree OP 👍

The funding is provided by the Government not the school, blame them. It needs to be publicised more. You still see plenty of posters now asking why schools aren’t building more classrooms to help with social distancing, and saying that schools will just get supply teachers in if teachers go off sick. If schools can’t afford soap how the hell are they going to afford a new classroom.

Totally agree with @StrictlyAFemaleFemale

It happens in other professions too. Join a union, there is strength in numbers, and stand up for your rights.

Honestly I wish everyone would stop subsidising their employers

Then I don't have board pens to teach with. I don't have pens to mark with. I can't supply students with pens / books / etc etc. How quickly would I be placed on capability if this was the case? Quicker than I could say 'capability' I suspect as I wouldn't be seen to be doing my job.

Let's just forget the issue of hand sanitizer - with students filling up their tiny bottles from the one they know is in my desk (bought by me, as I have done for the last 10 years +). I was told that Covid 'changed the game' in this respect so I should just put up and shut up.

I completely agree however after the pasting teachers have had these last few months there is only one way this story would be reported.

Teachers being deliberately obstructive. A can't do attitude. Unpatriotic. Selfish. Lazy.

Absolutely @BlusteryShowers and in fact I have seen examples where teachers on here have said there isn’t a budget to buy hand sanitisers and posters have said why don’t you buy it then it doesn’t cost that much. It does if you are constantly having to provide it for your class!

Friends of mine in the US have to buy resources from the school.... so the school make money from the teachers. A friend of mine had to buy a lanyard and ID on her first day for $50. In many police departments, you buy your uniform, asp, handcuffs, firearm etc.

Companies have managed to monetise their workforce in new ways. Track your spending, the education budget and the year on year school budget, and see what the correlations are. I suspect budgets go up, but with ever greater expectations supplies are low on the list of priorities?

I think it's appalling that they have to do this and that parents and the media aren't collectively outraged

Because the parents would have to take some responsibility for their lack of funding their child.

Kids with no breakfast or lunch money, kids without swimming kits or PE Kits, are usually the kids with the branded goods and Xbox’s at home.

I personally think some parents delight in the free stuff their kids get so they don’t have to bother because their kids aren’t complaining they’re missing out.

The flip side of the coin is MPs, and others, claiming for every little expense and enjoying every corporate/sponsor lunch and subsidized canteen, sorry staff restaurant, meal they can. Just think how many pens or books or decent PPE masks you could buy for what most of them claim in a quarter. Cronyism, favoritism, and nepotism have always been there but this lot take them to new levels. And with an 80 plus majority it's not going to change in the foreseeable future. With a very few honorable exceptions, over the years I've observed that the richer someone is the more likely they are to demand freebies/preferential treatment and prices. And at the other end of the scale, I've met plenty of junior medics and clinical people who always pay for their own lunches. Strange, eh! Almost like our society was the wrong shape entirely....I take comfort, though precious little right now, from the fact I didn't vote this bunch of jokers and thieves into parliament. And yes, I've used my own money to buy things for work and not put in a claim.

It's not always that the money's not there, but teachers are perennially short of time and doing requisition forms, using approved suppliers and requesting reimbursement from Finance takes time. If the thing you need is £2.99 on Amazon, time is money! Plus if I buy my own equipment (staplers, textbooks for my own use etc) I can take it from job to job, not lend it and put it on my tax return. And I'd rather do some printing at home than make myself late (or catch Covid!) queueing at the photocopier. So there are a bunch of issues, not just lack of budget.

DD is at a private primary and we are told exactly what equipment they must bring.

DC1s teacher has sent home a list of supplies needed for the new term. It's slightly blame on covid, but is obviously more than that. It includes things like 6x pritt stick, 20 pencils, a pack of whiteboard pens, wipes, tissues etc. This is in addition to the contents of their pencil cases, these are resources for the classroom.

There was some grumbling on the class WhatsApp, but once parents realised that in previous years said teacher has spent £££ of her own money on this sort of thing, it looks like everyone is now on board.

Not saying this is the solution, but I'd rather pay towards it as a parent than see the teacher pay for it!

Not saying this is the solution, but I'd rather pay towards it as a parent than see the teacher pay for

Then there should be a class contribution yearly instead of teacher gifts. It would save the teacher money and save the planet