To be really pissed off about constantly having to replace stuff?

[Opalsandemeralds]

Black pens. Purple pens. Whiteboard markers. Rulers. Glue. Pencils. I am a teacher.

I’m fucking sick of it (grouchy rant) and while I’m no Boris fan, it’s been like this since I started teaching so it isn’t a political rant, it’s kids being dickheads rant. For some reason it’s really got to me today.

@Opalsandemeralds

To be fair I think the pen battle is a long, long war, dating back many decades.

I don't ever remember borrowing a pen from a teacher. If anyone forgot we kept it quiet from the teacher and borrowed from each other.

@R0tational how???
I started in September with a packet of black pens and am now down to the final 3! I can’t afford to provide pens for kids in my class but it is expected and the parents don’t bloody bother 🙄

This is a constant issue at DC secondary - pisses our kids off as well.

The pen situation at secondary ridiculous as though covid they weren't leaving the class room or moving and still pens were lost/broken between lessons.

Our kids have learnt not to lend them out as they don't get them back.

Anyway their school gone down dermerit route - teacher still have to give out pens but they get a black mark and enough of them dentention. That's policy from the top now - took many years and reminders to parents about equipment requirments for them to get there though.

My daughter's school have gone to a detention if you're not prepared for lessons. No idea what happens to kids with parents that won't supply the stuff they need.

I’ve definitely been fighting the pen battle for the twenty years or so I’ve been teaching.

@LolaSmiles

10 pens get given to students. Teacher knows who they've given pens to. 6 come back so teacher knows it isn't them. The 4 remaining pens are the people who are left on the list.

Either the teacher hasn't put a class system in place, or the behaviour in the school is so bad that students feel empowered to behave how they like and this affects a class teacher's capacity to manage their room. In that situation I'd be reflecting on whether SLT are promoting the right culture within the school and whether the behavior policies are working.

10 pens get given to students. Teacher knows who they've given pens to. 6 come back so teacher knows it isn't them. The 4 remaining pens are the people who are left on the list.

The thing is, I have lived through this - and I did put a system in place. The four remaining names on the list swear they returned the pen, that Johnny took it, that they left it on the desk. You say, no that's not how it works, you should give it back to me and wait until I tick it off, it's your responsibility - sanction issued. Parent objects. All. That. Time. Wasted.

I take your point about behaviour and culture in school though.

Phiney
Yes it's for real. I make these sorts of decisions based on what makes my life easier. Creating a situation where half of most lessons is spent arguing over pens is going to have consequences down the line for me.

This is exactly what I did. I decided that the loss of a percentage of equipment that I had paid for myself was worth teacher sanity - at least we could get on and they had no excuse - or not as many excuses. It was irritating but I tried not to think about it - unfortunately this has reminded me of those days to all current equipment sufferers.

That’s exactly what happens to me @iwantmyownicecreamvan

If you don’t laugh - you will cry ! My Deputy introduced a label with L.O and S.C to be printed on . One per child for the 4 subjects taught each day . 32 x 4 = 128! A 128 stickers to be stuck each day per class x 12 classes !!!! That is 1536 stickers a day ! Imagine the cost and the time it took us KS1 staff ( children weren’t allowed to stick their own in as Way to messy !)

Well let’s just say at least these stickers don’t require gluing in ! So that’s a relief ! I tend to budget £20 a term on glue sticks . So £120 a year . Plus whiteboard pens ! I spend about £10 a term so £60 a year.

I buy all resources for any baking plus all my own science week supplies . Often I end up buying paint for art !

I imagine our budget goes on the sticky labels and posh chocolates for the big wigs ( not us mere teachers !)

Yeah we have cards we are supposed to sign for conduct. 28 signatures every lesson. FML!

@drspouse

YANBU. My mum was a secondary maths teacher. She sold them - at the time a pack of 20 was about 50p but she sold them for 10p. Funny how much better organised everyone was in her lesson.

Thats a disciplinary offence

Glue sticks and whiteboard pens are part of our equipment list, so students are supposed to bring their own, just like they bring their own pens and calculators. Would that sort of policy work in your school?

You say, no that's not how it works, you should give it back to me and wait until I tick it off, it's your responsibility - sanction issued. Parent objects. All. That. Time. Wasted.

I take your point about behaviour and culture in school though.

I'm a bit of an arshole about pens unless I know i can run it preferred system. Very much a 'but i gave it to YOU so it is YOUR responsibility' and then I annoy Heads of Department/Year/SLT if I wasn't backed. Irritating for me, short term increase in workload but worth it for the rest of the year for the benefit of students knowing I'll go there over a pen. I always viewed it not as time wasted but as an investment that my 3 weeks before February half term (and I'm drowning in mock marking so don't want another bloody pen battle) self would thank me for.
I'm know my HoD didn't thank me for it, but then I'd remind them to consider how often they ever had to deal with issues in my classes.

It does rely on having vaguely competent HoD/HoY/SLT to do.

I'm lazy and cannot be bothered going out buying endless school resources so it's a hill I die on, other people would rather buy the pens because that's easier for them.

100% agree with you OP. Kids are idiots. They have no respect. I especially love it when I am handed back a pen in bits. Yeah thanks for destroying my stuff. Why even bother handing it back? 🤷‍♀️

I used to teach GCSE maths resits. Every time we had to use a compass, there was blood.

OP all I can say is, I feel your pain.

A lot of these suggestions are completely unworkable. Ignore the practicality that no teacher has the time to track every pen/pencil white board marker lent out. After a brand new box of pens disappeared in a fortnight and a new pack of wb markers with my name stickered on them went missing within a few days.
I said no more, make them borrow from a friend instead, they are much better at looking after their own things. Or if worst comes to worse, they have to acquire a pencil or pen from 'the box.' A box of old, chewed broken pencils and pens that have accumulated over time.
Every kid has something to write with and I am not spending anymore of my own money for their carelessness.

@LolaSmiles

YANBU

I remember once a student said something like "it's only a 10p pen, chill out" and I thought that summed it up. They genuinely couldn't see why them breaking pens or not looking after resources might be a problem. They seemed to have no regard for other people's property or having a duty ro look after equipment for other students to use.

Then it dawned on me. Some adults in life have no concept of responsibility or looking after things unless it's their money. It's hardly surprising that some students also have those views too.

We created a poster which showed what the pen or ruler is equivalent in price too. So glue stick costs the same has a chocolate bar or whatever. Which is something more relatable in terms of price for the kids

OP you have my sympathy. I'm retired now but it was exactly the same for my colleagues and me.

If you didn't lend Johnny something to write with he had the whole period to disrupt others and make a complete nuisance of himself.

Detention - a lot of them didn't turn up.

Poor SLT, certainly. In my area a lot of the people promoted to SLT roles were pretty useless. The few good ones were overburdened.

I think the collection of grotty old pens and pencils for handing out works best.

What do you teach? What are the actual volumes of pens etc going missing / things needing to be replaced?

Just a ballpark.

Wondering if there is a way around it? Raising some funds from somewhere? As a parent I'd donate a few quid a term for equipment.

I know I am probably in lala land with this!

I don’t think it would be appropriate at all to raise money from parents. If the school did it wouldn’t go to individual member of staff for pens.

@Theladyinthepinkcoat

Well if it makes you feel any better I work with fuly grown adults and the exact same things happen. Nothing, I repeat nothing, can be left unsecured because otherwise it will wander off. Pens, stationery, post its, biscuits, milk, mugs, cups, cutlery and bowls. Our canteen had to resort to plastic disposable cutlery and a cutler amnesty.

Yes, this is why people in offices tippex their names on their staples and hide their pens! The worst are bosses who take your pen to sign something and never give it back. But we don't have to buy our own at least. Most places have a stationary cupboard.

Postdatedpandemic
I don't envy maths teachers and having to get compass sets out.

I like your box idea MatronicO6. If I ever find myself back in a school like the one with what felt like a million bigger issues than a pen, I might deploy that strategy. Of course I'm not planning on going back to that sort of environment if i can avoid it.

I sympathise and you won’t get anywhere with asking for more because your head of dept will just think you’ve got poor classroom management. Some of the strategies above will work if the school is generally good. However it’s literally impossible to keep a track though in some schools especially in deprived areas because most of them bring nothing in and spend most of the lesson dismantling what they’re given. In certain schools kids are so disaffected there’s no way they’d hand over their bag/ shoe/ coat for a pen to do work they don’t want to do in the first place. I don’t think there is any other profession where you’re expected to fund equipment in this way. Imagine nurses buying their own bandages

I know of a teacher that asks for one of the kid’s shoes in exchange if they borrow anything - they don’t forget to re-exchange at the end of the lesson that way!!….

In certain schools kids are so disaffected there’s no way they’d hand over their bag/ shoe/ coat for a pen to do work they don’t want to do in the first place good summarye

When I worked in a tough comp I used to lend out my pens in return for a shoe. I would have about 6 odd shoes behind my desk with certain classes.

Why aren’t the form teachers doing regular equipment checks and then contacting parents/punishing the pupils for not having the most basic of equipment?

I very rarely lend equipment out now and most pupils manage to have the essentials. I won’t lend out anything which I have paid for and you don’t have to do this, OP.