Survey on teacher classroom spending

byhookorbycrook

Teacher survey as to why they spend their own money on class material.

http://www.seomraranga.com/2013/02/pers ... ssrooms-2/

"There was no money to refund me as I had already used our allowance on resources for a child with SEN."

" Needed extra display facility as displays would not stay up on the wall of the prefab due to condensation."

"If I didn’t, a child with dyslexia would have to go without."

"s I am a resource teacher, I have to buy additional resources on a regular basis as children have varying needs and with no resource grant from the government, the €50 I get from the principal to cover sundries is well spent by December!"

whiteandlight

I'm a second level teacher and I've easily spent 200e plus this year on resources teaching music in a school which has absolutely nothing-not even a keyboard. Hopefully if we get the grant that's been applied for things will improve

Miss Lockhart

Yes, I'm secondary also and I find there is an expectation that there will be posters made, projects done, motivational stickers used etc etc, but there is no funding provided to cover this.

As a science department we receive a department budget that barely covers basic equipment, let alone paper, markers, stickers, glue etc. We have no budget at all for subjects like CSPE and SPHE that require even more poster making and the like, not to mention TY modules like YSI or extra-curricular like Young Scientist.

I have easily spent €350 this year on everything from art supplies to organs for dissection to laminating to basic cleaning supplies for the lab. Not to mention the amount of ink and paper needed to supplement the paltry allowance we have in school. A new system requiring several quotes for even one-off low-cost items has meant recouping expenses is now impossible.

byhookorbycrook

Funny how the Indo hasn't jumped on this-not...

implausible

And you could add to that list - "couldn't be arsed going through the VEC's demented ordering procedure." When it comes to ordering, let's say, a dvd for LC English, I have two choices - go through the book scheme, which means ordering off an overpriced book supplier and waiting at the very least a week OR clicking a few buttons and getting it for a fiver off ebay. I regularly buy textbooks in Derry and would imagine that a nervous breakdown would ensue in the office if I tried to reclaim it.

spurious

I just spent 200 euro on toner for a colour laser printer I use at home for printing the kids' LCA tasks and key assignments.

There is never toner or ink in the school printers when we need it and forget about using colour in the school.

happywithlife

Ditto.
In the weeks leading up to midterm, I purchased colours (twistables) & coloured paper for poster making - my 2nd time this year as I buy the big packs and make them last.
I purchased ingredients for 3 demos
A DVD
And wanted to get the laminate stuff in lidl but couldn't.
Our school had a subject inspection recently and I shudder to think what the teachers in that dept paid out for poster stuff - it was seriously mad stuff.
A teacher has brought her own colour printer in to print off lcvp stuff - her printer, her colour ink etc etc
I asked at the beginning if I could print in colour and laminate flash cards etc -I was initially led to believe it'd be no problem - till I went about it and very quickly found out quite the opposite was through in fact.
I was in a vec school last year and can't believe the difference this year - funding seems to be extremely tight in this particular school - interestingly, it's also the most lax school I've ever taught in, with regards to being allowed to wear any ole jumper / coat etc over their uniform - just a symptom of how cold it is :-(
Free education my eye

rainbowtrout

The celery farmers of the country would be out of business if the science teachers of the country weren't buying bunches of the stuff regularly for transpiration experiments.

But on a more serious note, I buy stuff regularly in the supermarket such as celery, food dye, baking soda, vinegar, milk, potatoes, if I am doing those type of experiments. It's just quicker and handier but it adds to my grocery bill. I've bought quite a number of geraniums of the years too.

I've also bought plenty in the posters, markers, staplers departments over the years as well as doing printing at home because I had the resources to hand and couldn't guarantee I'd have access to what I need in school the following day.

Again this whole ordering through an extortionate, centralised system is a major pain as is getting three quotes for something so I often just buy things myself to save the hassle of going through the regular channels.

I'm sure others have found themselves in the position where they order a set of say 20 exam papers for a class and 18 have paid up when they arrive and you hound the final two students for weeks and still the money is not forthcoming and you end up paying for them yourself.

Have often been sending out something in the post, half been half way home when I spot it sticking out of my bundle of papers in the passenger seat so rather than wait to give it to the secretary the next day, buy my own stationery, envelopes, postage costs..... it all adds up.

doc_17

I was gonna say "what madness makes you buy toner for 200 euro" but then I remembered that I bought things for class as well at around the €5-10 mark. And now we know what we are and we're just negotiating price to quote the great Jon Stewart!

boogle

Ive just paid for 8 sets of exam papers for students in my classes. Forty euros. The money will not be forthcoming from these particular parents. Over the course of a year, I'd pay for a lot of stationery out of my own pocket: colour ink, toner, reams of paper (we get a pitiful "allowance" of paper at school for copying), exam papers, copies, pens, pencils etc for students who don't have them.

implausible

boogle wrote: »

Ive just paid for 8 sets of exam papers for students in my classes. Forty euros. The money will not be forthcoming from these particular parents. Over the course of a year, I'd pay for a lot of stationery out of my own pocket: colour ink, toner, reams of paper (we get a pitiful "allowance" of paper at school for copying), exam papers, copies, pens, pencils etc for students who don't have them.

I got caught with that one a few times too. Now, I simply get the money first, even if it's 20c at a time, buy the cheapest ones, factor in one or two students not paying and direct the usual non-paying suspects to the internet. I have been known to project the paper onto the board and make them work from that/copy it down. Obviously, it doesn't work for every subject.

I got pretty sick of the pens sh*t too. Now the rule is "buy one or borrow one". I always have a packet of cheap pens from Tesco or Lidl and sell them at 20c a piece. The students think I'm a miserable so and so, but they hand over the money most of the time and it saves 5 minutes of a 'discussion' about the bloody pens

Miss Lockhart

"It's a recession Miss" is the standard answer to why they don't have a copy or a pen in our place.

thefasteriwalk

implausible wrote: »

I got caught with that one a few times too. Now, I simply get the money first, even if it's 20c at a time, buy the cheapest ones, factor in one or two students not paying and direct the usual non-paying suspects to the internet. I have been known to project the paper onto the board and make them work from that/copy it down. Obviously, it doesn't work for every subject.

I got pretty sick of the pens sh*t too. Now the rule is "buy one or borrow one". I always have a packet of cheap pens from Tesco or Lidl and sell them at 20c a piece. The students think I'm a miserable so and so, but they hand over the money most of the time and it saves 5 minutes of a 'discussion' about the bloody pens

Great strategy, implausible. The whole 'pen thing' is a real struggle for me sometimes. As for exam papers / mock corrections / novels etc., if the students don't pay then we have to notify the office. The secretary or DP ring home and ask the parents to drop the money into the office. That hasn't failed to work for any of us yet.

whiteandlight

The 'pens' drives me mental. I buy pens with my weekly shop as I never have enough. Can't keep them on my table anymore because students will literally take them out of the holder.
I don't mind so much if a students pen runs out during class but its the 'I lost mine' 1ins after class that drives me nuts!

At Christmas I added a pen to the requirements for class, if a student forgets theirs they now get a note same as of they don't have their book

Miss Lockhart

We would not be allowed to charge money for equipment given out. All money collected must go through the office and be acknowledged with a receipt. That has included amounts as little as 50c for charity events. If it goes through the office then it must have been pre-approved and three quotes must have been sought before the purchase was made.