Comments on: Stop Buying Crap’s Back to School Shopping List

By: NYKNICKSFAN

NYKNICKSFAN — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:17:32 +0000

nice. I won’t waste more than 2 bucks on school supplies for myself; I’m getting a folder and some filler paper. School supplies almost always break/tear/get stolen within the first week of school, anyway

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 20:12:56 +0000

That was most of my back-to-school college shopping. In highschool I just bought new filler paper for my binder, but in college I used notebooks.

My mom always had us go through the school list, but we normally had enough crayons, pencils, pens, scissors, whatnot. We’d get new pens when we ran out, whenever that was. And new crayons when we saved up our allowance for a bigger box (or used up enough).

I do like the back-to-school sales which have 10 notebooks for a dollar. Because that’s it–I just needed 10 notebooks for the whole college year! And normally I had pens. $1 back to school shopping.

By: secularoptimist

secularoptimist — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 16:09:57 +0000

if you really want to stop buying crap, then stop buying papermate pens.

By: kim

kim — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 01:13:44 +0000

The school supplies are the least of my worries. We are just starting fundraising season. I know for a fact in the next 90 days we will have
1) the first of two rounds of school pictures
2) sports pictures
3) boy scout popcorn
4) girl scout magazines and nuts
5) school wide wrapping paper sale
Add to that the expected bake sales where I am expected to both provide the goodies and then buy them back.
Parents have a huge target on our foreheads and it looks just like this..$$$.

By: Pam

Pam — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 00:15:41 +0000

Back to school supplies! AARGH!

The List includes – paper and pencils for “community use” (and they will ask for more mid-year). Kleenex. Clorox wipes for sanitizing desks – and nobody can explain why I must buy school janitorial supplies. $10 for “academic subscriptions”.

Of course, this list comes from the same organization that routinely asks for more money every year BECAUSE ITS NOT THEIR MONEY.

Okay, I feel better now that I’ve vented. :)

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 22:25:58 +0000

The whole ‘Back to school’ mantra is a consumeristic ritual drummed up by the media & advertising establishment every year to fill the retail void between July 4th and Halloween. Realistically, these are items that should be purchased when needed, not according to retailer timetable.

By: Mom of 2

Mom of 2 — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 03:32:15 +0000

Well, just a note on the back to school list…some of the supplies we’re buying are to supply the SCHOOL, not my kids. Every year, it seems like more and more things like Kleenex, hand sanitizer and copy paper appear on our list. Something’s broken here.

By: DayJobNuker

DayJobNuker — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 04:13:16 +0000

That wireless notebook…where is the on/off switch. I can’t find it.

I hate my job and I am going to NUKE it at
http://www.DayJobNuker.com

By: SkyeBlue

SkyeBlue — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 15:27:56 +0000

This might sound like a crazy question, but why do we even NEED to buy school supplies for our kids when the government spends somewhere around $3,000 to $5,000 on each student per year per classroom? Where the he– does all that money go? I can see for new books every few years, and the usual classroom stuff, but alot of the work my kids bring home is done on reproducable printed sheets, copied out of some master book.

Then on top of all that our kids bring home catalogs for outrageously priced fund raising projects! “To raise money for the schools”, “To buy new playground equipment!”.

Like I asked earlier: Where does all the money go?

I homeschooled for a few years and one year spent about $500.00 for 2 kids for books and supplies for the whole school year.

By: Jodi

Jodi — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 03:46:51 +0000

Long lists of back-to-school supplies are just as necessary as a 10 year old needing a cell phone.

The last time I checked classrooms were already stocked with tons of the school supplies that they make you buy from that list. How many Crayola markers does one need!

Sears made gift giving at Christmas popular, Hallmark forced us to buy tons of sh** for Valentine’s Day, beer companies tell you to celebrate St. Pat’s Day and Cinco de Mayo. Wal-mart makes back-to-school THE thing and schools/parents jump on the band wagon.

You don’t have to buy that crap on that long list. Will the teacher put a student in the corner if they show up to class with 2 pencils instead of a whole gross?

By: jane

jane — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 16:15:52 +0000

I’m with SkyeBlue…my kids start school with what’s on their school list and new tennis shoes. We recycle what was left over from last school year before we buy new, and they only get new clothes to replace something they’ve worn out or grown out of (unless Grama goes shopping, of course!).

By: Eric

Eric — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 16:06:45 +0000

Want shiny new stuff to replace the used stuff? Get a job! Otherwise you get necessities only.

By: marie

marie — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 15:57:00 +0000

My 2 cents comments.

School was out less than 2 months ago.

When school ended at the end of June,
students had pens,pencils,school bags,
clothes, etc that were still good.

What happened in those 2 months that
suddenly nothing is good anymore?

What kind of nonsense is that to spend $300.00 in
new clothes for a 5 years old kid to go back to school,
2 months later????

Where did “common sense” go in those 2 months?

Marie

By: SkyeBlue

SkyeBlue — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 13:37:31 +0000

Is there a “Marketing Hall of Fame”? If there is the person who thought of “Back to School” clothes must surely be in it. What a scam. My daughter called me a few days ago and told me she just spent $300.00 on school clothes for my 5 year old grandson! A little boy who already has tons of clothes! My 2 youngest kids are getting the school items listed on their supply list and a new pair of tennis shoes. Poor deprived kids.

By: Mom of 2

Mom of 2 — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 13:20:57 +0000

Oh, how I wish that were possible here. My second grader’s list of required supplies for our public school is a page long and has already cost us $84.50. We’re only half way through. Ditto for our fifth grader.

Your list of school supplies looks like what I got as a kid (plus maybe one really cool Trapper Keeper.)

What I want to ask is when did school supply purchases replace the money that would have been spent on a new school outfit? We really can’t afford this!

By: life.strikes

life.strikes — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 21:21:52 +0000

My Fujitsu S6210 broke after 3 years. I tried my best to fix it. Opened it into pieces and found the part thats gicing me trouble, but I thoght, its time for Thinkpad and used Tax free weekend and saved a bunch. But, it was useful at Enginering school.

By: Blogging Hard Decisions

Blogging Hard Decisions — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 21:06:06 +0000

I think you are absolutely right. In my opinion, laptops should be barred from classrooms. It gets really annoying to hear people tapping away on keyboards while the professor is lecturing.

The one exception might be statistics or anything having to do with specific software that you may not have access to in the labs for long hours.

By: O

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 21:04:41 +0000

My husband’s back to school shopping list consist of textbooks & art supplies. He doesn’t take notes, so no need for notebooks, and we keep getting free pens somehow, so no need to buy those =)

By: Zachary

Zachary — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 20:30:15 +0000

I feel the same way from a teacher’s perspective. I am a dyed-in-the-wool chalk and chalkboard guy. I absolutely don’t need a high-tech classroom to be effective, however much that view might annoy my colleagues.

By: Crowman

Crowman — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 19:58:58 +0000

Completely agree that a cadre of cool gadgets is not at all necessary (and probably is more distracting than helpful). I actually saw a commercial that tried to established a clear need for students to have a Chocolate phone for back to school preparation…unbelievable!