Wal-Mart off the school-supply list

Deborah Bach ^ | 3/11/05 | Deborah Bach

[traderrob6]

More political extortion from the left: When it's time to pick up supplies for her third-grade classroom, Jennifer Strand would prefer to steer clear of Wal-Mart. [snip]

[mountaineer]

"One of my students has an 80-year-old grandmother who works there and has no benefits," she said.

Maybe Granny should look for a better job, then. This is the part that just kills me about the anti-Wal-Mart/raise the minimum wage crowd. If you can't make ends meet on what you're being paid, then freakin' look for a higher-paying job and stop complaining. What's that, they're not qualified for a better job? Who's fault is it that they didn't do better in school or take advantage of various free job-training programs?

[MudPuppy]

Let me tell you that the School Supply List given to kids now is outrageous.
We spend a couple HUNDRED dollars every September for my kids to be outfitted....and that's not even counting the new shoes, bookbag and clothes.

This is a basic list for 2nd graders:
1 medium sized supply box
3 marbled composition books
1 pair blunt-tipped Fiskars scissors
1 box of tissues
1 box Ziploc bags (boys)gallon sized or (girls)quart sized
5 pocket folders (1 each red, blue, green, yellow and purple; no names on folders)
1 pack no. 2 pencils (plain are best)
1 pack wide-ruled notebook paper
1 box of 24 crayons
1 pack of index cards (3x5)
3 glue sticks (not labeled)
1 box of baby wipes
2 picture folders (for privacy folders)
1 bottle Elmer's glue


6th Grade:
6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade Specific Courses
Two Trapper Keepers (different colors)
Two packets of 12 pencils (#2 pencils)
Package of blue or black pens
Four packets of loose leaf paper
Ruler (metric and standard)
1 four function calculator (no scientific calculators)
Four composition notebooks
Highlighter
Two Glue sticks
One bottle of glue
Fiskars scissors
Box of tissues
Fine point dry erase marker
Packet of divider tabs
4 two pocket folders without prongs


When the kids start taking upper math courses (8th thru 12 grade) they request a special calculator (TI-83/84) that costs about $100.
Public education is far from Free....

[WoodstockCat]

go to a public school parking lot and 10-1 you'll find at least 5 "Free Tibet" bumper stickers.
Home school...Home school..Home school...

[Pride in the USA]

Here we go again. Check post number 10 for the truth.

[Phantom Lord]

I like to ask the Free Tibet people when they are going to start fighting for Taiwans independence from China. They always give a blank look.

[Vor Lady]

School supplies aren't cheap! And don't get me started on taxes!!! I home school my kids, so the tax thing really rankles me. For my not insignificant investment I would expect the local high school kids, who are cashiers at various spots around town, to at least be able to make change!! Often times I have to tell them how much to give me back!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"Let me tell you that the School Supply List given to kids now is outrageous."

Not to horn in, MudPuppy, but if you have a Walgreen's near you, they're starting to run lots of coupons for dirt-cheap school supplies already. I'm always snatching up stuff on the cheap there for neices and nephews and school supply care packages to send to the kids in Iraq.

Just a thought for ya. And I agree...we, too, were expected to spend a lot on school supplies over the years, though I cut corners wherever I could. Wal-Mart helped greatly, as did Walgreen's.

Darn Capitalists! Makin' my life easier and more affordable. How dare they? /sarcasm ;)

[Vor Lady]

Preach it brother!!!

[sure_fine]

pingy

[ran15]

Sure spend as much as she wants to make a statement.. its not like its her money she's spending.

[elli1]

Not parent's money--it's fund money:

So Strand became a reluctant Wal-Mart shopper -- venturing in from time to time to pick up supplies and emergency items for disadvantaged students, such as coats and shoes. She'd get reimbursed through the Washington Education Association's Children's Fund, a decade-old charity that provides up to $100 per student each year.

Link to WEA Children's Fund Sponsors

Note that Staples is one of the sponsors of the fund. I wonder how their employee wages & benny's stack up w/ WalMart's.

[NTegraT]

"80-year-old grandmother who works there and has no benefits,"

Keep it up and not only will Granny not have any benefits, Granny won't have a job either.

[Abby4116]

Scissors? A little girl in Philadelphia was taken by the police for having the scissors in school that the teacher had listed on the school supply list. Zero tolerance was cited.

[jammer]

ect, ect, ect...

I have purchased crayons, pens, etc., but never have run across "ect, ect, ect". Is that ectoplasm? lol

[MudPuppy]

I shop and stock up when there are sales. Usually Wal-Mart has the best prices.
This past September, we doubled in kids- had 4 kids under roof and it put a hurting on my budget.

I watch the sales & keep a plastic tub of supplies to draw from through out the year. It's crazy.

[2nd amendment mama]

"One of my students has an 80-year-old grandmother who works there and has no benefits," she said. "There are so many other places we could be spending our money other than Wal-Mart. Granted, they have lower prices, but it's because they're predatory."

So, WalMart is supposed to pay benefits for an 80 year old part time worker??? I had a friend who worked part time in the school system up in CT - she had absolutely NO benefits for PT work. I guess using this stupid woman's standards, the school system was "predatory" too!

People like this are one of the reasons that I homeschooled my son! I didn't want him growing up with their values.

[clee1]

Amen.

Homeschool! If you love your children, DON'T turn them over to the goobermint teachers union for indoctrination!

[knuthom]

"One of my students has an 80-year-old grandmother who works there and has no benefits," she said.

At 80, the grandmother most likely has a part-time job. Most part-time jobs do not offer benefits.

[CitizenM]

The last paragraph of this story contains this: "One of my students has an 80-year-old grandmother who works there and has no benefits,"

What? An 80-year-old woman working full-time? I seriously doubt that. Full-time employees get benefits; not part-timers - we all know that is the way it is in the majority of businesses. She is probably a part-time employee; perhaps one of the "greeters" at the front doors.

If she is working full time, that does not speak well of her family who should, instead, be helping her so she does not have to work that much. Come on! If she is working because she just likes to "keep busy," and does not need the money it is time she stop. Let some woman who needs the job, like a young mother with children, or young father, have the opportunity. Someone should have checked out that statement.