Teaching Is Expensive

So after almost a month of new teacher training, professional development, and now TWO whole weeks of students…I’m about to get my first paycheck tomorrow. Payday! So in honor of my first paycheck, I’d like to let you know how much of it I’ve already spent. I’d like to make sure everyone realizes how expensive being a teacher really is.

Sure everyone (hopefully) understands that teachers are underpaid and undervalued. But until this past August, I never knew just how much it cost to be a good teacher. In my one month of teaching I have spent $336.28 of my own money on things for school: pens, pencils, folders, binders, tissue boxes, an assortment scientific posters, etc. I already have the tax holiday for school supplies marked on my calendar for next year.

In many districts, teachers are expected to pay for their own classroom supplies. I can understand having teachers pay for things they will use year after year and may take with them. So despite the serious upfront cost, I’ve already stocked up on organizational crates, folders, etc.

But teachers also often have to pay for the consumables used in their classrooms. This means that teachers use their own money to buy the pencils, paper, glue, tape, and other school supplies that their students will use over the year. Just this past week, I made an early morning stop at Walmart for some M&Ms I was using for a lab on Radiometric Dating that day. So after an embarrassing incident involving a sleep deprived me knocking multiple bags of M&Ms onto the floor (where they exploded), I also picked up a few pencil boxes, some string, and masking tape. I payed my $32.27 and went off to school. The lab went great, but by the end of the day all the candy had disappeared. I love doing food related labs and demos (it’s a great motivator), but the cost is a bit difficult to stomach.

Some may ask “Why don’t teachers just make their schools pay for these supplies? Teachers should just not buy the stuff.”

Short Answer: Most schools don’t have the budget. Just over our first week, my Science department’s budget got cut three or four times. And when faced with the decision between stinky yet educational formaldehyde soaked cats for Biology or getting the new teacher some colored pencils…we obviously went with the cats.

Long Answer: Honestly, I’d feel guilty asking my school to reimburse me (although they probably would). I’d rather take the personal financial hit then take the money away from an already cash-strapped educational system. And the thing is, teachers want the best for their students. Their job is to create the best learning environment they can for students. So for countless dedicated teachers, this means spending an increasing amount of their personal money on school supplies or innovative resources for their children.

So if you want to make the day of a teacher in your life,  surprise them with some new expo markers, hand sanitizer, or even a box of kleenex. And if you really love them, buy them an electric pencil sharpener or fancy hole punch. Because those things are insanely expensive. Like $50 bucks. That’s just crazy.