The ubiquitous, yet never to be seen.... PENCIL

I've always believe a kid doesn't have a pencil, you give you them one. It doesn't need to be an issue. Make it a non-issue.

Until this year..... I can go through 20 pencils a day without ever blinking. And keep in mind... I only have 12 kids in my room, one hour a day. The rest of the day, I am in co-teaching assignments. Those 12 kids can go through 20 pencils without blinking. Either the pencil sharpener grinds it to nothing, sometimes, through no fault of the student... or the kiddo just keeps grinding away until the pencil disintegrates into oblivion.... Or the kid loses said pencil between #3 and #4 on their homework... Or they break it into a gabillion pieces... Or... I have NO IDEA. I accuse them of eating them at times.

The worst part? We are being told by the powers that be we MUST give them pencils. Well, then. FINE. You better adjust your budget and plan for more pencils because once the word is out pencils are flowing freely, the problem is going to compound. At least now, some are forced to 'look' for their own pencil when teachers insist they are out.

At what point do schools insist on some responsibility on the part of students and parents?

I'm all for helping them be successful. I've loaned/given everything from pencils, to paper, to notebooks, to food, to clothing, etc... over the years. But there must be a limit to the generosity of, or rather the REQUIRED generosity, of schools.