Re: 128 students suspended at Ind. school


Nan wrote:
On 30 Aug 2006 10:10:22 -0700, npardue@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:


Nan wrote:
On 30 Aug 2006 09:20:35 -0700, npardue@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Once again, I'm having a hard time envisioning a family that couldn't
afford a pen and notebook.

Well, just because you can't envision something doesn't mean it's not
reality for many families.

For most classes the only other suplies are
the textbooks, which are handed out at the start of the year. (In
Shaina's classes, the extra fee for art was mentioned in the course
catalog. The calculator was not. Her other classes (English, Japanese,
Biology) have, so far, required nothing else beyond pencils/pens and
paper and access to a computer. (Available at the public library for
families without home access.)

As long as they have a valid library card (at least in our city),
which can't be obtained unless the required ID is supplied to obtain a
card, and one must live in the township of the library.

In our city, any county resident can get a library card. (Out of
county-residents can too, but it costs money.) And, if you go to the
public schools you are, obviously, a county resident. The university
libraries are also available to anyone in the state, though the
computers (except for access to the library catalog) require a
university log-in.

Some
townships don't have libraries, so those residents are out of luck
unless they want to pay an annual fee for a card.

Oh, and transportation to the library.

But obviously the 'tardy' applies to the fact that the student has to
leave the classroom and go to his/her locker,and is counted tardy
because s/he 'arrives' in class when s/he is actually prepared to work.

If a student truly could not afford necessary supplies, the student or
his/her parent would discuss the situation with the teacher or
counselor, and a solution would be found.

Well, since you can't envision being so poor that buying a pen and
notebook (which aren't the only supplies needed, btw) may mean missing
a meal,

Ok... it's not like it should be any sort of surprise to this family
that, come mid-August, they're going to need school supplies. So, every
week they drop a dime in a box. One year later they have $5.20. Which
is more than enough to buy a pack of pens and some notebooks. (Again,
Staples and K-Mart routinely have notebooks for around 10 cents each
during school supply time.)

No, I DON'T believe that there are more than a vanishingly small
percentage of families in this country that can't afford to buy a
couple of pens and notebooks for their school-age children. (And a
similarly small subset of those families would be so proud that they'd
let the children flunk out of school rather than ask for assistance.
[See below.])

I'll assume you wouldn't understand that a child or parent
even admitting to not being able to afford such could be very
humiliating. Some kids would rather suffer the consequences than to
admit to being so poor.

And the parents too are willing to see their children flunk out of
school rather than admit that they can't afford to buy a pencil? Or
aren't the parents aware that their children are unable to do their
homework because they lack a writing implement? Aren't the parents
aware that the kids are bringing home blank test papers every week
because they lack the pencils necessary to fill in the page?

Naomi

Nan

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: 128 students suspended at Ind. school
    ... reality for many families. ... libraries are also available to anyone in the state, ... is more than enough to buy a pack of pens and some notebooks. ... Staples and K-Mart routinely have notebooks for around 10 cents each ...
    (misc.kids)
  • Re: 128 students suspended at Ind. school
    ... reality for many families. ... I've been in a lot of different libraries up ... is more than enough to buy a pack of pens and some notebooks. ... Staples and K-Mart routinely have notebooks for around 10 cents each ...
    (misc.kids)
  • Re: Smurf
    ... discovered that there are internet forums discussing stationery in minute ... "Arc's smurfs on its paper are smaller so the pages don't turn as nicely" ... "Disk-bound notebooks" are does not mean a ting to me. ... She gets that tingly feeling from handling new style pens and marking ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: Smurf
    ... discovered that there are internet forums discussing stationery in minute ... "Arc's smurfs on its paper are smaller so the pages don't turn as nicely" ... "Disk-bound notebooks" are does not mean a ting to me. ... She gets that tingly feeling from handling new style pens and marking ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: Wonderland
    ... branch library - a sort of flash mob of pen-pushers, ... will - to sit down and write, en masse, in notebooks, with ... pens. ...
    (uk.media.radio.archers)