Originally Posted by baglady (Post 12546458)

I see cases of cookies in my future!

Originally Posted by sfogate (Post 12546550)

Schools are strangely funded. Some schools get more than others so it stands to reason that each school wants more.

I ignored all the fund raisers that my kids had to deal with while in grade/middle school. The PTA or PTO moms are to be avoided at all cost. The only thing I gave was the annual class party fund. That was around $10 or so.

After the volunteers were told to park on the street, I stopped volunteering my time in the classroom. Of course by then my son (he's the youngest) requested that I disappear. :D

Don't let those teachers or PTA/O moms force you to believe that you have to donate your $$$$.

Originally Posted by Hartmann (Post 12546452)

Not saying that they are. In fact, I'm proud to say that I work for one of the poorest districts in the state when compared to districts of similar size.

I see firsthand the waste in overhead and administration that plagues Texas school districts. Being on the admin side I am privy to a lot of data regarding our district and others.

If I was a superintendent, I'd take computers out of every school except for the library and computer science labs in the high schools. Kids would be doing their math homework on paper with a pencil rather than on a calculator and a scantron. I'd print copies of books and give them to the students for them to keep, if they lose it, print them another one and charge 'em for it.

Those measures right there could save a lot of money per district.

As taxpayers we're not getting a return on our investment as far as education goes and the more money we throw in the pot, the less likely we are to try and get results.

Why take away technology? Because we're inundated with it at home and at work and I really believe it makes learning more difficult. Cursive writing is going the way of the Dodo and math skills are dropping as reliance on calculators and computer programs is increasing.

Originally Posted by ssullivan (Post 12546566)

You could be a super obnoxious cookie mom and carry them on board your flights and go up and down the aisle selling them. You know, pretend you're a US flight attendant. :p

Originally Posted by baglady (Post 12546667)

I haven't met a PTO mom yet so haven't been forced to believe anything ;) I've seen some in the "room" cutting out lamination and I knew for certain I'd never be doing that. I volunteered to read and to help open drinks and food in the lunchroom. Next week isn't PTO, so I think it may be a good thing. I seem to be a bit older than most of the moms :o

Originally Posted by baglady (Post 12546727)

I think I'll be more like the mom who has bought the cases and is passing out boxes on flights so I may be a bit more popular than obnoxious. :) FAs, GAs, and PClub agents may all love me.

Originally Posted by ssullivan (Post 12546724)

I wouldn't argue with much of that. But I think the claims of administrative waste, as a whole, are somewhat exaggerated.

As for over-reliance on technology, I do think that has happened. I think there's a place for it, but it certainly isn't in every class, all the time.

I never saw a Scantron sheet, except for a standardized test (don't get me started on that nonsense, especially the Texas one), until college. Our district was simply too poor to buy one, and that was probably a good thing. We also had lots of stuff that was printed in purple by a mimeograph machine all the way through high school because it was so much cheaper than buying copier toner. There were times when the toner was low, the budget wasn't there until the next month's appropriation from the state came in, and everything was done on the mimeograph because it was dirt cheap. That's an odor I'll never forget.

Originally Posted by ssullivan (Post 12546800)

I could see that.

I used to hate selling that crap with a passion when I was a kid. So much that I would never, ever do it. I flat out refused. After all, why should I annoy friends and neighbors selling them crap of substandard quality at three times the price of an item that they could buy any day of the week in a store, and that was of much higher quality? I'd rather go with a can asking for donations. After all, the $1-2 someone throws in the can is pretty much equal to what the school would get from selling that $10 box of cookies that taste like cardboard. And for the person making the donation, the donation is tax deductible. The cookies aren't.

Originally Posted by Flyer_70 (Post 12545817)

I hear ya! :D We (as kids ) had to go door to door selling GS cookies. It always amazes me when I see cookie lists pinned to the outside of my co-workers cube. I get that times have changed - but with parent supervision "external sales" can still work when actually done by the child.

I have another co-worker who put an actual sign on the back of his laptop advertising his kid's school fundraiser - in MEETINGS!!! :rolleyes:

Originally Posted by baglady (Post 12546829)

I was a teachers aide in 6th grade and one of the things we got to do was mimeograph the papers. I loved it! That was quite a smell. You and Hartmann both bring up good points. I grew up at a time (keep in mind, I'm old) when there wasn't a computer until I was in 7th grade and there were 3 computers for the entire school of 1000 students. We could sign up for 30 minute blocks per week (if our grades were high enough) to learn on that beauty! High school had a few more; but not many. I think old school learning is a good thing. I can't believe cursive writing is going away. My cursive is pretty awful, but still; people should learn it. And don't get me started on teaching for "the" test.

Originally Posted by ssullivan (Post 12546755)

Open food and drinks in the lunchroom? What's that all about?

Originally Posted by ssullivan (Post 12546964)

I'll never forget the time that a coworker and I were running accounting tests, and the ink ran out. In changing it, we managed to spill a completely full two gallon can of that stuff on the carpet. I'm sure that hallway in Hopkins Center still has that odor to this day, 15 years later.

Originally Posted by ssullivan (Post 12546964)

My mother retired in part because of "the" test. She had pretty much had it with that BS. Honestly, those tests are a joke for the kids who have learned what they are supposed to learn when taught a more complete, and traditional, curriculum.

Originally Posted by baglady (Post 12546976)

Parents send food and drinks that their kids are incapable of opening :rolleyes: like pudding cups, fruit cups, capri sun, etc. Some containers are tough (like the thermos containers) for the little hands. I went to have lunch with BL JR and she raised her hand; I asked her what I could help her with and she said she needed her thermos opened. I said I was sitting right there. She said she needed a teacher to open it. I told her I was her mother and trumped the teacher :rolleyes: