Oct
A Pet Peeve
Now that my kids are old enough to be in elementary school, I am astonished by the constant bombardment of requests for money. Do not be confused. A public education is anything BUT free. And don’t think paying taxes took care of your responsibility to fund your child’s kindergarten education. My gripe is not so much about whether or not schools should have resources adequate to meet their needs. They should. My gripe is about the methods used to get those resources.
Please donate $25 to our classroom fund. Please support our school by selling cookie dough so we can buy $35,000 playground equipment. Please send $2 for our field trip. Please harass your neighbors to support our walk-a-thon. Please join PTA for $5. Please shop at the book fair conveniently held during Parent-Teacher Conferences. Please come to our school carnival and buy overpriced food and rides and gift baskets. Please donate to the silent auction at the carnival. Please donate to our Teacher Appreciate Baskets. Please buy our coupon books. Please send in recipes for our cookbook so you can then buy our cookbook. If you don’t, we won’t give your kid a 25-cent treat, and he’ll feel sad. The requests are truly endless. Imagine what this would cost me if I had more than two children.
Of course, all these requests are actually optional. You don’t have to pay. Obviously, you don’t get to eat nasty, overpriced pizza at the carnival either, but that seems fair, maybe even a blessing.
But there’s a catch to most of these requests. The school doesn’t actually hit up the parents. They hit up MY KIDS to hit me up. They manipulate my emotionally immature second-grader into thinking that if he doesn’t bring money (and fast), he’s failed as a good school citizen. It’s pitiful to watch your seven-year-old beg to give all of his allowance money to the school, so they can get a new playground.
Do you have a playground? Yes.
Do you like playing on it? Yes.
Is it all broken? No.
Is recess fun? Yes.
Why do you need a new one? Because the principal said we do.
It’s like he’s been brainwashed. My favorite part of this particular funding request is that the school decided this critical project was worth pulling all the children out of their academic classes for a cookie-selling, playground-earning, indoctrination assembly. Never mind that we cut back on recess so we can have more instruction time.
Similarly, the kids took time out of their busy instruction schedules to browse the book fair. After that experience, they were conveniently provided paper and pencils so they could write down their wish list of things I should buy them during Parent-Teacher Conferences. It’s not like my kids don’t already have a serious case of the whining I-want-itis.
I am deeply irked me when my children are socially manipulated to come home and manipulate me into coughing up more money all in the name of being a supportive parent. It’s not fun to watch your child cry because you won’t let him go door-to-door selling cookie dough on your block of 8 homes (6 of which house other elementary-aged children). I’m even more peeved when instruction time is taken for this purpose. If you want my money, talk to me. Leave my children out of it.
For now, I just refuse to give them any money and throw the unopened cookie sales packet into the trash when my kids aren’t looking.
22Oct
This drives me crazy, too! I remember dreading doing things like this when I was a shy kid. Luckily, our kids’ school doesn’t allow door-to-door sales. That makes me a happy mama.
22Oct
I could not agree more. If it’s any consolation, they do that here in Ohio, too.
22Oct
Speaking as a Kindergarten Teacher at a school that does some of these things, it upsets the teachers as well. I was livid when I found out not only are we expected to be at our school’s “Harvest”, not Halloween, “Harvest” fund raiser, we have to be the ones running the booths. Also, we the teachers are not allowed to say its a Halloween festival, yet we are ENCOURAGED to wear costumes. I am frustrated that we, the teachers, are expected to support and build up these gimmicks. (I am also bitter that it cuts into my personal time without being reimbursed-time, money, SOMETHING) Our school is also doing box tops-once a month they glamorize if you bring in so many box tops, you get to wear jeans. Now all the kids whose parents buys store brand things are left out of this “special treat”.
22Oct
I am bracing for that in the years ahead. I’m so glad the preschool only does 1 fundraiser a year (coupon book) and totally no pressure. You think by now they would know they need X dollars beyond the school budget for misc. stuff. I feel like such a fuddy duddy thinking, well, when I was a kid, we played tag or soccer, yk?
You’re right though, the most annoying part is going through the kids. Just think what they could do w/ volunteer hours that went to the kids and not to putting on fundraisers!
22Oct
Amen.
Thankfully, our schoo just says we’d really like 100$ per family (plus our classroom donation, which varies depending on their grade). They say what it’s paying for and I decide how much those things are worth to me and pay that amount.
22Oct
I loved loved loved this post Autumn!! This is exactly how I feel as well. I’m so tempted to go back to Kids Village because at least I know what my monthly payment is going for–QUALITY education. And the fundraisers they do are always for people in need, so my kid is at least learning to be self-less.
22Oct
I see why you are frustrated. Since I am not involved with the public school (aside from paying my taxes to a system we don’t and probably never will use as we homeschool), I only see this from a viewer’s perspective but I see many a mother at church or other places who are frustrated with selling things, asking their friends over and over to buy overpriced items for what is really little reward for them or their kids. Not to mention, there are a few I’ve encountered who also frustrate me by not even gracing my purchase with a “thank you,” I can assure you I won’t be buying next time.
But I think you have the right attitude about it all. There’s only so much you can do!
22Oct
Amen Sister,
What you probably don’t know, is how much of this money is actually reaching the school (very little). Most of your money for magazine subscriptions, gift wrapping and other stuff goes to the marketing companies. The schools allow them in because A. They need the money, and B. It does not require much work on the part of the administration.
I only support fund raising efforts in which the school (or whatever organization) receives 100% of the profits.
Thanks for posting this!