Another in my occasional series. This one's prompted by my trip to Staples with K1 to buy school supplies. Follow me below the dingledoodle squigglie dKosagnocchi dividerthingie fold after a word from our sponsor...
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K2 just started 4th grade, and his supply list was both easy, and sent to us weeks before school started. It was a standard set: folders in specific colors, dry erase markers, colored pencils, regular pencils with an extra eraser pack, glue sticks, etc. Because this is Now and not Back Then, add in two boxes of tissues, hand sanitizer and paper towels to the classroom needs. All the regular supplies fit in his backpack, and the general classroom things in a plastic bag.
K1, on the other hand, had to attend each class to find out what each teacher would require specifically. This meant it took two days to get a complete list, because not all classes meet each day. What a list it was... each teacher required a binder, for starters. Not just any binder, but in specific sizes ranging from 1" to 3" thick (I am looking at YOU, History teacher, for that 3" monstrosity). Plus paper, dividers, composition books (regular and graph paper), and spiral notebooks. Last but not least was the graphing calculator, which we purchased from Amazon for "only" ~$100.
What the assembled supplies looked like
That's 9.5 inches of binder, which was supposed to be 10" but we couldn't find a 2" binder in the color coding K1 uses for subjects. However, when measured end to end, it's actually well over a foot of space. She is expected to have each binder with her in class, and in general (but not always; her history teacher lets them leave the monstrosity in the classroom) it needs to come home for homework. There are periodic "binder checks" to ensure kids are keeping all handouts, notes, etc in said binder.
What it looked like crammed into her backpack
I want you to imagine how heavy that bag's going to be when textbooks start coming home, even though thankfully some teachers have enough extra to permit the kids to leave one at home, while others won't let them out of class so they are never taken home. Next, imagine what it's going to feel like in February, when the binders are filling up with handouts, papers, etc. Carrying it from class to class...
What's that, you're asking why K1 and her peers don't leave it in their lockers and carry just what's needed to class? Funny you should ask. Their lockers are in assigned spots, and after a rough few years with bomb threat hoaxes and vandalism are no longer allowed to be moved at will to a more convenient location. The assistant principal stated that "social reasons" are not allowed as a reason to move, and implied that K1's "my locker is in a hallway I never go to for any class all year" is not a reason, either. They have three minutes between classes, and get in trouble if they are late (hold that thought, I'll come back to it). Lastly, their lockers are approximately 8" wide, 14" deep, and about 4' high. They can't fit coats in it, much less a foot of binders plus books. Most kids manage to get to their lockers once during the day, maybe twice if lucky. K1 goes during lunch... which means her extensive 21' lunch period shrinks to 15', if she doesn't want to stand in line to get, you know... food.
Is all this lugging around of backpacks making you thirsty? It should, given the A/C in the building was damaged during summer work in the school and won't be fixed until... wait for it... October. The classrooms were over 85°F last week, with most not even having a fan. Remember that "get in trouble if found in the hallways without a pass after the bell rings"? Kids were told that if they were found in the hallways because of a line to fill water bottles, they'd be penalized. Teachers are allowed to send ONE student at a time out of the room on a pass, so in one of K1's toasty classes, a strong student took not one but TEN water bottles to fill.
I want to know why temporary water coolers or other means of hydration aren't provided so that the kids aren't dehydrated. Why repairs will take over a month. Why the kids are expected to shoulder heavy backpacks crammed with large binders (instead of smaller ones appropriate to sections or trimesters, perhaps?) with no proper space to store items or outerwear in lockers.
The standard meme is that my generation had to walk uphill both ways barefoot in the snow to get to and from school. I suspect the current students would roll their eyes and call us slackers.
Now for tonight's comments, formatted by the top of the TC class, BeninSC. I cannot stress strongly enough how doing these diaries as a collaborative effort makes them fun, less stressful, and just... well, more communityer.
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down.
From kj in missouri:
This fine comment by tmservo433 is out of recommendability, but it focuses on one of our most vicious adversaries, Kris Kobach. In David Nir's fine FP diary on problems for Kansas Republicans!
From Yasuragi:
kovie asks a brilliant question in this comment! In Yasuragi's diary on tumultuous polling places in NYC!
From Avilyn:
This comment by Cali Scribe is in a ... questionable diary, but it makes such an important statement about the importance of not blaming the victim, it is being included in Top Comments tonight!
From Land of Enchantment:
Every so often it doesn't matter if it's autocorrect or wit, though we like to root for the latter. (As in this very clever comment by Empty Vessel!)
From cskendrick:
James Wells opines on The Canaries in the Coal Mine in Laurence Lewis’s Audubon Society: Nearly half of North American bird species 'severely threatened' by global warming.
And peregrine kate gets her activism on in the same diary.
Elsewhere, Ohiodem1 Reminds us that the Kochs are busy packing local government, too, and they might be eyeing school boards next.
Last but not least, some n00b named brillig congratulates the newest Class of 2014 Front Pagers.
From Yours Truly, brillig:
In kos' Introductions of the new FrontPagers (including Top Comments' own Steveningen), Pluto had this beautiful comment describing all three new FPers. To a T, I might add.
navajo explains the push for meetup groups everywhere in today's diary San Francisco Bay Area Readers of Daily Kos Visit Feinstein's Office to Lobby For Net Neutrality.
Top Mojo for yesterday, September 8th, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you
mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary
FAQing Top Mojo.
1) Excellent post. by TomP — 192
2) I'm so old I actually remember a time when by cany — 146
3) Pizer was probably a suspect by ypochris — 119
4) The real question is whether Todd will be worse by TomP — 96
5) What is even more unbelievable... by reflectionsv37 — 95
6) Conservatism... by The Termite — 93
7) Hahahahahaha Wonkette satire by divineorder — 91
8) Tom, I think Todd will be worse and since by TeamSarah4Choice — 84
9) I agree. I had not seen it this way by sfinx — 84
10) it is their piece of the black body by chaunceydevega — 83
11) A few years ago in long beach a man was by JesseCW — 82
12) that is also part of the history of white by chaunceydevega — 81
13) Yeah I was just thinking by Skaje — 78
14) The actual evidence is all out there. Raise the by merrywidow — 77
15) And she wasn't fleeing a raving maniac by deben — 76
16) Murder by 911 by Shockwave — 72
17) The police crimes also terrorize. by TomP — 71
18) All look lovely on my iPad by Empty Vessel — 67
19) We prosecuted Japanese officers in WW2... by markthshark — 66
20) Chuck Todd is an ignoramus by keepemhonest — 64
21) Yes, so sad by divineorder — 64
22) I got shit for blaming Ritchie for calling 911 by AoT — 63
23) Even if time was of the essence... by markthshark — 63
24) Destruction of evidence... by kharma — 63
25) Who said he was talking with a loud voice? by deben — 61
26) Surely Chuck Todd's credibility is far more by AnacharsisClootz — 60
27) Important Diary, Yasuragi. by poco — 57
28) Todd is leading by example. The audience isn't by Lily O Lady — 57
29) Every word you wrote was spot on. by JoanMar — 57
30) Doubt it by david mizner — 56
Top Pictures for yesterday, September 8th. Click any image to be taken to the full comment. Thank you
jotter for the image magic!