Tuesday, August 21, 2007

The Costs of Education

We're just about to head back into the school year here in Delaware. I know some other folks around the nation are already into their 2007/2008 school year. Two timely headlines caught my eyes yesterday. Here are two facts to bear in mind about the re-start of school.

The News Journal ran a story yesterday (Teachers spend out of pocket on kids) on the costs borne by teachers as they prepare for the first day of school.
Teachers nationally spend an average of $475 of their own money on classroom supplies and materials each year, according to a study prepared by Quality Education Data Inc. for the last school year.
Meanwhile, the Marketing to Moms Coalition has released a report (Back to School 2007 [WORD]) that found that parents are also slapping down some cash at this time of the year.
"School Age Moms" (mothers with children aged 7-12) will spend nearly $450.00 on average on Back to School 2007. School Age Moms with two children between 7 and 12 will spend nearly $600.00.
As a parent of school-age kids, and as the spouse of a teacher (and friend to other teachers and parents), I can attest to the truth of each of these reports.

2 comments:

Justin Kates said...

And the problem is that most of the time it's a huge waste of money. I can remember countless times that my mom got the "school supplies list" the week before school with stuff that was ridiculous...and sat in my book bag or on the shelf all year.

There must be some sort of generic school supplies list that all of the teachers print out every year. Same unnecessary junk each year.

College is starting up next week and I haven't bought any books yet. I'll wait until the first day to see what I really need. I've learned my lesson...

Evil Spock said...

I work with low-income families, and its especially hard for them to keep up with the supplies. Sadly, that aren't many funds to help them these days.

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