I am going to completely depart from my normal “size-based” commentaries today and discuss the events of last night. I went school supply shopping. I have a friend that is not in the best shape financially and her kids view me as a father figure and I view them as my kids. So each year, I drag myself to the store to get supplies.

As you may know, I am from Texas. And this weekend in Texas, we have a sales tax “holiday” so people can get these supplies saving themselves the 8-10% sales tax (depending on the county and city they shop in). It was very poorly timed this year as school starts tomorrow.

The first step in the process of school supply shopping is the list, or lists as the case may be. And therein lays my problem. There are three lists for me this year. A third grade, an eighth grade and a twelfth grade list.

Here are the lists:

Third Grade:

Two large boxes of facial tissue
One box of Crayola crayons – 24 count
Presharpened #2 pencils – 36 count
One package of 12″ x 18″ Manila Paper – 50 sheets
Two packages of 12″‘ x 18″ Sulphite Construction Paper = 50 sheets -
Two large glue sticks
One pair of sharp point scissors
One package of wide ruled notebook paper – 200 count
Solid colored pocket folders – one each in the following colors: red, blue, yellow, brown, white, orange, purple, and green – horizontal pockets with no brads.
Two spiral notebooks – wide ruled, 100 pages
Crayola Washable Markers – 8 pack – broad tipped
One 12 inch ruler English/Metric
Two black marble Composition books
One 12 count box of Color Map pencils
One package of Blue Ballpoint pens – 4 count
Four large erasers
One box of quart of gallon size Ziplock bags

Eighth Grade:

One 12” Ruler (metric/standard)
One 3 subject spiral notebook
One 8 tab divider w/pockets
One Grooming kit (toothbrush, toothpaste, comb)
One Hand held Pencil Sharpener w/Receptacle
One package 12×18 colored construction paper
One Package 12×18 Manila paper
One Package 8-tab dividers w/pockets
One Package colored lined index cards (3×5)
One Package highlighters
One Package of Graph Paper (1/4 inch)
One Package Red Ball point pens (no gel pens)
One package washable markers
One pair of scissors
One Ream of white copy paper
One-two inch 3 ring binder w/pockets
Two 1 inch binders
Two 1.5 inch binders
Two Flat Erasers
Two Large Boxes of Kleenex
Two Package Black or Blue ball point pens (no gel pens)
Two Packages 12 count colored map pencils
Two packages lined index cards (4×6)
Two Packages of Pencils (no mechanical)
Two spiral notebooks (75-100 pages)
Three 3- brad folders w/pockets
Three Glue sticks
Three Packages Notebook Paper (Wide-Ruled Only)
Three packages of wipes
Five Packages lined white index cards (3×5)
Seven black & white Composition Journals

So these are the two lists I have to work from. You will notice there is nothing listed for the high school senior here. That is because high school students get their supply lists the first or second day of class with their syllabus. The only thing we were told was that since classes can vary, the list will vary. WTF? So each teacher can’t go through and list online what the students need mid-summer so parents that are strapped for cash after the barrage of nonsense they require us to purchase for the younger grades can budget properly? That is absolutely ridiculous. The only thing we were told is that one class with need a TI-85 graphing calculator. A quick look at Walmart’s website doesn’t even list the TI-85. It does show a TI-83, which is over $100. I found it on Amazon.com for about 1/3 the price used and about the same price new.

And now the craziness of the younger children’s supplies. First off, folders. There are two things that really annoyed the hell out of me. Number one, color coding, and nutty color coding to boot. It is completely impossible in the 3 counties that surround my town to find a white folder. There is manila, but these do not have pockets. You would think that this would be probably the most common color, but, alas, no. The same holds true for brown. I purchased a folder that was white and another that was brown that had designs on them, and this will have to suffice. Next, they mention no brads. It took me 3 hours, literally, to find out what a “brad” was. Apparently, it is the metal file clip they put in folders to hold the paper in. To me it would seem beneficial to have them, but who am I? Just the person that buys the stuff, that’s all. Then there is the wipes and tissues and etc. Ok, we had the bird/swine flu stuff, it may be somewhat reasonable. But I hear some schools are requiring parents to send toilet paper with their kids. Again, WTF? Also these composition books. I went to 7 stores to find the 8 that I needed. And the list state black, I could only find 3 black, the rest are purple and green. But once again, what is wrong with a spiral? There were plenty of spirals and they were much cheaper.

And to further my rant, aren’t we in the 21st century? In the long run, wouldn’t it be more economical to have the students get a netbook or laptop, a Kindle and a Livescribe?

For those who are not familiar, The Livescribe is a smartpen. It features a ballpoint pen with an embedded computer and digital audio recorder. When used with special paper, it records what it writes for later uploading to a computer, and synchronizes those notes with any audio it has recorded. This allows a user to replay portions of a recording by tapping on the notes he or she was taking at the time the recording was made. It is also possible to select which portion of a recording to replay by clicking on the relevant portion of a page on-screen, once it has been synced to the Livescribe Desktop software. If your child used the LeapFrog software when growing up, this will be familiar to them. The founder of Livescribe invented the Leapfrog Pentop computer. If you want to check it out, you can click here.

If you do not know what a Kindle is, it is an electronic tablet that specifically allows for the downloading and reading of books. If you are a Star Trek fan, it you be similar to the tablets they used on The Next Generation series and later in which they could read entire books on an electronic “pad”. It is exclusive to Amazon and you can get more information here.

I understand that these 3 items alone can cost between $500 and $1000 per child, but think of this, if it’s implemented in the 3rd grade let’s say, these are items that can follow them through the end of high school. So the $500 I invest this year versus the $300 I pay per child every year is made up in 2 years time. Even if it’s $1000, I have saved by the time my child enters middle school. Then, there are no need for the schools to spend millions on text books, as the whole book can be downloaded to the Kindle for pennies on the dollar. There would be no need to 50 different types of paper, only the Livescribe paper and not much of that because the assignments can be uploaded to the laptop and emailed to the teacher for review. Plus, parents can see all the work. The only “file folder” the child would need would be on the laptop.

Arguments can be made that in 9 years that I am suggesting this span that technology can change dramatically. I can understand. But, I will say this. The kids right now have Dell Dimensions 2400 and 5300 desktop computers at home. They were manufactured in 1999. They run Windows XP and both have Office 2007. And aside from a few updates, they work fine for them. So, these computers are 11 years old and still get the job done. There is no reason why that can’t be the case for equipment bought today for a 3rd grader.

I would be totally on board with this, and then maybe people wouldn’t have to lose 90% of their sanity trying to find the correct brand, color and style of toilet paper the school needs because the school administrators can go back to budgeting for it and teachers can go back to worrying about educating instead of trying to hunt down the tools they need to do their jobs.