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Dear Editor,Aer reading your column

last week about school sup-plies, I have been thinking onthe situation with entitlements.I believe that is something elseschools are teaching in an everso insidious way.

When you and your genera-tion needed money or a projector school, sports, band, etc...

YOU all sold a product. YOUhad to do the selling, take timeto visit grumpy neighbors,YOU brought the chocolatebars home or the Popcorn canor whatever.

Now kids click a mouse, senda message to amily/riends/un-known olks and thats it! Temoney will be at the school,the band or wherever, then thekids will take the trip. Tey hadNOHING/NADA to do butclick the mouse. Tat teachesentitlements big time!!

We, the buyers have to takeOUR time to research the prod-uct and place to order, thensend OUR money.

Tats why my wie and I

have stopped supporting thatsort o money raising project.

a] A donation directly to thechild to give where it should gomakes the child responsible totake part in the endeavor andthank the donor.

b] Te band and school,whoever is raising money getsthe whole amount. When youbuy through some online shop-ping, the recipient gets only apercentage o the unds spentand the thanks are lost in theshue.

Tank you or letting me ad-dress this issue. I know I am notthe only one thinking that way.

D Hfk,

Li

What s all thsstf ally ?D Ei,

With the school year rightaround the corner, Im sure thatall parents are doing the sameas others. My question is Doesanyone else wonder about someo the supplies that are on thelist? In Nixon one item onthe list or 6th grade is a 4GBashcard. Fortunately we havecomputers at home, but doeseveryone else? Do the teachersmaking these list think aboutthat?

Another item on the 5th

grade list are dry erase mark-ers. What or? Are we to supplyschool supplies or the teachers?

I dont think students have theirown personal board to write on.A ew years ago lockers were re-moved rom the hallways mak-ing our kids having to carryeverything in backpacks. Guesswhat, this year backpacks areprohibited. Lots o supplies totake to school, but in what?

My wie spent around $75 onsupplies alone! Binders, olders,

pencils, paper, markers, pens,tissue etc., but I guess home-work will make it home on aashdrive.

Oc CNix

achg chldt b spsblDear Editor,

Great column about theschool supplies. I thought andelt the very same way when mydaughter began Pre-K last year.Also, some teachers have toldme that many o these suppliesare not used and some are eventhrown away aer the school

year has ended. Im sorry, this isnot how we teach our childrenabout sharing. It is quite pos-sible that this lesson in shar-ing, while well-intentioned, isactually teaching some childrenat a very young age, that theydont have to take responsibil-ity or themselves, their things,etc., because someone else willalways pay or it. Conceivably,they could even make the iner-ence that it is okay or their ownparents to not take responsibili-ty or them and their education,that it is someones elses, somestrangers responsibility. Tat isquite a disgusting thought.

Also, I ound it interestingthat one o the excuses a teacher

gave hit on the equality issue.It seems to me that i that isthe reasoning o the school/school board, then they shouldgo ahead with implementingschool uniorms. We wouldntwant one child to have bet-ter clothing than another. Tatwould go even urther to insurethat all children were the sameand treated equally. Would itnot?

Youre right, you are probablygoing to catch some ak, butthings like this need to be putinto the public orum. You have

just put on paper what manyin this community have beenthinking or the past severalyears. Keep up the good work.

I CipG

Systm tachskds t b taksDear Editor,

Oh Nikki, What a wonder-ul eye opening piece or thosewith their heads buried in thesand. I was one o those parentsthat reused to stop putting mykids names on their stu. Wewent shopping, they pickedout what they wanted rom theSALE shelves, I used my cou-pons and I put their name ontheir things and inormed the

teachers that i someone elseneeded something they couldshare and to let me know whoit was. Why? I would take a boxo crayons to the parents o thatchild. But you know what, oursweet teachers wouldnt tell mebecause they knew I would doit. Tese parents are teachingtheir children to be takers justlike they are. Tey have plentyo money or a 6 pack o beer orpack o cigarettes or worse butcant buy their kids school needsbecause they expect someoneelse to take care o it.

Ji HG

Taks takgp th ssDear Editor,

HANK YOU HANKYOU HANK YOU or writ-ing this Nikki!!! I agree wtihyou 100%!!! I too, have to nowbuy supplies or 2 children andit gets costly. Last year, my soncame home with tape aroundhis older because it was all-ing apart. Why could they notreplace it? I did buy several orhim. And the glue and crayons...um this year I bought one glueand 2 boxes (not the requested3 and 4 respectivly). And thedry erase markers, what exactlydoes my 5 year old need themor? But I bought them anyway.

I too eel that I should notsupply the teachers personal

needs or the classroom. Tisyear, I will ask or another olderonce I see tape on them and oranother set o colors once I seethem worn and broken. And Idid not wait last minute to buythese supplies. I got right over tothe store when the GISD web-site published the list.

C PiG

L s ta gp pjctDear Editor,

And we dont need teachersto indoctrinate us on how toshare. Tats why we have par-ents. Its not selsh to want totake care o yoursel and youramily. Its something everyoneshould aspire to do. And teach-ing to share may only end upcausing those kids taught toshare to resent not only the re-cipients o the orced sharing,but especially those who orcedthem to share. And that resent-ment may later maniest itselwhen theyre adults, pullingthe lever or the entire slate oRepublican candidates. So, hey,teachers, go ahead and teachyour students to share. We needmore Republican voters.

Mic FcNbk

Hatlss ma,gat maDear editor,

You know Nikki, the more Iread your opinion, the more itupset me. You sound like somestuck-up, loud-mouthed broadwho has no compassion and istotally ignorant.

Just because our childrenshare school supplies IN NOWAY IMPLIES COMMUNISMIN OUR CLASSROOMS AGISD. How can the Cannon ac-tually pay you to write this trash?

Let me ask you something, whenyou go to a party and you bring

your beer, because we all knowyou drink, and the personshouse you take it to they put it inthe ridge or in a cooler with therest o the beer or everyone atthe party to enjoy - are all o youcommunists? Give me a break!You sound like an ignorant, (un-learned) loudmouth that some-one, or some unknown reason,allows to write in a communitypaper. Shame on you or put-ting these thoughts in childrensheads.

And how dare you say aboutpeople who are not as ortunateas you and your amily that,

Te important thing is that thepeople who sit at home are niceand cool while they watch V.And they can relax knowing thatyou paid or their childs schoolsupplies too. Are you reallythat thick or is there somethingwrong with you? Not everyonewho is on government assistanceactually wants to be on it. I knowthat blows your little mind.

Nikki, communism is morethan just SHARING. It is a so-ciopolitical movement that goesar beyond sharing. Im disap-pointed in the Cannon or let-ting your small mind print suchpropaganda that cuts so deep es-pecially with our troops ghtingand dying or our country.

L ScG

Ispsblty sa lad tatDear Editor,

I used to teach in the GISD.While I do share the rustrationon how some individuals eelabout buying school supplies orthe whole class I can tell you thatby the time they got to me at thehigh school it didnt matter.

Most o the students neverlearned to keep up with theirown supplies anyway and mosto the time never brought any atall. I was always having to sup-

ply them and I rarely got sup-port rom my colleagues. I had

to utilize my own cash (getting atax deduction in the end) to doso but the students knew I hadlimits. Once I reached the limitI began to charge them and theunds went directly into buyingmore supplies or the class.

R. JckG

Glad I tach a Cathlc schlDear Editor,

Wow, we heed the commandsto love thy neighbor; take se-

riously Jesus words whateveryou do or the least o my broth-ers you do or me and dontthink o Jesus as Communisticor his miracle o the multipli-cation o the loaves and shes.Lets be sure the rhetoric in townis not just racism and bigotrywrapped up in red, white andblue. I bought a bag o crayonsand glue and will leave at the pri-mary school. Ask in the ofce iyou need them.

D D SmG

Clm aldth pblmDear Editor,

Well we have some parentsthat are having their nails done,having drinking parties, gettingtattoos, spending their welaremoney that they receive once amonth on things that does nothelp their kids only themselves.Why because the parents knowthat the other parents will buythe supplies and their kids willbenet rom that.Why buy allthe supplies when you can getit ree,right? Well its wrongbut it happens, And No I amnot HEARLESS its the truth.WAKE UP PARENS its yourault or buying and sending allthose supplies.

Svi Lp CG

he Gonzales Cannonhursday, August 18, 2011 Page A5

Ti Wk pic: Iv Si Sc SppiA column last week by News Editor Nikki Maxwell generated such a large number of responses by both

mail and on-line comments, we decided to dedicate the In Your View page over to that topic this week.

In Your View

Lettersto

theeditor

Working for it, versushaving it just appear

As a child I bought no school sup-plies until Junior High: the magicyear that I could buy pencils, com-passes, rulers, notebooks, etc. Nobackpacks; we carried our booksproudly home in our arms. Seventhgrade was also the rst year o home-work. We thought ourselves quitegrown-up.

All crayons, paste, constructionpaper, etc, was provided. All that Ineeded was a lunch box or stack obrown paper bags. Im not quite surewhen that changed. I cant remem-ber buying too many school supplyitems or any o my children in gradeschool, unless it was poster board orother project necessities.

For my grandchildren, the storyhas changed. Finding the correctlist and the exact items especiallyolders with brads in a jam-packedWalMart aisle is a dreaded excursionor parents, while kids see the excite-ment o designed olders, the mostexpensive binders, and the latest inwriting instruments. School needsopposing a childs wants oen createamily arguing and rustration.

Yes, Id like what I buy to stay inthe possession o the child it was pur-

chased or. I plan ahead, buy extra,and tuck them away or use through-

out the year. Te prices in Augustare very reasonable and make thisrealistic.

As a teacher, there are some otherconsiderations. My students oenuse their dry erase markers with awhite board to conserve paper. Ithey all contribute one marker tothe bin, all students have a markerto work with when needed. No timeis wasted due to student orgetul-ness, nding an alternative or thatstudent, or questions rom admin-istrators as to why all students arentdoing the same thing. Tere is a tallysheet to ensure that all students havebrought a marker, or other supply, todonate.

A ream o paper, Im guessing, isto combat district budget cuts to thepaper supply. Students oen receiveworksheets, rather than copyingproblems on their own paper. Read-ing marks and notes cannot be madein a textbook, but can be made on apaper copy to help students ocus onthe details o the passage.

Little ones truly can go throughboxes o crayons, which are muchmore tted to tiny hands than arepencils.

Ziplocs can protect or keep paperstogether, providing an early organi-

zation tool. Ziplocs can be used oranything rom holding ash cards,

vocabulary cards, or Mardi bucks toa lost tooth. I guess Ziplocs all intothe same category as tissues, papertowels, and GermX.

Unortunately, we deal with thereality o school budgets. Over thelast 8-10 years, the exas school bud-get has been reduced to an extremelylow percentage o the state budget.I textbooks or library budgets areon the chopping block, do you re-ally think the legislators in Austin areconcerned with whether or not pub-lic schools in all districts have tissues?rust me, its easy to go through box-es and boxes o them, and very ew

young people carry a handkerchie!So, who buys these extra supplies?

Te teachers, or sanity and survival,buy them o course. Te same teach-ers who print worksheets or havestudents write on the clean side oalready printed paper. Tose teach-ers who pick up abandoned pencilso the hallway oors, those who helpa kid out with orgotten lunch moneyor by buying the oen not-neededundraiser items. We buy cleaner toscrub desks to kill germs, lamps to il-

luminate the room when using pro-jectors, and duct tape to make sae

the computer cords strung across theclassroom oor. Where else can youwork where you can buy your ownsupplies?

Ten there are the reward stickers,pencils, etc. that teachers purchaseto attach to super papers or to ac-knowledge a job well done. Birthdaybookmarks and AR lunch time withthe teacher are all out o a teacherspocket. No, we didnt have themgrowing up, but like it or not itsa dierent world. Ask any businessowner about motivation, or betteryet, ask any CEO i hed give up hisyearly bonus in trade or the eelingo a job well done.

And lets talk about the students

themselves. Te ones who neverbring supplies. Tose who assumethat someone else will rescue themand supply their needs. Studentswho break perectly good, new pen-cils because they eel like it or be-cause they are upset. Students whoare well-dressed and carry the latestmodel cell phone and have lunchbrought to them daily.

Students who, at locker clean-outtime, throw away dividers still inthe packages, notebooks with a ew

used pages, new binders, rulers, evenshoes and jackets. Unbelievable?

Yes, but ask any o the teachers whohave dug through a trash can lookingor textbooks or library books andpulled out all o the above!

Let them go without? We cantdo that. Reminders and lectures allon dea ears. A student knows classcant continue until he or she hassomething to write with, so one mustbe provided. Why should some-one elses mama buy your schoolsupplies? Ultimately, in the currentsystem, the teacher is responsible orthe learning, thereore also or thepencils.

Who is responsible or this senseo entitlement and waste that manystudents have? Parents have got to be

part o this equation.We were so proud to carry our

own books and pencil bags. Wewere proud to nally have home-work. School and learning was parto growing up. It meant we were onour way to a uture whatever uturewe could envision and were willingto work or. Maybe we are losingmore than the cost o extra crayonsand tissues.

Darwina Gaytan is a Gonzales ISDteacher.

A talkg abt cmmsm, svval ttlmt?By DARWINA GAYTAN

Guest Editorialist