{"id":1321,"date":"2018-08-15T18:46:12","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T18:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/?p=1321"},"modified":"2018-08-15T18:46:12","modified_gmt":"2018-08-15T18:46:12","slug":"school-supplies-a-teachers-last-wish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/2018\/08\/15\/school-supplies-a-teachers-last-wish\/","title":{"rendered":"School Supplies: A Teacher’s Last Wish"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t have a pencil.\u201d The over-sized middle school boy explained his plight to me, while staring into space and not doing his assigned work. \u201cMy mom\u2019s dead,\u201d he said matter-of-factly, offering this as the reason why he was without a pencil. I swallowed the lump in my throat, refusing to let the adolescent see my look of unchecked sympathy, because no teenager wants to be the object of anyone\u2019s pity. I grabbed a pencil off of the teacher\u2019s desk and handed it to him with an encouraging smile.<\/p>\n

The other students in the class were quite vocal about the fact it had been a couple of years since the juvenile had lost his mother, and that he always offered up this excuse when it came time to do work. But two decades ago, I was a substitute teacher without knowledge of the teen\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Yet as a former single mom, I did understand that school supplies can be a precious commodity for disadvantaged children. Specifically, as back-to-school season looms on the horizon, there is often enormous stress for a family with financial struggles. There are back-to-school clothes and shoes, pictures, school fees, electronics, and of course, back-to-school supplies.<\/p>\n

Last year, USA Today ran CNBC\u2019s David Gernon\u2019s article, \u201cThe surprising expenses of back-to-school shopping\u201d<\/a> on August 15, 2017. \u201cParents of elementary school students can expect to pay an average $662, up 1% from last year,\u201d Gernon reported \u201cMiddle-school students’ parents will fork over $1,001, a 4.6% increase.\u201d High school students\u2019 back-to-school expense will be even higher with clothes and shoes being their priority items.\"\"<\/p>\n

On July 12, 2018, Good Housekeeping posted Carol Picard\u2019s, \u201cThe Ultimate Back-to-School Shopping Lists From Kindergarten to College.\u201d<\/a> The Good Housekeeping associate editor compiled recommended lists for different age groups complete with Amazon prices for the products. For example, Picard suggests a kindergartner might need: a pencil box ($5), crayons ($5), colored pencils ($3), washable markers ($6), No. 2 pencils ($6), pencil sharpener ($5), erasers ($6), glue sticks ($5), blunt-tipped scissors ($3), plastic folders ($15 for six), assorted construction paper ($9), wide-ruled notebook or pad ($4), tissues ($4), backpack ($20 and up), and [possibly] a lunchbox ($17). Hopefully, most kindergarteners won\u2019t require a list this extensive, but there are still quite a few supplies a child needs to begin the school year. And these items cost money, money an economically disadvantaged family doesn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n

Many caring teachers donate their own hard-earned cash to buy supplies, but they can\u2019t possibly fill the vast demand. That\u2019s why, local and national organizations, churches, companies, and individuals step up to the plate by donating back-to-school items to guarantee students will have what they require to start their year off right. When I see the advertisements for back-to-school products, I am grateful for these generous human beings who contribute their financial resources to equip the community\u2019s less fortunate children.<\/p>\n

\"\"So, recently when I read the Internet headline, \u201cTeacher\u2019s Unusual Final Request for Her Funeral Goes Viral,\u201d<\/a> I had to take a look at the inspirational story of Tammy Waddell. The late Mrs. Waddell was a dedicated teacher who lost her battle to colon cancer on June 9, 2018. According to the Faithit article, \u201cTwo weeks before her death, in lieu of flowers, the 58-year-old asked that funeral attendees bring backpacks of supplies for children in need.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Tammy\u2019s cousin Dr. Brad Johnson\u00a0@DrBradJohnson<\/b><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>posted a photo of the backpacks filled with supplies lining the chapel where the late teacher\u2019s Celebration of Life was held, thousands of folks reacted to the emotional twitter picture. Johnson\u2019s touching tweet about his late cousin read, \u201c\u2026A teacher to the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

The obituary of the Georgia educator describes her, \u201cTammy served the children and community of Forsyth County for thirty years as a paraprofessional and elementary teacher in Forsyth County Schools. She had a passion for literacy and believed that every child deserved an opportunity to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But children can\u2019t learn if they don\u2019t have the necessary supplies to do classwork. In honor of Mrs. Waddell and of the countless compassionate teachers in our local school systems, may we band together once again to ensure no child is without a pencil like the teen I met as a substitute teacher. Instead let\u2019s make sure every student has the tools they need to have a productive and successful school year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Christina Ryan Claypool is an Amy\/Ohio AP award-winning freelance journalist and\"\" inspirational speaker. Her novel, Secrets of the Pastor’s Wife<\/em>\u00a0will be available in Fall 2018. Contact her through her website at <\/em>www.christinaryanclaypool.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t have a pencil.\u201d The over-sized middle school boy explained his plight to me, while staring into space and not doing his assigned work. \u201cMy mom\u2019s dead,\u201d he said matter-of-factly, offering this as the reason why … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[967,970,968,971,969,965,972,152,966,787],"class_list":["post-1321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-back-to-school","tag-backpack","tag-dr-brad-johnson","tag-educators","tag-faithit","tag-school-supplies","tag-school-year","tag-shopping","tag-tammy-waddell","tag-teachers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1321"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1325,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1321\/revisions\/1325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}