? about bringing supplies to class

[Reita13]

My students (some of them) have "trouble" getting to class with supplies. I teach high school, 9th and 10th graders mostly with a few juniors thrown in. Our students have lockers and are allowed to carry backpacks. I vary the activities often, sometimes we do verbal practice, sometimes written work, sometimes watching a video. I require the students to use pencil on tests/quizzes and that is a big problem every time. Some kids come to class with nothing. Their reason? Too much to carry. I can do disciplinary actions like detention every time a student doesn't bring supplies but I keep thinking "by the time they're in high school...." I require a spiral for vocabulary and notes and that gets "lost" or used for other classes often. Should I do the discipline? or let it slide???

[wig]

Well. you know how heavy pencils are these days! LOL! I had a friend who gave up on the pencil problem. She stood at the door and handed a pencil to each student as they walked in and collected them as they walked out.

Keep the notebooks in the classroom, since I suspect they are not reading their notes every night anyway. Give it to them a day or two before a test. On test day, collect them for a grade, OR give them an open notes test.


Obviously, this is not giving them responsibility for their own learning, but you may just have to pick and choose your battles on this one.

[lynn bambusch]

I went to a local golf course and bought a box of golf pencils, WITH erasures, for five dollars. If the pencils are found in the hallway, everyone knows they belong to me. Of course, this isn't teaching them responsibility but what punishment can you do that they would actually care about? I agree, keep the notebooks in your room as much as possible. Pick your battles and use your sense of humor. I know a teacher who makes the students leave a shoe on the desk if they have to borrow a pencil. Stinky shoes got to be quite a joke in that room!

[Clix]

Assign the detention and let the parents know why.

Mostly, this is cuz the parents have a LOT more options with discipline than teachers do! :laugh:

[seastarmath]

My partner velcroed spools on the desks and put a pencil in each one. She does a sweep of the room before dismissing the kids to make sure they don't walk out of the room with them.

If students are not bringing supplies in high school, I don't know if there is much hope. I don't think we in the lower grades really are helping the kids when we enable them to forget. They just learn bad habits. But you have to start them young. And with all the empahsis on passing tests, there just isn't the time to allow them to suffer consequences. Thus, they miss out on learning some skills that will serve them well in later life.

What would happen if the plumber showed up with no tools to do the job? That's coming, I'll bet.

[Brit]

hmm..what about a random rewards system? Pick one random period a week in which kids will get chocolate or some other popular crap if they have their stuff there?

I'm a softie, so I always lean towards the side of reward, not punishment. however, my alter ego, who spends weeks coming up with wicked ways of solving silly problems says:

For kids who have no pencil for a test, could you give them an ugly, chewed-up piece of crap that still writes, and if they object, say "remember next time"?

or, could you give boys who forget a ridiculous, oversized, bright pink fluffy pencil (i've seen versions of this in dollar stores)? Shame 'em into remembering with the "I forgot" pencil? I can't think of a girl equivalent...probably the chewed pencil...perferably with icky saliva and questionable green "stuff" still on it...

[Reita13]

LOL :laugh: I love your suggestions. Unfortunately, I've actually tried some of them and it just seems to encourage the forgetfulness. For example, I've been known to lend a pencil in exchange for something "of value," like a cell phone, car keys, wallets, purses, shoes, even cold cash. The kids don't like leaving their prized possessions in my care but they are the same ones who forget again. And I've been known to make students re-do papers completed in pen instead of pencil but that gives them a chance to correct answers :eek: and I've tried the "pretty pencils" for guys and short stubby no-eraser pencils. And I've assigned detention. I've contacted parents (but not often--we live in a poor district and students often have no phone). I was just wondering what other folks do about this (and if our district is one of few or one of many). Thanks for responding!

[Clix]

As far as correcting - have them staple the old (pencil) copy to the new copy (in pen)?

[Clix]

As far as correcting - have them staple the old (pencil) copy to the new copy (in pen)?

[Reita13]

true ... now why didn't I think of that??? :idontknow:

[Spectre]

I've been up, down, and all around on this one in my 25+ years.

Granted, it is most agravating when students don't even care enough to come to class with a pencil. I have had students show up to school without pencils on testing days at the end of the year when they KNOW #2 pencils are required to take the tests. It doesn't seem to bother or concern them.

There was a time (I should say times) in my days when I vowed to NOT give in, let them sink or self-destruct. :angry: Now?

I think Wig had it right; one has to decide which battles are worth waging.:confused2:

I've never liked the idea of after school detention. It seems to me that the only person I am really punishing in such an arrangements is myself. :eek: I am sentencing myself to time with some of my least engaged students. If that would actually help, I would endure it, but chances are very good that it would not.

I know that in my school days, we were far from perfect, had our own issues and could be a pain where no pill could reach, but I cannot say that I have ever witnessed the level of ambivalence and lack of work ethic that I see now.:idontknow:

[SS Rocks!]

Bringing a pencil is part of students' grade in my middle school class.

5% of their grade is designated for participation and preparation. If they come to class without a pencil I subtract points. If they come to class without their spiral notebook or if they have to get homework out of their locker, they lose points. They have the opportunity to buy back their points with our classroom dollars. The system works fairly well.

I'm not sure how I'd handle the situation if I were teaching high school. I'd be tempted to let them suffer without a pencil but I know that would be counterproductive.