More Than Half Of Teachers Report Buying Hungry Students Food With Their Own Money

[Are_grits_groceries]

We often hear about U.S. teachers being paid poorly for all the work they do to educate children. But did you know that 63 percent of teachers report buying food for the classroom each month with their own money? That's just one statistic from a report put out by Share Our Strength, which surveyed teachers across the country about hunger in America's classrooms.

You can check out the full Teachers report and learn more surprising facts about hungry kids and the teachers trying to help them at the Share Our Strength site.
http://strength.org/media/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/23/more-than-half-of-teacher_n_368356.html

Teachers see the heartbreak all the time.

[wilt the stilt]

1. stop that immediately

O'Reilly says it is a demotivator.

[Are_grits_groceries]

2. How will NCLB

test breakfast?

[JackDragna]

4. Simple! A 100-question bubble sheet.

"Question 1: The sauce put on eggs Benedict is:

A) hollandaise
B) horseradish
C) hors d'hourves
D) none of the above"

You know. Stuff regular kids know!

[midnight]

3. It is the things that I read like this that make me wonder how those who are

having to do without can afford to support the banksters one more day. If we can't afford to feed the children of our country we can't afford to bomb other counties!

[noamnety]

5. I went though two loaves of bread yesterday in my classroom

(along with the corresponding peanut butter, jelly, napkins, and knives).

Bought two more loaves on the way home for today. I keep a small table with sandwich supplies in the room, anytime anyone is hungry they can make themselves a sandwich, no questions asked, no donations requested.

Some kids stop in after school to make a sandwich - yesterday I had a few stop in that aren't - and never have been - my students. Sometimes I know their names, sometimes not.

[fasttense]

8. God, you are a good person. I wish I had teachers like you when I was young.

But I guess I got the bad teachers so that weaker children didn't have to deal with them.

[Celebration]

10. I always gave gifts of cash for my kids' teachers at Christmas

It would never be much, but if every student gave their teacher a gift of cash at Christmas, instead of something tangible, it would help defray their out of pocket expenses...........on everything.

[RayOfHope]

17. I love you for this n/t

[noamnety]

18. misplaced love

I posted that, and on Friday got to school and realized I left the two loaves of bread on my kitchen counter. :(

It was kind of a sucky day, I had a rock thrown through my classroom window yesterday morning. Luckily nobody was in there, it would have beaned someone in the head pretty badly and covered them in glass shards.

[Sisaruus]

6. Kids's Backpack Program

I work for the regional food bank. We are supplying packs of food each Friday for more than 1,000 kids who would otherwise go hungry on weekends when they don't have access to school lunches. The really sad thing is we know it's just the tip of the iceberg. If we had the resources we could be serving thousands more.
http://feedingamerica.org/our-network/network-programs/backpack-program.aspx

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. We have that program in my district and it is wonderful

Thank you for what you are doing.

[Quantess]

7. Not surprising.

Yet teachers get shit on continually.

[Daphne08]

9. Unfortunately, this is true. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. This year I am spending more money on pencils and paper

Kids can't afford school supplies and classroom supply budgets are the first cut they make when our budget is cut.

[AwakeAtLast]

13. I send extra money with my daughter's lunch money

with instructions to her teacher to keep that aside for any student who doesn't have enough in their account. Students are horribly embarrassed by the cashier if they don't have any money - trays taken out of their hands, a sack lunch brought to them before lunch starts, it's horrible!

[tonysam]

14. That is something I NEVER did as a teacher

Some parents really were hard pressed, but of course there are other ways their kids can be fed. However, there are more than a few parents who take advantage of teachers.

Teachers should NEVER do this, no matter what. It's bad enough they have to buy supplies for their rooms or help out with field trips.

[RayOfHope]

16. Bullshit. Absolute bullshit. The parents may take advantage, but its not the kids fault

Have a kindergartner cry on Friday afternoons because they are going home for two days to a house with no food, and then try to tell me "NEVER" to buy them food.

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. What are the other ways the kids can be fed?

Do tell.

[noamnety]

23. Whether or not anyone's being "taken advantage of"

depends on your perspective.

If my intent was only to give poor students sandwiches but other students took some, I guess I could view it as the kids taking advantage of me and resent that. But that's not the atmosphere I want in my room. I specifically DON'T want a poverty test in my classroom because it's embarrassing for students to have to say they are going without meals. I'd much rather have some of the kids who can afford their own lunches dive in whenever they like because it provides cover for the poorer students.

I figure it costs me about 5 dollars a day or less for 1 or 2 loaves of bread, peanut butter and jelly. Lots of working people spend that amount on coffee or cafeteria/take out food every day for lunch - and they only feed themselves. I can provide lunches to 10-20 students a day for that including some who need it from day to day, and many who don't. I don't see a reason to be angry about that.

[RayOfHope]

15. Food, clothes, shoes, supplies--I've bought some of my students these things

at sometime or another in the 15 years I've been teaching. I also clip fingernails, brush and braid hair, and help them wash up a bit if need be (I teach kindergarten).

People that think teachers just teach are nuts.

[CRK7376]

20. Several of y'alls posts

have this combat veteran teary-eyed. Having spent 13 years in a high school classroom, I saw some of the hunger too, but not nearly as much as is out there now. My family and I were barely scrapping by on my teacher's salary as it was, plus getting pencils and paper for the classroom due to funding cuts etc...I can't imagine having PBJ available in the classroom for hungary kids. What a great person you are! I've got Soldiers on food stamps, my wife and daughter will just about weekely "pay it forward" at a fast food joint for those less able. Makes me think about what I will do to help kids when I return to a H.S. classroom after retiring from Uncle Sam. Y'all amaze me. Thank you.

[JPZenger]

21. k and r

[LWolf]

22. Yes, we do.

Maslow suggests that we shouldn't expect gains in test scores when basic needs for shelter, sustenance, safety, and emotional security aren't met.

But acknowledging that would distract from the war on teachers.