This is deeply concerning for a number of reasons.
But rather than list them here, you should check out 👉 Jillian Starr Teaching's post 👈
One of the numerous problems that Jillian raises is that teachers have to get extra supplies so that students don't share, and cleaning supplies on top of that.
You need Lysol or Clorox wipes fordays the whole goddamn year.
You need masks.
You need gallons upon gallons of hand sanitizer.
You need a class set or even individual student sets of materials like pencils so that no one shares.
Do you have enough pens this year?
Do you supply kids with looseleaf paper?
Do you need to purchase white board markers? Or chalk? (I feel so bad for you if you need chalk).
Do you have all the lesson plans you could possibly need for this school year?
What about folders?
Or sticky notes?
The list goes on. And on.
No teacher should have to pay out of pocket for all of these supplies. It's impossible.
So here's my thought... when people are going to get married, they solicit gifts with a wedding registry. Pregnant woman have a baby shower with a registry.
Why not start a classroom registry? And all of your friends and family can send you classroom supplies.
Here are 4 places you can make your own classroom registry (not sure why this idea doesn't exist yet - don't steal it).
You create a list of materials you need for your classroom and upload it to TeachersLists.com.
You can then advertise that list to everyone you know on the internet and they can purchase materials from wherever they prefer to shop.
The downside:
People either need your mailing address, or they need to physically bring you these resources. It's designed for parents that will be bringing materials into the classroom.
You can create a shopping list of items you want for your classroom (or for life in general), and then advertise that list to your friends, family, parents of your students, neighbors, random strangers on the internet, etc.
Everyone you know can help you purchase the materials you need for your classroom through Amazon.
EdTechToday has a blog post here (from 10 years ago!) on how to do this step-by-step.
The downside:
Your friends and family can only purchase materials through Amazon. What if they're out of Clorox Wipes?
Adopt a Classroom is similar to Donor's Choose. You create a classroom and list the materials you need.
You can advertise your classroom with your friends and family, who can donate funds to your classroom.
Then you can purchase materials through Adopt a Classroom's marketplace.
They have nearly 30 vendor partners in their marketplace for you to purchase from.
Unlike Donor's Choose, there's no time limit to fund your classroom.
The downside:
I'm not sure the vendors have cleaning supplies. It would be mainly classroom supplies that you could purchase.
You can set up a classroom with TpT Class Fund, ask everyone you know on the internet to donate, and then purchase materials through TpT with the money you raise.
There are no fees and your money never expires.
The downside:
You can only purchase TpT materials. No cleaning supplies or pencils.
Donor's Choose is an honorary mention. I don't think it's suitable for the situation where you're soliciting classroom supplies from your friends and family to help you out during the pandemic, but it's wonderful in other scenarios.
How it works:
You create a list of items you need, usually for a specific project (like you want all your students to have headphones and more audiobooks in your classroom) and you get those items when the project is fully funded.
The downside:
There's a time limit, and you don't get any supplies you requested if the project doesn't get fully funded within the time period.
I sincerely hope that something happens and teachers don't have to go back to school in person in the fall unless it's truly a safe environment.
I hope this blog post is silly and obsolete within a few week's time.
But in case it's not, at least teachers can crowd fund the supplies they need to stay safe and well stocked in their classrooms.
One last tip - please please please vote in November ✌️
Share any ideas you have for crowd funding your classroom in the comments below!
One of the numerous problems that Jillian raises is that teachers have to get extra supplies so that students don't share, and cleaning supplies on top of that.
You need Lysol or Clorox wipes for
You need masks.
You need gallons upon gallons of hand sanitizer.
You need a class set or even individual student sets of materials like pencils so that no one shares.
Do you have enough pens this year?
Do you supply kids with looseleaf paper?
Do you need to purchase white board markers? Or chalk? (I feel so bad for you if you need chalk).
Do you have all the lesson plans you could possibly need for this school year?
What about folders?
Or sticky notes?
The list goes on. And on.
No teacher should have to pay out of pocket for all of these supplies. It's impossible.
So here's my thought... when people are going to get married, they solicit gifts with a wedding registry. Pregnant woman have a baby shower with a registry.
Why not start a classroom registry? And all of your friends and family can send you classroom supplies.
Here are 4 places you can make your own classroom registry (not sure why this idea doesn't exist yet - don't steal it).
TeacherLists.com
How it works:You create a list of materials you need for your classroom and upload it to TeachersLists.com.
You can then advertise that list to everyone you know on the internet and they can purchase materials from wherever they prefer to shop.
The downside:
People either need your mailing address, or they need to physically bring you these resources. It's designed for parents that will be bringing materials into the classroom.
Amazon Wishlist
How it works:You can create a shopping list of items you want for your classroom (or for life in general), and then advertise that list to your friends, family, parents of your students, neighbors, random strangers on the internet, etc.
Everyone you know can help you purchase the materials you need for your classroom through Amazon.
EdTechToday has a blog post here (from 10 years ago!) on how to do this step-by-step.
The downside:
Your friends and family can only purchase materials through Amazon. What if they're out of Clorox Wipes?
AdoptaClassroom.org
How it works:Adopt a Classroom is similar to Donor's Choose. You create a classroom and list the materials you need.
You can advertise your classroom with your friends and family, who can donate funds to your classroom.
Then you can purchase materials through Adopt a Classroom's marketplace.
They have nearly 30 vendor partners in their marketplace for you to purchase from.
Unlike Donor's Choose, there's no time limit to fund your classroom.
The downside:
I'm not sure the vendors have cleaning supplies. It would be mainly classroom supplies that you could purchase.
TpT Class Fund
How it works:You can set up a classroom with TpT Class Fund, ask everyone you know on the internet to donate, and then purchase materials through TpT with the money you raise.
There are no fees and your money never expires.
The downside:
You can only purchase TpT materials. No cleaning supplies or pencils.
Donor's Choose
Yes, I know I said 4 options and this is 5. I swear I can count.Donor's Choose is an honorary mention. I don't think it's suitable for the situation where you're soliciting classroom supplies from your friends and family to help you out during the pandemic, but it's wonderful in other scenarios.
How it works:
You create a list of items you need, usually for a specific project (like you want all your students to have headphones and more audiobooks in your classroom) and you get those items when the project is fully funded.
The downside:
There's a time limit, and you don't get any supplies you requested if the project doesn't get fully funded within the time period.
I sincerely hope that something happens and teachers don't have to go back to school in person in the fall unless it's truly a safe environment.
I hope this blog post is silly and obsolete within a few week's time.
But in case it's not, at least teachers can crowd fund the supplies they need to stay safe and well stocked in their classrooms.
One last tip - please please please vote in November ✌️
Share any ideas you have for crowd funding your classroom in the comments below!
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