supplies.

One of the biggest problems I have with my students is that they don't come to class prepared. Often kids come without anything. Just themselves. No pencil, no paper, no backpack. They just come in.

A lot of the kids do have backpacks though, I would say that a little over half of them do. They don't have regular backpacks though, at least not the kind I had as a kid, with the two straps and the zippers. The have the kind with drawstings which usually have a brand name on them or some sort of logo like "fritos" or "verizon".

It's great that these kids have anything at all, but unfortunately it doesn't fit any books or folders. Mostly they have folded up pieces of paper and maybe some kind of writing utensil. Most of the time they still don't have the stuff they need though, and its so frustrating to teach. If its time for a test or any kind of written work there is a hesitant scramble to get supplies. I don't give out pencils or pens to my students like some other teachers do. I'm pretty stubborn about it. I don't want them to feel like they don't need to be prepared because I will supply it for them. They still seem to think its my responsibility though. If they don't bring a pencil and can't take a test they blame me for not giving them one. And maybe I should. I don't know. I guess I am trying to teach them responsibility or something. I don't think its working though. Instead I just have a lot of kids getting zeros on their tests.