Another backpack victim

[Computermama]

Originally Posted by mommy24babes Except when I buy a diaper on FSOT I Clean it before it goes on my child. Same for clothes from the second hand store. I have no idea for example if the child who's clothes she was put in maybe have a cat. Stray cat hair/dander could trigger an asthma attack in Dd. It's just irresponsible on the schools part IMO to share those items. Its on the parents if they forgot to refresh their child's clothes and have to leave work to supply new ones.

I doubt they'd just pull random clothes out of the lost and found to put on your child. The clothes my DD came home in were labelled with the teacher's name so clearly they were bought or put aside for the purpose.

Not saying they shouldn't call parents, particularly if they've asked to be contacted, I just found that ironic. If I couldn't be contacted I'd rather my child wear loaner clothes and risk an allergy outbreak from pet dander or fabric softener than wear wet and soiled clothes all day. Granted, my DD's allergies are mild, YMMV.

Sent from my iPod touch using DS Forum

[AfWife8405]

Originally Posted by z2akids These threads alwasy crack me up. A teacher does something that a parent doesn't like and guaranteed by the end of the thread there are calls for the superintendent to get involved. Let's skip however many layers of chain of command and go straight to the superintendent over a name on a backpack. So incredibly overblown. Honestly, I have never encountered this phenomenon. However, our school supply list that comes home months before school starts always includes a line about making sure that all of your kids supplies (not the ones for the teacher) are labeled visibly with their names. If I sent a backpack in to school with no name visible and it came home with the name in sharpie, I would be annoyed. But, I would be annoyed with myself for not making sure that the teacher could identify the backpack without having to open it. I don't care how much you think your kid knows his own stuff, they don't in the heat of the moment at the start of the school year. Stuff gets left by the bus stop. Kids hang things on the wrong hooks, etc. Certainly this isn't the brightest thing this teacher ever did, but OP indicated that it was an old backpack. Get a new one; use some WD40 to get the name off the top; cover it up with a cute iron on; etc. And, then move on. Write the last name on the part of the backpack that will be against your child's back when it is on and focus on more important things -- like making sure that he had a fun first day of school.

Are we reading the same thread? The superintendent was brought up regarding children leaving the school unsupervised, not about the backpack. Also, I care more about the my child and future children walking around with their name exposed to strangers than how if their first day of school was fun.

[KrisM]

Originally Posted by z2akids These threads alwasy crack me up. A teacher does something that a parent doesn't like and guaranteed by the end of the thread there are calls for the superintendent to get involved. Let's skip however many layers of chain of command and go straight to the superintendent over a name on a backpack. So incredibly overblown. Honestly, I have never encountered this phenomenon. However, our school supply list that comes home months before school starts always includes a line about making sure that all of your kids supplies (not the ones for the teacher) are labeled visibly with their names. If I sent a backpack in to school with no name visible and it came home with the name in sharpie, I would be annoyed. But, I would be annoyed with myself for not making sure that the teacher could identify the backpack without having to open it. I don't care how much you think your kid knows his own stuff, they don't in the heat of the moment at the start of the school year. Stuff gets left by the bus stop. Kids hang things on the wrong hooks, etc. Certainly this isn't the brightest thing this teacher ever did, but OP indicated that it was an old backpack. Get a new one; use some WD40 to get the name off the top; cover it up with a cute iron on; etc. And, then move on. Write the last name on the part of the backpack that will be against your child's back when it is on and focus on more important things -- like making sure that he had a fun first day of school.

Clearly, you are taking it out of context. The superintendent suggestion was made to the following quote:

Originally Posted by My Sweet Blessings Not true. I am that mama. Last year, I had ONE problem with his teacher and it was the bookbag issue. It was resolved and we went on to have a fabulous relationship with this teacher (wish she could always teach my kids!!!) This back pack issue happened on the first day of school. The previous issue I had was with his kindergarten teacher. She let my son cry for over an hour every day for over a month and NEVER said anything to anyone, including myself. This came out in a teacher/principal/counselor meeting because we were trying to figure out why my son had such a hate for going to school. he protested leaving the house, going into the school,a dn going into the class. this was a HUGE issue and not a minor one. The other issue I had with this teacher is that she was NOT watching the kindergarteners for "park and walk" like she was suppose to and my 5 year old walked off and down the street - a very busy 4 lane street. This is a HUGE safety issue. These were NOT minor issues and tehse issues were with a different teacher. Point in case - my 4 year old now has this particular teacher and once again, she let him walk off after school ALONE towards the street where I caught him. NONE of this is minor. Letting them walk off could have resulted in him being run over or snatched. The issue with him crying every single day is NOT a minor issue.

Now, maybe jumping to the superintendent wouldn't be the best choice, but clearly she's not talking about a name on the backpack being the big problem here.

[mommy24babes]

At the beginning of the year we were asked to supply a change of clothes in a ziplock bag labeled with our child's name. There are no "classroom" loaner clothes.

Over the course of the year my DDs change of clothes must have been used on another child and were never sent back.

At the end of the year dd ended up soaked with water and was dressed in another child's underwear, pants ,and socks.
They didn't even attempt to contact me knowing I was home and lived across the street.

Being allergic/asthmatic to cats and sitting down on a couch where a cat had been laying triggered what feels like a ton of bricks fell on my chest making it hard to breathe.

My point was I don't know what's on that other child's clothes. Could be underwear that we're worn for a short period but still determined to be clean.

Could be one of the kids who was living in the active grow op house a street over for all I know.

Originally Posted by Computermama I doubt they'd just pull random clothes out of the lost and found to put on your child. The clothes my DD came home in were labelled with the teacher's name so clearly they were bought or put aside for the purpose. . Sent from my iPod touch using DS Forum

[soonerfan]

Originally Posted by z2akids These threads alwasy crack me up. A teacher does something that a parent doesn't like and guaranteed by the end of the thread there are calls for the superintendent to get involved. Let's skip however many layers of chain of command and go straight to the superintendent over a name on a backpack. So incredibly overblown. Honestly, I have never encountered this phenomenon. However, our school supply list that comes home months before school starts always includes a line about making sure that all of your kids supplies (not the ones for the teacher) are labeled visibly with their names. If I sent a backpack in to school with no name visible and it came home with the name in sharpie, I would be annoyed. But, I would be annoyed with myself for not making sure that the teacher could identify the backpack without having to open it. I don't care how much you think your kid knows his own stuff, they don't in the heat of the moment at the start of the school year. Stuff gets left by the bus stop. Kids hang things on the wrong hooks, etc. Certainly this isn't the brightest thing this teacher ever did, but OP indicated that it was an old backpack. Get a new one; use some WD40 to get the name off the top; cover it up with a cute iron on; etc. And, then move on. Write the last name on the part of the backpack that will be against your child's back when it is on and focus on more important things -- like making sure that he had a fun first day of school.

Can I cyber marry you? I and :head scratch: and :eyeroll: at the people who would "be livid," "come unglued," "throw a fit," and "cry" over a name written on a backpack. Sure, it might be unsightly, annoy you or be a pain to fix, but really??? Not that big of a deal, in the grand scheme of things.

Also, while the mom whose kid came home in another kid's clothes might be annoyed because she had no way to anticipate the situation, the other poster who hates loaner clothes didn't keep a spare set of clothes in the bag for her kid, iirc. In my teaching world, I don't waste class time to call parents when something can be easily fixed in class. But again, not a big deal, either way.

[mjg2043]

Originally Posted by soonerfan Can I cyber marry you? I and :head scratch: and :eyeroll: at the people who would "be livid," "come unglued," "throw a fit," and "cry" over a name written on a backpack. Sure, it might be unsightly, annoy you or be a pain to fix, but really??? Not that big of a deal, in the grand scheme of things. Also, while the mom whose kid came home in another kid's clothes might be annoyed because she had no way to anticipate the situation, the other poster who hates loaner clothes didn't keep a spare set of clothes in the bag for her kid, iirc. In my teaching world, I don't waste class time to call parents when something can be easily fixed in class. But again, not a big deal, either way.

Agree and agree. Life is short. This is so not worth it.

[laila]

Honestly, I'm a teacher and have never heard of this happening. Strange?! If it bothered you, go ahead and let the teacher know, but please don't overreact. She works so hard. She was probably just trying to make sure you got what was yours at the end of the day. That first day is so hectic. Tape probably would have been a better choice. Maybe suggest that.

[z2akids]

Originally Posted by AfWife8405 Are we reading the same thread? The superintendent was brought up regarding children leaving the school unsupervised, not about the backpack. Also, I care more about the my child and future children walking around with their name exposed to strangers than how if their first day of school was fun.

Originally Posted by KrisM Clearly, you are taking it out of context. The superintendent suggestion was made to the following quote: Now, maybe jumping to the superintendent wouldn't be the best choice, but clearly she's not talking about a name on the backpack being the big problem here.

Perhaps I misread the quote that was being referred to in the quote and if so, I apologize. However, it isn't a leap to believe that the posters are referring to the superintendent about the name on the backpack. Last year in that poster's thread there were suggestions that bordered on firing and removing the license of the teacher who dared to put the child's name on the backpack.

Ultimately, the point is that parents need to VISIBLY label their children's items or it is very likely that the teacher will do it for you. If you don't want it in sharpie on your child's item, then figure out a way that is more acceptable to you before school starts. Because, once that backpack is in the classroom and the teacher becomes responsible for it getting to the right kid and not getting lost - you may well be too late.

If someone wants to kidnap your child, they are going to do so with or without a name on the backpack. If you are that worried that there will be some random kidnapper in your child's path to see the name and take them, then I would highly recommend not leaving your child alone. Walk them to the bus stop; drive them to school; walk them to/from school; etc. There are a lot of easy and cute ways to fix the problem.

Originally Posted by soonerfan Can I cyber marry you? I and :head scratch: and :eyeroll: at the people who would "be livid," "come unglued," "throw a fit," and "cry" over a name written on a backpack. Sure, it might be unsightly, annoy you or be a pain to fix, but really??? Not that big of a deal, in the grand scheme of things. Also, while the mom whose kid came home in another kid's clothes might be annoyed because she had no way to anticipate the situation, the other poster who hates loaner clothes didn't keep a spare set of clothes in the bag for her kid, iirc. In my teaching world, I don't waste class time to call parents when something can be easily fixed in class. But again, not a big deal, either way.

Yeah. I cannot imagine being a teacher and leaving a child in wet, soiled clothing to find another staff member to watch my class so that I could stay with this child in the bathroom and call his/her parents and then wait for them to arrive with a change of clothes. I would be a lot more angry if a teacher kept my child excluded from the class in soiled clothes rather than immediately fixing the problem.

Honestly, I don't see a lot of dirty underwear in the lost/found/loaner clothes area of our school.

[yogamama28]

Originally Posted by mommy24babes Except when I buy a diaper on FSOT I Clean it before it goes on my child. Same for clothes from the second hand store. I have no idea for example if the child who's clothes she was put in maybe have a cat. Stray cat hair/dander could trigger an asthma attack in Dd. It's just irresponsible on the schools part IMO to share those items. Its on the parents if they forgot to refresh their child's clothes and have to leave work to supply new ones.

I work in a school and can't tell you how many times we have had to call parents of students who have wet or soiled their pants. Often parents don't send in extra clothes as requested or don't bring a new set once their initial set has been used following a bathroom accident. In these instances we always call home to ask the parents to bring clothes. Some do and some say they or too busy. Others can't be reached... We try home, cell, and emergency contacts. If the parents refuse to come or can't be reached, then they go in "loaner clothes" so they can go back to class.

[Mac & Cheeses mom]

Ok from experience, that name is no big deal depending on the child's age. I can tell you we go through a backpack a year of the good expensive ones. My kid is hard on backpacks so for me this is no big deal. That might be why OP your DH said nothing he didn't figure the bag would last past the year. Plus it is a way for children to be responsible for their own stuff.

Not to mention I'm not about to send a 50 backpack to school with my pre-k to 4th grader.