Alex goes to a public school. She has to pay for school supplies. She qualifies for free lunch. The end. Her school is having an auction two weeks from now. Apparently it's a Big Deal, and how the school raises over 60% of some portion of their budget. Alex has been coming home almost every day it seems, reminding me about the auction. Everyone is going. Everyone is bidding on stuff. Alex desperately wants to go. So go. Yeah, except apparently you have to buy tickets to attend the auction. Tickets that cost $40 each.
To which I say fuck that. So I'm supposed to spend, at minimum, almost $100 just to go to something and then you're supposed to spend even MORE money, competing against other people to see who can spend the most to get something probably worth half of what you spent? I don't understand this. Don't people go to public school because they can't afford rich, private school types of things?
Alex told me every single teacher asks every single kid if they're going. So this week when school starts back up again I am sending her with a note for her guidance counselor asking him to tell her teachers we can not afford tickets, and even if we had tickets we wouldn't be able to afford to bid on things, so we're not going, and to please stop hounding her about it. I am so over hearing about the damn auction.
To which I say fuck that. So I'm supposed to spend, at minimum, almost $100 just to go to something and then you're supposed to spend even MORE money, competing against other people to see who can spend the most to get something probably worth half of what you spent? I don't understand this. Don't people go to public school because they can't afford rich, private school types of things?
Alex told me every single teacher asks every single kid if they're going. So this week when school starts back up again I am sending her with a note for her guidance counselor asking him to tell her teachers we can not afford tickets, and even if we had tickets we wouldn't be able to afford to bid on things, so we're not going, and to please stop hounding her about it. I am so over hearing about the damn auction.
4 comments:
Sam, my son has been in private school his whole life and they also do alot of these types of fundraisers. Not once though, have they pressured the kids into coming. The only thing they ever asked is that the parents volunteer to help during the event, which cost nothing to the parents, just their time. They realize that we send our kids to private school so we probably don't have extra money laying around! So you can look at it from the other side too.
That is not right that Alex's teachers are pressuring the kids into attending an event that would cost that much money. Good for you for standing up to them!
You are such a good advocate for your sisters. I understand that budget cuts have put the squeeze on public education, but you're right: it's public school, dammit, and there should be no pressure to spend money.
It's one thing if the fundraiser were free to go to - then I could see them pressuring her to attend. But when it costs money (and quite a big chunk of it)?? That's not okay.
I had to chuckle a bit, because we go through the same thing, but at my kid's small private school. We are 1) asked to donate "auction items" for the fundraiser, 2) asked to buy a (quite expensive) ticket to attend the fundraiser, and 3) asked to bid on and buy things at the fundraiser. At the end of the day I feel like they're asking you to pay for the same item 3 times!!! That said, we don't do anything. Can't afford to after paying the tuition just to send him to school. Total insanity.
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