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Fourteen items, that's how many are listed on the average back-to-school supply list to send a public grade schooler back to class for the 2023-24 school year.
I was just curious as to what my kids would need to start the new year, and I was a bit surprised at that list. Items on the list included the usual pencils, paper, scissors, crayons and glue. However, students are also asked to bring tissues, paper plates, Play Dough and disinfecting wipes to class in some schools.
I guess times have changed a great deal since this baby boomer went to first grade at St. Michael's Catholic School. I can remember packing a plaid book satchel with a few items and certainly nothing more than what I needed to begin my adventure in education. A soft-sided Barbie lunch box was my only real indulgence for first grade.
In fact, we were not permitted to bring non-essentials such as the big fancy box of 64 crayons. We had to stick to the basic eight-count box.
I guess my love for books began the day our teacher handed out our first readers. The smell and feel of those books remains with me forever.
They were hard-backed books with tales of Dick and Jane which graduated into stories with more depth. The pictures in the book were colorful and brought the stories to life as we struggled to learn the words.
Even the new writing tablets were crisp and oversized to help us learn to print and eventually write cursive letters.
I never got an A-plus in handwriting, but I did enjoy doing the work. I marveled at the beautiful handwriting of the nuns who taught us.
Learning to write often posed a challenge to left-handers.
There were some teachers who insisted on students writing right-handed no matter how difficult it was for lefties. I don't think that philosophy flies anymore in today's educational system.
Most students today have learned their letters and numbers via computers and electronic tablets.
Their world of learning is as foreign to me as my first French class in high school.
When my 7-year-old granddaughter wants to play school with grandma, it's grandma who struggles to understand some of the tasks she presents as the teacher.
As kids head back to school, loaded down with their heavy load of supplies, just remember their education truly starts at home. Best of luck to students, teachers and parents.
Heather Ziegler can be reached via email at hziegler@theintelligencer.net.