Originally Posted by
Mimiqwerty
It's not just in elementary school that students forget (or can't afford) supplies. I teach high school English Composition and students need to have ink pens (blue or black ink). Most don't. I used to go to the dollar stores and buy 10 packs of pens, which quickly disappeared. Now, I still buy the pens, but any student who wants to borrow one for class has to leave collateral--usually their cell phone, ID card, car keys, etc. When they return the pen, they pick up their collateral. By week two of school, I don't even have to remind them. And I always get my pens back.
I was a high school math teacher for 26 years. I did the same thing when a student needed a pencil. Some would even leave me 1 sneaker as collateral, but I always got the pencils back. I also bought mechanical pencils which I got cheap. Would figure out the cost per pencil, then have them for sale (usually 10 cents). I never made a profit on them. Kept the money and went out and bought more!