the sc's keep getting younger

[Geek King]

And smileyeagle...how in the world did they get away with basically stealing your stuff? That's unreal what some schools do.

And I've heard of a lot of parents who go nuts when the schools try to pull that crap. A quick call to the local news station and a short story, complete with small adorable child heartbroken and crying over the stolen supplies they were so proud of usually gets the policy reversed right quick.

The teacher and principle didn't want some students to have better supplies then others? Have they looked at the world around them? Some people have things others don't. You deal with it. Want nice things? Go out and earn them, or pray that you end up in the 0.2% who inherit millions or win the lotto (US statistics. Check country for local listings). No wonder some kids can barely get along in the workforce after graduation.

[AdminAssistant]

Mom used to write my name on EVERYTHING. Including each and every crayon.

I spent a year in high school as a helper for a kindergarten class (it was a way to get out of study hall). From what I could see, the kids didn't really give two shits about who had what kind of crayons. The teacher actually did a pretty smart thing. Over time, crayons (and other things) would get scattered/lost. If there was no name on it, it went in a communal bucket that everyone could share. I have quite a few funny stories from that year. Those kids were really sweet. The sad thing is, I think that class is in high school now.

The only thing that really sets off the "Well when I was a kid..." syndrome for me is cell phones. 7 year olds with cell phones . I remember when Mom and Dad FORCED me to get a cell phone when I was nearly 17. I didn't want it. I saw it as a leash!

[JustADude]

Of course, the conspiracy theorists can also say that the idea of making kids all have the same school supplies is to help teach them to conform later on. Who knows?

Actually, it's not a conspiracy theory, it's a fact. One of the biggest parts of school is teaching/forcing people to conform to outside standards and semi-arbitrary rules.

It's one of the main reasons that people who have trouble in elementary and high-school often do incredibly well in college and the work force, while those that are social elite and top of their class flounder when presented with a world not confined by narrow, outside boundaries.