For The Love Of God, Communal Back-To-School Supplies Are Necessary

It happens every July: Someone in my local mom group makes a post questioning the school supply lists. They want to know why they’re responsible for sending in two packs of pencils or six glue sticks. They want to know why they have to buy tissues and Clorox wipes for a classroom. And they really want to know why they shouldn’t write their child’s name on every individual supply. (That’s the one that makes them the most irate, I think.)Communal school supplies have been around for a long time, whether you realize it or not. Lisa Patino, a veteran teacher, tells me that even when she was teachi