The Schools That Eats Post-it Notes

The Washington Post reviews some of the random crap area students are expected to bring to school this year. Among them are Post-it Notes, a French-English dictionary that serves as a Spanish-English dictionary, and a single dry-erase marker from each student.

The interesting bits are too spread out to quote effectively, but a few observations are needed:

1. Post-it Notes? Really?

2. It's terribly inefficient to have students supplying their teachers. A school can probably get 300 markers for what 30 students pay for one each. And relative to teacher and staff salaries, the savings are probably beyond minimal.

And a bank had a good idea that went horribly wrong:

Huntington National bank, based in Columbus, Ohio, introduced last month what it called a Backpack Index, and projected that parents would need $307 to supply an elementary-age student for school. The Backpack Index excluded clothing but factored in more than $200 in fees for various activities, such as renting a musical instrument.

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