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Early in my teaching career, I would not spend my own money on teaching resources. Coming from industry I was aghast at the idea. Things would never get any better unless we made a stand against the "fat cats and their system"! However, I fairly quickly came to the conclusion that, in the words of that great song, "Whatever Gets You Through the Night"!, and pondering on this at 3am in the morning, fretting about how I was going to resource my next day's lesson, I came to the conclusion that it made sense to throw money at the problem rather than self-medication or whatever! The largest single sum I have spent in one go for consumables was £120 and it was well worth it for the peace of mind it gave me and the ability to do my job properly! I would say though, that I probably spent about £100 per year on average on consumables. I have spent a considerable sum on equipment and instrumentation (see logo above) but that is mine to keep and finds a use in my personal life outside teaching. However, as nobody knows me here, (I hope!) I will admit that I will play the system as much as I can to recompense myself from the school (I'm not giving any details!) I feel reasonably moral and ethical in this. Quite frankly I have always felt I was being cheated and set up by "the system" and I was entitled to act as I have done, because it was for the benefit of my class! Ok! I know Ghandi had something to say about this! sic -"For somebody to do the greatest evil, they must think they are doing the greatest good"! But then -- ! Now, have any of you considered how much you subsidize your job by using your car as mobile storage for all your student's books etc. Including the extra petrol you need to use to cart around the weight! And then what about your home living space!? How much space do you have to sacrifice at home for use as your office and further storage!? What would it cost the nation if all these things were costed properly? What have I spent this year? Zilch, zero, nothing! I have been retired now for two days! Good luck to all of you and I hope you figure out whatever gets you through the night! You are doing one of the most important jobs in society so don't let the b#ggers grind you down! Rock on, all!
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