Yep, I know what you mean, i have a stash to hand as itdoes make things easier for me but it's not really what we should be doing.  I do harvest up stray pens at the end of lessons though, then i lend them out saying i found it on the floor, and if they don't like that then they should bring their own equipment.  The ones I don't object to so much are the ones that normally are fully equipt but have forgotten their pencil case and those that might have had a pen explosion

Are we our own worst enemies?

Despite some opposition, I got all Y10 tutors to line their pupils up outside the tutor room and refuse to allow anyone in who was wearing trainers, didn't have a homework diary, didn't have pen, pencil, ruler. HoY scooped them up and gave them aggro. First day: 75 culprits out of 200. Next day 30 culprits. Then SLT were involved - numbers dropped to single figures and stayed there. Then SLT decided it was beneath their radar: the problem returned.

One colleague used to lend pencils only and insist all work was copied in pen.

One colleagues used to give scraps of paper to those without books and insist all work was copied into the correct place.

"You are infringing their human rights to be treated with dignity and respect".

Have tried things like taking their ID card off them - but they don't care about it, and I don't like to take money off them - anyway they would just say they didn't have any. A colleague used to take a shoe off them, but I didn't fancy that - errk - and then what would you do if there was a fire?

 Drives me completely around the twist. I have some black hole in my classroom somewhere which just seems to consume vast amounts of pencils, rubbers, rulers, etc. Done the shoe thing done the you give me something thing done the counting in and out thing done the I haven't got any left borrow one thing done the labelling thing you name it I've done it. I just buy huge boxes of pencils from Tesco now - yours sincerely, defeated!