To the last minute back to school shoppers:

[ShinyGreenApple]

I hate you with every fiber of my being.

That is all.

[Aethian]

My Mom always had to wait cause sometimes the teachers would list things that don't exist.

[FormerCallingCardRep]

I normally try to have all of the basics well before school starts. There is always things that I need to get after school starts that are specific for the classes that are taken by the girls. This year has been so different with the youngest starting college, We have been picking up stuff for her since school let out in May and after she has each of her classes this week and finds out what else she will need, then I will get that for her to take back with her this weekend

[ShinyGreenApple]

We've had the lists from most of the local schools sitting out for about two months. The tax free holiday was last month. And yet, the past two days . . . you could not MOVE for all the people clogging up the seasonal section. Not to mention the dozen or so people who couldn't find any hand sanitizer and stared at me like I was supposed to pull it out of my ass.

And I work in the pharmacy

[EricKei]

SGA: I don't think I'd want the hand sanitizer that's been stored in people's ....o_O

Kinda defeats the purpose, ya know?

[EvilEmpryss]

As a confessed last minute shopper, I have to plead my case: I totally missed the announcement for when my kids' school started. I didn't know until their school called to find out where they were and they actually missed the first two days of school.

I didn't get the shopping done until the third day.

ETA: And I never do tax-free shopping. The stores around here have better sales after that, and a 7% discount isn't enough to make me brave those insane crowds.

[Cia]

My excuse is that my daughter couldn't remember which classes she had so we had to wait until she got a copy of her schedule when they took ID photos last week. And we still haven't gotten anything since my hubby and I went to his family reunion this weekend (kidlet had to work).

[cashierbex]

I get basics (pens, pencils, loose leaf paper). The rest have to wait for teachers who are specific on what size binders and notebooks and types of folders they need. My store hasn't really been busy oddly enough. Even with the tax free holiday.

[firecat88]

I had one of these too, kinda. I decided, now that I no longer need them, to sell a few of my old textbooks on Amazon. One of them, it was the same book but two different editions. I sold the 10th edition about a month ago. The 9th edition, I wasn't expecting at all to sell because it was a previous edition of the Database Management book.

Lo and behold, though, I got an e-mail this past Monday (the 13th) saying that it had sold. I was surprised, but shipped it out on Wednesday (the 15th). That day, I got an inquiry from the buyer asking me if the book had shipped. He needs it for the 22nd, which is this coming Wednesday. I assured him that, yes, the book had been shipped, but now I'm worried about it getting to him before Wednesday. @_@ More to a point, I'm worried about 'What if it doesn't get there and he bitches me out about it'.

Maybe I'm weird, but I always tried to buy my books at *least* a month beforehand. Not a week before the beginning of the freakin' semester.

[Pixilated]

I'm not even sure I can find out what my textbooks are just yet. Not that it matters, as I have no money to buy them, but ...

In my elementary school days, I seem to remember that we had to wait to get a list of supplies from our teacher, and then have it all bought by the next day. IIRC, you were told you could not come to class without your proper supplies. So of course there was a gazillion parents and their kids all piling into stores that night ... Would be interesting to see parents' reactions to that today.

[fireheart]

In terms of primary education down here, teachers in public schools in my state will hand out a stationery pack at the start of the year, which consists of pencils, textas, eraser, ruler, sharpener, pencils and so on if we need them.
as for the books, they are usually the generic 48-128 page books, which are labelled with the name and subject for the first day, then the kids take them home and the parents cover them in contact.
Means that we don't have to worry about anal-retentive teachers asking for "five books, each in red, orange, cerulean, apple green and lavender," then getting angry because the kid brought in a turquoise and violet books.

[PepperElf]

As a confessed last minute shopper, I have to plead my case: I totally missed the announcement for when my kids' school started. I didn't know until their school called to find out where they were and they actually missed the first two days of school.

I was a bit astonished to find out that school had already started here. Back in my home town - the state too I think - it doesn't start until early September... Yeah, I just checked my old high school. First day is September 4th, the day after labor day.

[LillFilly]

I feel old because there weren’t lists for us to go by when I was a kid; you pretty much knew the basics and used whatever worked for you; some classes I preferred a notebook to a 3-ring, etc. But I didn’t buy new stuff every year. Oh, I liked getting new stuff for school, but my binders and backpack I always took care of and we had notebooks and pencils in bulk, so I told mom that they were fine for another year and she didn’t have to spend extra $, and that freed-up that $ towards clothing or other needed things. She always thought I was funny like that!

[Gurndigarn]

I was a bit astonished to find out that school had already started here. Back in my home town - the state too I think - it doesn't start until early September... Yeah, I just checked my old high school. First day is September 4th, the day after labor day.

In most states-- or at least, most of the states I've lived in-- the date gets set by the local school boards, and can change with new board members and/or new concepts or fads about what good schooling is. Also on (not joking) what condition the schools' heaters and air conditioners are in, and what their operating costs are.

My preference is shorter summers, longer winter and spring breaks myself. Kids are less likely to run out of stuff to do that way. (I'm not for full-year school, but I would like something in-between: say, six weeks of summer break with three two-week-long breaks during the school year, or something like that.)

[scruff]

I feel old because there weren’t lists for us to go by when I was a kid

Same here. Apart from being asked to cover the secondhand text books the school issued us, and to bring protractors that had all the lines on, instead of a large gap in the plastic, as long as we brought pencils, compasses and ink pens, school provided the books. (admittedly we did sponsered walks/silcences etc to fund them, and the bbc computers for the new kids (we didn't use them apart from in 2 maths lessons).)