so forth squirreled away somewhere. This is a response to shortages in the
past, shortages caused by administrators who did not pay enough attention
to this need.
If a school business manager or assistant principal of organization is
good at his job and makes sure enough basic supplies are ordered and
on hand, hoarding will never be a problem. If any extra money is made
available, he resists the urge to buy something exotic and orders paper
and other basic supplies to build up a stockpile that can be used if future
supply budgets are cut.
A successful chairperson or assistant principal makes it a practice to
put together a packet of materials for her teachers before they report for
their first day of work in the fall. It would include instructional materi-
als, such as the syllabi for each course they are teaching and basic class-
room supplies: a ream of lined paper, a box of chalk and/or two or three
dry erase pens, and a grade record book. (In New York City this would
also include enough Delaney cards for each class. This is a New York
City–specific item—cards that fit into slots in a Delaney book used to
keep official attendance.)
If teachers need anything else, they provide the chairperson with a list
so she may pick up all items at one time from whoever handles the distri-
bution of materials in the school. The chairperson will have these items
for the teachers the next morning. Aside from meeting the real concern of
teachers to have the supplies they need to begin the school year, her work
sends two messages: She cares about teacher needs and she has organized
the department to meet these needs.
Another crucial need of teachers is access to duplication equipment.
Back in the 1980s, departments had rexograph machines—some of you
might remember these dinosaurs that used inked stencils and produced
copies with blue print that, when just off the press, emitted a heady odor
that could produce a slight high (or headache) if inhaled. English teachers
love to duplicate materials, but usually have no sense of machine proper-
ties. If a machine is not working, usually because of a paper jam, they feel
the best way to fix it is to run more paper through. This renders the ma-
chine totally useless and shuts down the department’s ability to duplicate
anything for a few days. This drives teachers crazy as they either have to
do without needed materials or beg friends in other departments to admit
them to their offices to do their work.
86 Chapter 7