Compensating at Staples

I just totally overcompensated for my nervousness about the upcoming year by spending $148 at Staples on stuff for my classroom. That's just the first round; I'm sure there will be more things. I already realized I forgot to buy a stapler.

The one luxury item was a chair for myself for $39. It was half off. I'm tired of sitting on the hard plastic chairs that the students sit in, and the lumbar support sold me on it - my back hasn't felt right since I injured it weighlifting a few weeks ago. I'm going to start seeing an MT once school starts and money starts coming in.

Otherwise, it was two bookcases, three crates, an American flag display (I'm teaching American Literature and am going to create a poster tonight using the flags somehow), contact paper, construction paper, tacks, tape, and - totally spur of the moment - a Staples "That Was Easy" button. One thing I've heard about the IB program is that the kids get really stressed out from the workload. I figure that the button will be all they need to keep themselves sane. I'm just kidding of course, but it'll be at least funny. I hope I don't hear the mechanical voice saying "That was easy" over and over and over again.

If I owned a house, the fact that the $148 was tax-deductible would matter. As it is, though, the hundreds of dollars I generally spend on my classroom don't come close to exceeding standard deducation. Oh well.