How many of you follow Dumbo Steiner? 

It’s a roll-your-eyes, recognisable, cathartic Instagram capture of the frustration, exquisite hope and absolute absurdity that is teaching today.

And yes, just one of those absurdities is the frantic line-up at the photocopier as the minutes tick down to the first lesson.  

Have you pondered the false economy?

As the blur of fresh inked pages tumble onto the tray, have you pondered the false economy that favours a budget for mountainous reems of paper and rivers of ink over quality student resources? 

Crisp photocopied handouts are quickly delegated to the dark recesses of the back pack (the place inhabited by soggy bananas and leaky pens), or lost, half complete, torn, fluttering like injured birds in the dusty wasteland of the schoolyard? 

Damn it Susan. Back to the photocopier!  

All of this at a time when our students are acutely aware of waste, are in tune with sustainability, and are leading the tidal movement towards change. 

The photocopy budget is not only false economy, but also a sign of the administrative madness that values one subject over another, and (if you take the argument further), one student over another.  

It may seem of little consequence, but think about it. 

When students are constantly given photocopied worksheets (no matter how well thought out), that are usually black and white, often hastily thrown together, crookedly aligned and carelessly stapled; what does it say of the topic, or the subject itself? What sort of ownership or pride do we expect students to take in their work?

What intrinsic message are we sending students about the value we place on their learning? How does this impact on their motivation, or the value they place on their own learning?

That’s not to say there is no place for photocopying, of course there is. But surely when you crunch the numbers it is as economical to invest in professional, well presented, quality print resources that students can own and take pride in. 

Even on a limited budget!

It’s something to think about when you are putting together your programs and planning your budget for 2022. If you look carefully at what is available, even on a limited budget you can do better for yourself and for your students.  

Hey, if you think about nothing else, think about the time you will save not spending it in quiet desperation waiting for the photocopier…

Does this blog resonate with you? 

We understand that with a limited budget, purchasing student text books can be almost impossible, but have you considered using the Work-Ready student workbooks? 

By purchasing a sample set of all 5 workbooks for $39.95, you can see which of them are will be suitable for your 2022 classroom. 

Email us at admin@tracymarsh.com to order your set