Explain American customs to me!

[hmpf]

1.) Thanks for the birthday greetings, and sorry I didn't reply earlier (probably won't today, either, as I'm really tired and will probably go to bed right after posting this admittedly fairly pointless entry) - I was actually not at home and hence without internet access for most of last week, and have been struggling to catch up with Stuff since. (I was visiting relatives up north. Yes, I did take some of my m.a. work with me.)

2.) Sometimes I come across odd English/American phenomena or customs in my internet reading; when something puzzles me, I tend to do some research - this is how I found out about the meaning of things like "baby shower", and "cooties", and other stuff that a dictionary won't explain properly because there's no equivalent.

So, over the last few days I've repeatedly encountered the phrase "back-to-school shopping". After some research, I am now more puzzled than I was before: it seems like a kind of ritual, and a largely nonsensical one, to me. Do Americans *actually* do this, in a kind-of-ritualised way? And is what I read of the shopping lists distributed by schools actually true? Do they really include things like zip-loc bags and sanitising wipes? Paper plates? *Disposable cameras*??? *75* pencils???? Not to mention the fact that apparently new clothes are expected for the first day of school after the holidays, and in many cases also a new backpack/school bag??? Some environmental websites I'm visiting occasionally were giving advice on back-to-school shopping, presenting the idea of *not* buying your child a new backpack/bag as something revolutionary and new... (this is actually what inspired me to do some research on the phenomenon of 'back-to-school shopping' in the first place - I couldn't quite believe that bit of advice; it felt like a joke.)

I have to admit I'm completely boggled. Is this a fair representation of the state of affairs, or is it an internet/media distortion? Help me, out, Americans on my flist!

Comments

[exorcizo-te.livejournal.com]

Very much real, but some of that you have listed seems extreme. Usually it's just pencils/pens, folders, notebooks, glue, rulers, crayons, etc. Stuff you'll actually use in the classroom. New backpacks were usual - if only because the ones they make for kids often are looking ragged and/or falling apart by the end of the year. (Aside even from the ones that might go "out of style" because they've got a cartoon character on them.) A new lunch box, usually - again, the ones we bought tended to fall apart by the end of the year. We'd usually get a few new outfits (1-3). You'd wear a new outfit the first day of school.

The practice seemed to be more involved in our elementary school (ages 6-11). In middle school and high school (12-18), it was mostly just notebooks, pencils/pens, notepads, and clothes. Maybe a new backpack/lunchbox if ours from the last year was unusable.

It's an exciting ritual when we were kids (6-10). We got new stuff - it was one of the few times a year we did (the others being our birthdays and christmas). When we got older, it was less exciting and more of a chore.

But specifically?

Do Americans *actually* do this, in a kind-of-ritualised way? Yes. In a very-ritualized way.


And is what I read of the shopping lists distributed by schools actually true? Do they really include things like zip-loc bags (no) and sanitising wipes? (no) Paper plates? (no) *Disposable cameras*??? (no)*75* pencils???? (no)

This is a more common kind of list: http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/ca/327

Not to mention the fact that apparently new clothes are expected for the first day of school after the holidays, and in many cases also a new backpack/school bag??? (Yes)

Some environmental websites I'm visiting occasionally were giving advice on back-to-school shopping, presenting the idea of *not* buying your child a new backpack/bag as something revolutionary and new... (Yep - revolutionary and new. Most people get them every year.)

[mikes-grrl.livejournal.com]

Seconded. Even back when I was in public grade school (what, 7 years old?) back in the 70s, this was very much an annual ritual. To NOT buy a new backpack for school...whoa. UNTHINKABLE. And even then schools sent home lists, although they were a lot simpler back then.

Part of it is cost; schools CANNOT AFFORD SUPPLIES FOR THE STUDENTS. So the parents are expected to make up for it, purchasing the crayons and craft paper and the, er, disposable cameras that the schools can't afford. The worst part? Kids whose parents cannot afford and/or do not buy the supplies? Well that's why lists are bloated (75 pencils) so that the overflow can be shared. Otherwise the TEACHER has to buy the supplies, sometimes out of their own pockets.

Sad.