I’ve also seen US teachers spending hundreds of dollars out of their own pockets to stock classrooms.
I spent a lot of time in European schools and I’ve never heard of teachers having to stock their own classrooms or fundraise for things like playgrounds, etc.
It really doesn’t sound too different, but what where do you get wipes to clean everything the kids get their greasy hands on, paper towels, tissues for all the colds? How do you help the kids who always forgets his pencils or runs out of paper, or didn’t have enough notebooks.
A big expense that took the most personal time was classroom decoration, although maybe that’s more for the little kids. The school provides a concrete box with beige walls and desks. It’s a prison. A hopeless, tedious, boring prison. How can you not have places to highlight their work, education assisting devices, and even try to hold their attention and imagination? Are you really teaching g numbers without a number line, vocabulary without making words visible, geography without a map or globe?
Then the biggest expense my ex had as a teacher was stocking a classroom library. The school won’t pay for that because it’s not a direct part of the curriculum, but how can you not have one? How can you not try to gain the interest of any kid with a chance of reading? How can you not provide a reading opportunity to any kid with spare time or who finishes their work early!