Dangerous Box Tops

We have those moments where we think, "Well that was dumb." Last night I had one of those moments. As I was opening some cans of corn to make a yummy homemade Mexican dip, I noticed that there was a small Box Tops of Education label. I (like many parents and teachers) collect these to help out my school. I usually rip them off of a box of cereal or some other box of processed food (I know I'm a great parent). However, getting a label off of a can of corn is not so easily accomplished. One does not simply rip off a Box Top label off a can of corn because the label is glued on. My awesome problem solving instinct kicked in, and I grabbed a knife to pry the label off. (Please keep in mind that this label is worth a whole ten cents.) In the process of trying to contribute to my students' educational success (with ten cents), I stabbed myself with the point of a knife right between my thumb and pointer finger.

To sum it up, I cried like a two-year-old. After bandaging me up, my husband said, "That label is going to make all the difference." I laughed and started thinking, "It's a sad day when a teacher almost has to lose an appendage to get ten cents for her school!" 

First of all, I do applaud the Box Tops for Education program and all they do for our schools. But why do we even need Box Tops for Education? Although millions have been cut from school budgets over the past years, there's still millions out there. Let me tell you, if you put teachers in charge of those millions (and I mean current classroom teachers, not people who have been out of the classroom for several years) they can stretch a dollar. I've worked with some inventive teachers who can take a coffee can and turn it into a phonics center. Teachers are the ultimate MacGyvers. He might have been able to take a Q-tip and a used piece of bubble gum to make a bomb, but I've seen a teacher take PVC pipe, glue, and paint and create a listening center. So let the educational MacGyvers of the world take over the school budget. Sure you may have a math center made out of toilet paper rolls, but no more educators would have to be harmed trying to find a dime for their classrooms.