A mother recently took to TikTok to share a concerning incident involving her son’s teacher and classroom supplies for the entire class. In her video, which has gained over 2 million views and a plethora of comments, Shanitta explained that her son was instructed to bring in supplies such as tissues, hand sanitizer, and wipes for his classroom

She bought classroom supplies, but a zero still marked her son’s classroom supplies grade in the third week. Shanitta emailed the teacher, disagreeing with grading students based on supply contributions. She also reached out to the principal to address the issue. She explained,

“I don’t feel that it’s the parent’s job to supply your classroom. And, I definitely don’t think it’s appropriate to assign a grade to students based off of whether or not they supplied your class with supplies.” 

BuzzFeed contacted Shanitta, who explained that she contacted the principal to highlight the financial strain this requirement places on families, particularly those who are already struggling. The principal responded by stating that penalizing students for lacking supplies is not standard practice.

She told the news outlet,

“I pointed out to the principal that although my family could afford to buy the additional supplies, there are many families that are already struggling to buy their children’s personal school supplies and simply can’t afford the extra. This would mainly affect lower income families and that isn’t right for the kids as it’s not their fault.” 

Shanitta thinks schools should supply resources, not just relying on teachers or parents. Many TikTok users supported Shanitta’s viewpoint, agreeing that students should not be penalized for not bringing in supplies.

#Clique, what do y’all think about that?