How Do Schools Today Do It?

I mean when I was in primary and secondary school we always had paper and theme books to write in, pencils to write with, erasers, so on and so forth. It seems like today the parents are required to be the school repository for educational supplies. I spent a short while working for a big box retailer and I used to see the supplies list each area school would have posted for the parents to fill for each child. Holy crap, there was a lot of stuff listed that I never needed to use when I was in school. Do you remember having a flat, plastic compass or protractor or whatever they called it? It was a half circle on one side and a straight side on the other with inches and centimeters stamped on it. We used these for doodling between classes since we never needed them, but they always came in the store bought kit your parents bought you every year. Either the supplier bought too many of them and needed to get rid of them or there was actually someone out there who used them that was under 10 years old. What parents need are discount school supply coupons that can help defray the costs that they now have on them, not to mention the assortment of clothing needed because of a growing child, and the required school uniforms some schools now have. Good luck parents!