I’ll see what I can glean from last year’s stock and prepare to make my eventual pilgrimage to one of the supply Meccas along with all the other glassy-eyed parents.
But this year, my foot is coming down. I refuse to buy the package of tennis balls that are part of every school supply list I’ve received for the last six years. Multiply that by three kids and that’s a lot of balls.
I grumblingly comply with most of the school supply lists as, in my mind’s eye, this benefits my children. I’ll purchase the two-dozen duo-tangs in every available colour and send the requisite pair of indoor shoes. I’ll supply the six (!) glue sticks and 48 (!!) pencils, washable markers and crayons. I’ll even send the two boxes of Kleenex per child despite the fact that my kids don’t seem to use it at home. But I draw the line at purchasing something that will have a small fraction of its surface used for a purpose other than its original intention.
For the uninitiated, elementary schools make a small incision in tennis balls and place them over the bottoms of chair legs. I’m told this keeps noise levels down and protects the floors. While I understand the need to reduce noise in a building with hundreds of children, I can’t endorse the incredible waste which comes with destroying an entire tennis ball to cover an area roughly the size of a quarter.
While I would support a program which recycles balls that are no longer suitable for use in tennis, buying brand new balls expressly for this purpose defies comprehension. Seeing pre-cut packaged tennis balls at office supplier Bureau en Gros sent me on a Google search. Sure enough, there’s a website for everything, including pre-cut tennis balls, http://precuttennisballs.com, replete with testimonials and typos.
The Canadian Home and School Federation is a national organization of parents who volunteer both in, and for, their local schools. Their mission is to enhance the education and general well-being of students. Their mandate specifies that they will not contribute financially to anything which is the responsibility of the government, funded by our tax dollars. Purchase of textbooks falls into this category. So does school maintenance. Anything which keeps the floors scuff-free belongs, by my definition, into the latter category.
An informal poll of three Montreal-area tennis clubs reveals that the average tennis ball, fresh out of the vacuum-sealed can, will last for roughly four sets of play before it’s considered too “squishy” for use. Only one club said they have a deposit area for used balls which kids generally take for street hockey. The other clubs admit that once used, balls are simply tossed into the garbage.
What a waste! A waste of money, resources, and teaching opportunity. Instead of mechanically doling out the same tired supply list, schools need to be proactive in thinking outside the box. Why don’t they team up with area tennis-courts to recycle used ball, save parents a few dollars at a difficult time of year, and teach the kids a lesson in ingenuity. Time to put your money where your balls are.
