I’d like to offer a long-overdue apology to my friends the trees. I love trees. In my younger days, I will admit to physically hugging them. When I was about seven years old, one of my favorite places to spend hours playing was in the twisted trunk of a fallen, but still-living tree in the woods behind my house. Like all relationships, however, my love of trees has a dark side. For as a writer, I also love paper and have had a hard time moving myself into a paperless way of living. This blog post will be composed, revised, and edited entirely on-screen. Yet a lot of the things I write must end up on paper.
Today, policies on printing and photocopying vary from school to school and district to district. I know that reams of copier paper were a common item on school supply lists when I taught, along with boxes of tissues and rolls of paper towels. Many of you probably provide your own personal supply of copier paper, bought at your own expense.
Here at The Mailbox, we’re curious to know what copier paper policies are in effect where you teach. Do you provide your own paper? If there are nifty tricks or ideas you have for conserving paper or conserving resources, we’d sure love to share those too! The trees and I thank you in advance.
I very much dislike wasting paper. Recently my school has shifted to giving teachers all forms and handbooks on a flash drive. We are discouraged from making tons of copies for teaching. Group and hands on assignments are encouraged. When I do print something I opt for printing on the back of paper that isn’t needed anymore.