PEN Mondays - A Love Letter For The New Teacher On A Budget

6 min read

If you’re new here, welcome to PEN Mondays, where we explore more of the socio-emotional aspects of teaching. You’re joining thousands of other teachers around the globe in being the best you so you can be the best teacher for your students!

You’ll see us again on Wednesday with a brand new tech tool and academic study to supercharge your classroom.

Welcome, new teacher. You did it — you survived student teaching, remembered your login to the district portal, and you even managed to read 147 pages of training slides on workplace injury prevention. Congratulations. Now, before you buy a neon cart with 16 bins you’ll never use: stop. Breathe. Put. The. Debit. Card. Down.

This is your friendly, slightly burned-out-but-still-holding-on colleague letting you in on a little secret: You do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on your classroom to be a good teacher. In fact, if you’re already at $500 and it’s not even September, I’m issuing a gentle but firm intervention.

A quick word from our sponsors:

Learn AI in 5 minutes a day

What’s the secret to staying ahead of the curve in the world of AI? Information. Luckily, you can join 1,000,000+ early adopters reading The Rundown AI — the free newsletter that makes you smarter on AI with just a 5-minute read per day.

Sign up to start learning.

The Pinterest Trap (and the $89 Rug You’ll Regret)

Let’s start with the pressure. We’ve all fallen into it — scrolling through beautiful teacher TikToks with color-coded everything, flexible seating, and ambient lighting that makes it look like they’re about to host a brunch, not teach fractions. These spaces are gorgeous. They are also expensive, impractical, and in many cases, more about vibes than outcomes.

This pressure is especially strong for new teachers. You want to prove you're dedicated. You want your classroom to feel like home. You want your students to feel welcome. So you start shopping. And suddenly, you’re ankle-deep in flair pens, bulletin board borders, and a lamination machine that seemed like a great idea until you remembered you hate cutting things.

Let me gently remind you: You don’t need most of that. And it’s okay to say no.

What You Actually Need (Spoiler: Not Much)

Here’s a radical idea: try starting with the basics. Pencils. Paper. A few dry-erase markers that haven’t died yet. Anchor chart paper if your school doesn’t supply it — but ask first. Maybe an extension cord. And if you’re feeling fancy, a box of crayons and some construction paper.

That’s it.

The real magic in your classroom? It’s you. Your routines. Your energy. Your ability to make “compare and contrast” sound mildly entertaining on a Wednesday morning.

The Case Against Classroom Clutter

It turns out, all those cute decor ideas? They can backfire. Especially for students with ADHD, autism, or sensory processing challenges. A rainbow wall of motivational posters might feel exciting to you — but to a neurodivergent student, it’s visual noise.

So instead of cluttering your space with premade décor, here’s an alternative: let your students create it.

During the first week, let them design name tags, decorate anchor charts together, or create class posters about classroom values. Use $4 glue and some recycled paper. They’ll take ownership of the space, and you get to drop the buzzwords like “student-centered learning environment” in your next staff meeting.

Admin will love it. And you didn’t spend a cent.

Let’s Name the Real Problem

Now let’s get serious for a moment: the reason you feel this pressure to buy everything yourself is because schools don’t fund classrooms the way they should.

You are being asked to be a public servant, a role model, a curriculum expert, a mental health first responder — and also, apparently, a personal interior decorator with a credit limit.

This is not okay.

Imagine hiring a mechanic and expecting them to bring their own car lift. Or hiring a barista and asking them to buy the espresso machine. But somehow, in education, we’ve normalized the idea that teachers furnish, supply, and fund their classrooms — often before their first paycheck even clears.

If you’re feeling like you’re being financially exploited, it’s because you are. Let’s just name it.

It’s unfair. And it’s systemic. You can’t fix it alone — but you can choose not to participate in it.

Why We Overspend (And Why We Shouldn’t)

Let’s also name this: part of the reason we overspend is emotional. We care. We want things to be perfect. And we’re afraid — that our students won’t feel safe, that we won’t look like we know what we’re doing, that we’ll somehow fail because we didn’t buy the right flair pens.

But let’s be real: kids won’t remember what kind of bins you had. They’ll remember if you made them feel seen. If you let them redo that quiz. If you smiled when they walked in late with a Pop-Tart.

Money doesn’t make you a better teacher. You do.

If You Have to Spend Something…

Okay, okay. You’re still itching to spend a little. Fine.

Here are some low-cost, high-impact ideas:

• A 4-yard bolt of dark fabric from Walmart. Looks great on bulletin boards, doesn’t fade, and you can reuse it for years.

• A glue gun and some dollar-store sticks — handy for quick fixes and “oops” moments.

• A bookshelf or desk if it’ll help you feel comfortable — but check Facebook Marketplace before buying new.

Otherwise? Let it go. Your classroom doesn’t need to look like a learning café. It needs to feel like a place where kids can grow, stumble, and thrive.

You’re Enough, Even Without the Neon Flair Pens

So here’s your permission slip: you are allowed to start simple. You are allowed to protect your time, your energy, and your wallet. You are allowed to show up as your whole, messy, brilliant self — even if your anchor charts are slightly crooked.

You’re not “less than” because your classroom isn’t Instagram-worthy. You’re more than enough, because you’re showing up. You’re creating community. You’re making learning happen.

So breathe. Smile. And put the debit card down.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We would LOVE to hear from you!

Reply to this email, or send us a message on Instagram! We’re here to walk with you in these crazy times!

Part of what makes The PEN Weekly community so special is the fact that our readers are teachers from around the world! We’re not going to lie, we think that’s pretty darn cool!

Share this newsletter!

Do you know someone who would appreciate reading the PEN? Share this newsletter with them! Our goal is to reach as many teachers as possible, and to build a community of teachers supporting teachers.