If there’s one thing I detest, it’s when I make the long walk from my seat to the middle of the classroom, only to find that there isn’t a box of tissues present. At that point I’m left with a choice: I pretend I have a piece of trash in my hand and go for a fake out, or I loudly ask my teacher if there’s a hidden stash of tissues. My teacher then inevitably responds with, “No, but you can go to the bathroom,” implying that I could use some coarse paper towels. Ridiculous, I know.

There are certain things that teachers simply need to have in their classrooms. Tissues, to take an obvious example, are a must for any teacher who cares for their students’ wellbeing. You don’t have to go to the bathroom when you need a tissue in your house, so why should school be any different? The school expects me to substitute cheap, grainy paper for the caressing comfort of a tissue? Asking me to use a paper towel to blow my nose is like asking me to use a tissue to wipe—well, you know what I mean.

Equally as aggravating as when my nose runs and there’s no tissues is when the tip of my pencil breaks and there’s no pencil sharpener. Now, you fancy-shmancy mechanical pencil users don’t have to worry about this, but for us steadfast graphite-and-wood folks, it’s a real concern. I have a compulsive need to maintain a pristine point on my pencil. So you can imagine my frustration when my pencil dulls and I’m in a classroom sans sharpener. The point is that having a pencil sharpener in a class of students that uses pencils is just common sense.

Finally, there are those annoying times when your teacher dictatorially demands that you staple two or more sheets of paper together—not a problem, except that your teacher doesn’t actually have a stapler.

You’re up at 2 a.m. frantically typing the last few sentences of your history essay. Who can blame you if you forget about that quarter-inch piece of metal? Teachers should just have a stapler in the class.

A stapler seems like an item so inconsequential it’s laughable to consider getting worked up about not having one. Only after going a whole semester without a stapler in English class will you realize its worth.

These items all seem ordinary and trivial. In fact, it is silly to consider getting worked up about any of them. Yet for some inexplicable reason, there are still classrooms out there with none of these items. Before each quarter, teachers should take stock of their room and assess any areas in which they find they’re lacking. If they can’t get an item, teachers should talk to administration. I mean come on, it’s a short list of demands. I think I’m being reasonable.