I’ve also seen US teachers spending hundreds of dollars out of their own pockets to stock classrooms.
I spent a lot of time in European schools and I’ve never heard of teachers having to stock their own classrooms or fundraise for things like playgrounds, etc.
I’m addition to all the completely valid points about teachers being salary fucked, have you ever sat in a room full of kids with colds? The sniffling is brutal. It will grind your brain into sawdust. In an office you can pop earbuds in. Not so much in a classroom. Hence, every kiddo brings in tissues, and whatever, to save your sanity.