Increasing Class Size and Decreasing True Education

I am in a classroom that began with 26 students during my September Experience. It rose to 27 in January when I returned. It is now at 30 students. I am expected to run science labs with 30 students of elementary years and have discovered it is more crowd control at times that lab time. We are limited on space - the class room was designed and built to accommodate 23 - 25 students. We are limited on supplies - supplies were ordered for 25 students. We are limited on textbooks - again only 25 were ordered. And we are limited on desks - we "borrowed" a few from lower grade levels. Is this what we really have in mind for the future minds of America? Where is the money going? I know my own family has asked me that but I don't have an answer as it is certainly has not been seen in the classroom. Help!

Valentine's Day or Friendship Day?

At my master placement where I am working on my internship, we celebrated "Friendship Day" in lieu of Valentine's Day. The school district eliminated Valentine's Day celebration as a parent complained a few years back that it was a religious holiday. So the premise of "Friendship Day" is that we sit in a circle and primary school age students discuss the value of friendship day. What really happened - the children brought grocery store bought Valentine's Day cards, Valentine's Day candy, and gifts for the teachers. While the school district has a policy to protect the families the parent who complained for, the children have a completely different plan. What can we really do?