Spill the beans... on end-of-term gifts for teachers

myalphabetgirls

For years if one of my girls has moved to a new school year/teacher in primary school I have let my daughter choose a story book for the class and written a dedication in the front, the frilliness of this depended on whether my daughter particularly enjoyed that year or the teacher. Then over the years when that story is read to the class the teacher will, for just a moment, remember my child.

As with any job no one expects presents for a job well done. A simple thank you speaks volumes. Its the competitiveness of some parents thats to blame, same with party bags and now the parties themselves.

raisen

I'm a teacher and we don't expect anything. Like previous posters have said, a genuine thank you written by the child is lovely.

Once I was given a necklace which the child had chosen (very good taste!) and one year I was given a bunch of dried lavender from the child's garden. Both presents were appreciated just as much even though one was free. They both had the same amount of thought and effort put into them.
Im my opinion, the whole 'best teacher' thing has had it's day. There are only so many fridge magnets and teddy bears you can fit into a house, but I feel guilty giving things away that someone has bought for me.

As for chocolates....love them at Christmas, love them equally in the summer but not so much when I have to try and resist before putting the bikini on. Maybe not so much of a problem in this year in the rain!!

Ada_Doom

globetraveller wrote: »

Although I really appreciate any present I get, I really treasure the cards with a little note in them from the child and/or the parents.
My all time best one- from years and years ago, said
Thank you for proving I am not stupid.

That is so lovely, it must have made you very happy. It made me a bit teary.. although am pre-menstrual....

I tend to get the kids to make a nice card, and them we both write a message in it. In FS I remember my daughter wrote to her brilliant teacher, Thank you for teaching me to read I love it so much!

dawyldthing

happyinflorida wrote: »

No other has ever been as good, in fact in the senior school they are so bad that I think they should be giving the kids presents for putting up with them..

I second this after having my final year GCSE teacher tell me never to do anything English wise. I went on to pass my A-level in English and a third of my degree in English!

I have to say a home made card with something that they remembered and enjoyed in their year in the class would be sufficient as it shows the childs enjoyment and has put thought into it too

ljaneyr

As a teacher I can only second what many others have said. A thank you is the best present, as you can often feel underappreciated. Like most teachers, I put a huge amount of effort into my job, you can't really do it any other way. A couple of years ago I worked out that I was effectively on minimum wage when I added up all the extra hours I do each week!

Each year we take the children on a school camp where we are 'working' from 6.30am to around midnight (sometimes later!) each day. It is a lot of hard work and completely exhausting, the last two years only one parent has said thank you!

I think most teachers appreciate the thought put into any gift they receive. My class know I have a sweet tooth so chocolate is fine for me, although wine is even better! I like smellies but if it's not something I would use I still appreciate it as a token. The one thing I dread is all the 'best teacher' stuff, pens, bookmarks and mugs are fine because you can use them but one year I got 4 identical teddies! I had no idea what to do with them, I appreciated that the children had chosen them for me and would feel way too guilty just chucking them away but literally did not know what to do with them!

Whatever you or your children choose to get or make their teacher will be greatly appreciated, I just like things I can eat drink or use so it doesn't feel like a waste!

lainie3961

Why would you want to thank teachers for the job they are paid to do?

Dont get me wrong - I couldnt do the job for all the money in the world - and I totally agree that the wages they receive are well deserved! However, this buying 'gifts for the teacher' has, in my opinion, got totally out of hand. This has come from the USA [together with alot of things! - like 'trick or treating'] and I dont personally agree with it.

My belief of the reward for teachers [as people of learning] - is that pupils have learned something - this has got to be the biggest reward of all for teachers - that they have broken through the 'barrier' and have installed a knowledge or sense of enquiry in their pupil???? I am not, of course, opposed to a 'thank you' to the teachers concerned - but a 'thank you' is all it ought to be expected to be comprised of!

Buying gifts and cards for teachers has become a 'competition' of children/parents amongst their peers - to see who can buy the best gift. I personally find this obscene.

Learning should have nothing to do with how much you can afford! Are we going backwards to the Victorian ages, when education was a privilage and not a right????

Lunar_Eclipse

We do a class collection to buy vouchers. Most parents contribute, £10 seems to be the norm, so we have £300 to split between the teacher & classroom assistant.

In addition, many children all give individual presents. This year my youngest is giving a rugby ball to one & Kindle gift card to the other.

dancingdaisy

As a teacher myself I can only reiterate what others have said. We don't expect gifts, personally I feel that I am in school to do a job and for the majority of the time I feel blessed to have that job.

The best present I have ever received was a mouse mat with a picture of my class on it, I absolutely love that mouse mat! That same year a parent sent me flowers via Interflora, I was also given a bottle of good whisky, a bottle of champagne, loads of smellies, 'teacher' presents, a fruit basket...I must have been fab that year!

Usual presents are 'teacher' stuff, I have so many mugs I could set up a tea room.
Although it sounds very ungrateful I really don't like that stuff, it's another consumer ploy to make people part with their hard earned cash in my opinion and most of it is tat.

Get your child to write a poem or make a card, one child made me a cd once of my favourite tunes which is great.

BTW, in a staff of 10 teachers I only know one who eats the homemade cake.

d.too

I retired from teaching last year and over the years received gifts of a huge variety. I can say categorically that I never expected a child to bring a gift but would like to tell you about one that I really appreciated in recent years.

I received a fair sized bar of chocolate, cracked and rather 'distressed' round the edges and wrapped in an equally distressed piece of tissue paper. The child's mother explained that her small boy had wanted to sort the gift out all by himself and had over some considerable time, saved up a few pence a week pocket money to buy the chocolate bar and had wrapped it himself. On the same day I received an expensive looking necklace from a girl whose mother worked in a jewellers shop. The child hadn't even seen what was in the box and wasn't particularly interested to know. I treasured one of those two gifts for a while and then ate it.

I (almost) always ate any edible offering from the children, but I must confess to donating some 'Best Teacher' mugs, baskets, plaques and other ornaments to charity shops. (usually the following July) Unfortunately, there is not room to house all of those I collected over the years.

If a child really wishes to give something, that should be the only reason to do so. Also, the best type of gift is inexpensive, perhaps something made by the child, or written by them. Alternatively, a verbal 'Thank you,' is more appreciated than you can ever imagine!

littlerat

At my primary school, the couple of times I remember gifts being sorted (really by Mum), she gave a couple of selection boxes of biscuits at christmas (before end of term) for the staff room. That way support staff got a share too. Always seemed appreciated and got eaten.

Back then though a small present or just a card was the norm, there were a couple who always did a lot but it wasn't an overly well off area in general, most people couldn't afford £20 gifts.


I have to say though, my primary school teachers weren't ever ungrateful. It was generally known if you gave them individually a box of biccies/chocolate, it'd be shared with their family - I see nothing odd about that