Real-life MMD: Should I pay fixed contribution for teacher's gift?

didabuf

i am a parent of triplets so that would be £75 for me. shocking and i would in no way be paying it. the only contribution i would be making to the school is a complaint letter. i cant believe that they even think this is acceptable.
for anyone who thinks it is reasonable because your child gets free education.... hhhmmmmm what do we pay our taxes for and are we forgetting teachers get paid, alot more then what i do.
i hope to see a follow up and how this OP replied to this and i hope it is in the press or at the very least a complaint!!!

Croc_Mad

That is shocking. Don't pay it, speak to the governers. My family are teachers and they are always pleased just to get a card.

juliettet

I agree this is shocking. A close friend is a retired headteacher and when she was at school there was a policy of home made cards only. I would write to the goveners and enclose a copy of the "John Lewis reply".

littledevillisa

To say I am appalled is an understatement. £25 for a gift in a time where unemployment is high and many households are struggling to live on a day to day basis. MSE has been campaigning for financial education in schools for a very long time now in an attempt to teach children about better money management - which this clearly is not. The response of the teacher is disgusting and shows pure greed in my opinion, also the fact your son is so upset because his family will be the ones not complying shows there has been pressure to provide and this amounts simply to bullying. Teachers are some of a child's first adult role models outside of their family unit, they are there to set examples.

Gift giving is suppose to be a positive experience and the content of said gift is the choice of the giver NOT the receiver, as also is the choice to actually give a gift in the first instance. This experience is giving your son the totally wrong impression about money and the giving of gifts and the school should be advised of this in the form of a letter copied to the LEA.

Reading through the posts from other teachers on here shows this one bad example is the exception to the rule however.

mikehump3

What an awful situation. The tipping, or pressure to tip, public servants, teachers, nurses, doctors and others is an absolute disgrace. Regardless of level of service, we should accept only best service anyway. If you disagree with me then by all means feel free to tip the tax man, your local MP and others.

The disgusting immorality of this case is that a young person felt personally pressured into making a gift gesture.

Box of chocolates, soap set or aftershave does not raise the same ire.

Sensibility

Please do not be bullied into giving any money (or John Lewis vouchers - I can't believe the cheek of this particular teacher!!!) as they are asking way too much and it is entirely inappropriate. I am sure most other parents must be feeling the same way. If I was the head teacher or one of the governors of this school, I would be horrified that this was going on. ALL gifts to teachers are entirely voluntary and no parents are obliged to give anything at all.

Please do stand up for yourself on this. £25 is far too much to ask for and the teachers shouldn't ask for any gift at all.

Suarez

Is it just me who thinks Martin Lewis is trolling us...

Mick66

I am in the forces and we are not even allowed to collect the points on fuel bought during the course of our job! Let alone accept gifts. So I would tell the school where to get off and explain to your son that there are a lot of more deserving causes out there than one that lines the pocket of his teacher ready for the summer holidays!

tooraloola

As a former teacher I am astonished at this practice. Children feel very pressured by feeling different and I really feel for the poor child who is now probably worried sick by his mum refusing (quite rightly) to pay. I am utterly disgusted by this. The teacher who said she prefers JL vouchers is a disgrace.

If children WANT to give their teacher a small token, that's one thing...but this is outrageous. Yes it IS taxable and the teacher who posted should get spelling lessons...it is paid not payed.

I would complain to the Local Education Authority.

ripongrammargirl

I am absolutely horrified at the thought of being told to give £25 per child for what sounds like a money grabbing teacher. Is he/she so good at their job that they deserve this? I think not. Your child is learning immorality from the very people that should be making a stand against this- teachers and parents. What kind of a world is this teacher living in(John Lewis vouchers indeed!). Maybe you should send them a copy of Madonna's "Material World"? When I was at school we used to give our teacher a beautiful bunch of home grown sweet peas or roses, but only if they had been great throughout the year and we had learned something useful, which did not include a maths lesson on how to rip off the children in the class, English for advertising John Lewis or Personal and Social Education in how to be a money grabbing, materialistic scrounger. Shame on this teacher who should not be in such a responsible profession, shame on the school for allowing this to happen and shame on the parents for not taking a stand much sooner and effectively being made to feel the odd one out for not contributing. As an ex teaching assistant, with a sister who is Head of Music in a school, I am disgusted by the whole thing.