Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Gifts for teachers

I want to ask for opinions about appropriate gifts for teachers.

I've just received an email asking everyone to make a $25 contribution for a gift for a my son's teacher. They want to buy something "sentimental" (which is a mug [?]) and a gift card. That's going to be a nice gift card. And then there are the Christmas gifts, too.

The parents at my other son's charter school wanted parents to cook every day for the first week of school so that the teachers (and staff, presumably, though they weren't mentioned) would have free freshly cooked lunch the whole week. Seriously?


This seems a bit much to me. The $25-contribution class is small, and the teacher is wonderful, but still...it's starting to feel like an arms race. What's wrong with something low-key, like getting the kids to make something, and/or some flowers? Why do we have to make everything so lavish?

Wow. We send in $25 to the room moms for the whole year. And I was whining because it used to be $20. :lol Gift cards to the local mall or the local book store can go a long ways for a teacher, though. I'm happy to do it, especially when I see the venom aimed at teachers during our last budget levy.

It is an arms race. Home made meals is a new one. I've seen some parents put on things for teachers that seemed like it probably made more work for the teacher. Alas. I'm certainly not the one doing any of the orchestration.

Just remember that everyone forgets the specials teachers and intervention specialists. My kids spent the long weekend making them cards and I got small gift cards for the intervention specialists.

Here it's $20 for the year, split between holiday gift and end-of-year gift.


That's where the rub is. If you have kids who make extra demands on the school, you end up thanking a lot more people. I do end up spending *significantly* on gifts for special ed teachers (as well as small gift cards for school OT, PT, etc. etc.) It does run into money. But I need these people to feel invested in.

And I do get steamed that special ed teachers never get the district teaching award; they are some of the best teachers in our district, and you have to thank them somehow.

DeeDee

If it seems like a bit too much, say something.

We're not doing anything formal for either of our teachers this year. Last year they asked for a $20 donation.

I try to do little things throughout the year to let our teachers know how much we treasure them. We bring in doughnuts and flowers. I ask what they would like for their classrooms. DD's teacher said that the best gift she got this year was 3M packing tape because the stuff the school has is so cheap and hard to use!

I agree. I just read a post from another parent about a rather lavish class gift - a gift card worth several hundred dollars to her favorite store plus some other smaller gifts. We chose not to participate because I wanted my kid to have some ownership of her "Thank you" to her teacher, i.e. make a card and include some kind of personal sentiment.

We do *always* ask our kids to write handwritten letters to the teachers they are thanking. I think that means a good deal.

DeeDee

$100 ! Portia, I am curious -- what are the extras in the class ?
Here, I think the norm is $20.


And, yes, if you contribute, your name will be listed. If not, it will not be listed. I often wonder if the teachers who receive gifts keep track of who did contribute/who did not contribute

Ditto to your experience of parents desperately wanting to be room parents. I see this more in the lower elementary grades than the upper elementary grades. By middle school, no one seems to want to be the room parent. Ha !

I share a similar view to MON.

These monetary teacher gifts always seem like a conflict of interest to me. Corporate officers and public officials are scrutinized for even measly gifts; why are teachers expecting gifts?

To me, an appropriate gift is given voluntarily for a job that is significantly above and beyond the call of duty, and it's given after the activity is complete so that gifts don't elicit favouritism.

Now, that being said, I'm completely in favour of heartfelt notes throughout the year, handmade cards and gifts made at children's initiative, etc. I would think the best gift a teacher could get, aside from an engaged and enthusiastic student, is a letter of praise cc'd to the principal. At least, that is what would make *me* feel valued and appreciated.

When I was room parent for K, 1st, 2nd, I would send out an end of the year email requesting a "donation". I did not set a $$ amount and just worked with what I had received to purchase a gift and a gift card, with any remaining $$ after the gift. If I got $20 from one person, I would have been ecstatic. LOL I think I would maybe have 12 participants out of a class of 22, which I considered pretty good. I would include ALL the students names on the card though, even those who did not contribute because I certainly am not the type of person to exclude anyone based on income or ability to contribute.

I was always able to purchase a nice sentimental gift plus usually a $100 gift card.

To me, that is a small token to let these hard working teachers know that they are appreciated.

This year, I am not a room parent, I can't stand our room parents and won't contribute, but I will definitely buy my DD teacher a very nice gift as well as have DD make her a thank you card because this teacher has been great to Emily (if a little frustrating to me) and that is what is important to me at the end of my day.

We just had Teacher Appreciation Week, and our PTA asked students to buy packs of post-it notes for their teachers with a handwritten note or picture on the first sheet. We bought a bunch and made sure we gave them to their "extra" teachers (speech, resource specialist, etc) and the office staff. They all see a lot of DS, so I felt it was the least we could do.

There hasn't been any talk of a group gift for DD's kinder teacher, so I'm not sure what we'll do. Probably a small gift card and note. She has been teaching for a long time, and her classroom is cluttered with mugs and magnets and dustables with various teacher slogans on them. She doesn't need any more from us.