Teachers, will you be accepting gifts this year?

[NullcovoidNovember]

Just wondering, I imagine home made fudge would not go down well 😂😂🎄🎄 but flowers... Booze? In gift bags...

They can be quarantined...

Retiremental given they accept our children breathing over them, sneezing around them and coming into closer-than-2m contact with them on a daily basis, I don't think a wrapped gift that they can quarantine would be a particular concern.

@slothtrot

I hope that this year sees an end to gifts to teachers, it's an unnecessary expense for families.

Many of the parents at DDs parents were struggling financially to exist. Come to Christmas time you see them carrying in massive gift bags trying to outdo each other. School made a half hearted effort to ‘suggest’ it wasn’t a good idea. It needs to be stopped.

No, not this year, my kid has had less than 3 months schooling this year. He’s SN and it costs a fortune to buy gifts for a teacher, 3 TA’s and office staff, yes office staff! I am not a Scrooge but it’s too much.

I’m a teacher and it would be really rude to refuse a gift, so I would accept. But I actually don’t like teacher gifts and would be happy if my school did a blanket ban this year.

User why do you not like teacher gifts??

I really want to give my DSs teacher something, she's amazing. This is if 5th year in school and she's one of the top two teachers hes had.

I’m not User, but I’m another teacher who doesn’t like gifts, because I live in a very deprived area, and I’d much rather people who are really struggling don’t feel any pressure to give a present to me when I have so much more than them.

Two of my most treasured teacher gifts came from young men with not much to give. One was an own brand pot noodle, because he liked them and thought I would. The other was foundation in a lurid shade of orange. I don't wear makeup but I'm a girl and girls do so...
The fact that they wanted to give me something to thank me was worth much more than the gift itself.
I think primary and secondary are very different in that respect. Class teacher collections are not a thing.

Matilda definitely no worries about me struggling for money. But I will take on board comments about competitive gift giving. So I'll go down the road of a more discreet voucher.

MrsHamlet that's very sweet.

There are a couple of teachers that I'd love to go back in time and thank. My P4 teacher, who read books and my 1st year English teacher, who recognized dyslexia in me.

Mrs hamlet that's so incredibly touching and I think that's also summed up many gifts given to me over the years by my own dp. Lots of love and care, usually little money and sometimes spectacularly wrong but wondeful.

Homemade cakes and sweets are often gratefully received and then binned. Teachers know how clean or not kids fingees are! I love how some mums on here think, "oh but mine are different," but it really is common not to touch home made cakes. Same for break timebake sales - teachers will compliment and buy one... but not eat!

I really think this year anything edible unless bought and wrapped will be a very bad idea. Everything will be quaranteened for 3 days anyway.

I kept every note or thankyou not I had though. Not the generic xmas cards but anything a child or parent had written. I've kept those forever. There's only 1 or 2 gifts I remember who they came from.

Now we are lower income I am reminded of this and help my children write notes and a token small chocolate but dont worry I cant afford bigger stuff. And wouldn't dream of home made food!

We’ll do the usual vouchers organised by the form representatives from voluntary donations. Card will be online.

The last time I saw pot noodle boy was when he was getting off a train. He gave me the biggest hug and introduced me to his girlfriend as "this is miss. The one I told you about" 😢

Mrs hamlet!! How wonderful.
That's just so touching

He was a fab kid - loads of barriers to learning, did the best he could but his results were jumping photo newsworthy, often in trouble.... I've still got my pot noodle.
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MrsHamlet you certainly seem to have left a massive impression on each other. You sound like the sort of teacher who will be remembered years and years on.

My eldest class, is parents chip in about €10 and get a one4all voucher for the teacher and SNA. There's about 22 kids in the class so around €150 for the teacher and €70 for SNA. There is no pressure at all and some parents separately give gifts but I cannot be arsed.

My youngest teacher taught my eldest as well so she's had my two kids in the space of three years. She's absolutely fantastic and I'd love to get her something nice don't know what yet.

I think teachers are amazing. The teachers in my children's school are so kind, patient, friendly and always happy to see the kids (even when they're having a shitty day you can never tell).
To all teachers thank you for all you do for the kids and especially now you have to work with twenty something (or more) potential Covid carriers 😁😁

Best presents I have ever had have been thankyou cards from the kids.

I know its cheesy and I love booze as much as the next drunk person, but the thankyou means so much more.

@MrsHamlet

The last time I saw pot noodle boy was when he was getting off a train. He gave me the biggest hug and introduced me to his girlfriend as "this is miss. The one I told you about" 😢

I'm not a teacher but had this with a young man in a shelter I worked in. Homeless at 18, I ran into him wearing a suit, for his new job, with his girlfriend and baby years later. I was also, "the one I told you about". I well up thinking about him.

If I never did anything else, I justified my place on the earth losing to him at Scrabble in the homeless shelter.

‘I’m not User, but I’m another teacher who doesn’t like gifts, because I live in a very deprived area, and I’d much rather people who are really struggling don’t feel any pressure to give a present to me when I have so much more than them.’

I have gotten my dc’s teacher a gift because she is amazing and we want to thank her and the team are also lovely too. We have gotten her a little card and a small gift and then a tin of biscuits/chocolates for the team. Dc wants to give her his present himself and we will do it at the very start or end of the school day and wait back until last ones so nobody else sees. I am especially grateful to the teachers and staff and how hardworking and fantastic they have been esp this year with Covid.

If you’re dithering over this you really can’t go wrong with spending a half an hour writing something personal saying you appreciate them and their work. Get your child to draw a nice picture in a card and write something heartfelt.

Chocs and smellies are lovely but words are better. Particularly if they have been painstakingly formed by a child you know struggled with the whole using-a-pen thing.

I guarantee you it will be appreciated, kept and treasured. It will be a boost when things are tough and raise a smile on wet mornings.

I work in a nursery and have done throughout the pandemic
If I can hug your child, wipe their bottom and their nose, then of course I’m going to accept that bottle of wine you give me on the last day of term
It would be rude not to