Teacher’s Gifts - Not another mug 😫

[Jessprimarytutor]

With the end of term approaching, the adverts for "Teacher's Gifts" seem to be doing the rounds on social media.

As an ex teacher, I never expected to get any presents and was always grateful when I did. However, if you are considering buying a gift for your child's teacher, please consider what you choose. It's unlikely they need another "Best Teacher" or personalised: mug, notebook, keyring, plaque, bag etc etc.

The best gifts I got (that were also well received by my colleagues) were when a few parents or a class of parents had got together and gave us a voucher e.g. for an experience (spa, massage, local pub to put towards a meal) or so we could chose something we wanted/needed (e.g. book token, John Lewis). Vouchers for the frozen meal company Cook, M&S, Waitrose would be great to help them to buy easy to cook meals once term restarts.

Or if you have more time/energy, try and find out what the teacher enjoys doing in their free time - you could get a keen gardener a voucher for a local garden centre etc if you wanted to make it more personal.

If every parent who spends say £2 on a box of chocolates/mug, came together - that would be a lovely £60 voucher (in a class of 30) for a teacher and would make their day.

There’s enough Teachers Tat in the world already! Please don’t add to it.

the children could not bring in any Xmas cards for each other due to Covid but that we could send in teacher presents as they'd quarantine those.
The brass neck of that!

Our reception teacher sent an email out saying no gifts please. Unfortunately the y1 teacher gave out thank you cards to all the children who gave her presents. Lovely idea but that special extra card from a loved teacher was a big deal and so this year we've already bought presents. I've been asked about it every day since half term. We've already had fights over who is giving her what.

Contributing to a voucher wouldn't work because it's not about my relationship with their teacher, it's about their relationship - someone they love very much who is leaving their life.

Generally I'm really anti cheap tat for the sake of it so I'm grateful for teachers who share some likes with their class. My dad became known for silly ties and every summer would come home with new ones

I agree, Purple. I don't think whip rounds are fair. Not everyone's got £20 £10 or even £5 to put in the pot, especially if they've got 2 or 3 kids. Some parents have just about got each £1:00 spare for present. There'd be no clique Queen bee dictating to me about how much money I hand over, not a chance.

purpletomato that's terrible!

Oh dear. I'm a teacher and expect nothing. I sent my dsd to school with a box of celebrations for her teacher who is finishing a couple of weeks early. I think that's plenty. I hate the thought of anyone having a whip round on my behalf. Not everyone has got a spare £2

It's the thought that counts! Tat it may well be but a child has chosen that for you and that is a lovely gesture. You sound very ungrateful tbh.

Please know any gift is appreciated and not expected or required. One parent used to make lovely homemade biscuits and put them in a little bag and I so appreciated the effort her and the child had gone to to make them. I’ve kept all the homemade cards and kind notes from parents too, they mean so much, far more than a spa day. I’ve always worked in fairly deprived areas and anything the parents or children gave us was so gratefully received.

One of my dses’ teachers - a lovely Aussie bloke - told his class one year that he wanted tins of lager for his end of year present. Apparently he had a stack of them under his desk. I declined to follow suit.

Some good teacher presents I’ve either heard of, or bought for my dses to give - strawberries and cream - a nice treat that is consumable, not too pricy, and doesn’t require the teacher to find a home for it. A bumper joke book - I got this for one of the teachers when the dses were in Junior school - the teacher concerned was a real joker, so I hoped he’d appreciate some new material. Pens, pencils and stickers - the sort of stuff they end up buying for the class out of their own money. Or a book token so they can get a new book for the classroom.

I also think things like chocolates, biscuits, tea and coffee could be well received.

I work in a school and the thing I treasure the most is a handmade card or picture or a few warm words ❤️

Purpletomato i totally agree with you.
I am a bit upset about this thread really. I just can't believe someone would take the time to right such a crass message. And the arrogance of talking for 'all teachers' as an 'ex teacher'. The sheer audacity to call children's presents 'tat' and and for spa weekends, meal vouchers and Waitrose vouchers.

It's upset me really. My son has a teacher and a teacher's assistant. I can't afford much so decided to plan ahead and budget so he can buy both a little present. We have decided to buy a personalised stamped for each of them. He decided on the message and colour. Last year I couldnt afford anything, and i was embarrassed. It is from him after all. Do teachers just take all the 'tat' into the staffroom and slag it off and bin it? This is what this ex teacher is suggesting happens.

I’m just planning on a couple of Amazon vouchers for DS’s teacher and TA. If they hate Amazon they can give them away.

I don't buy my dds teachers anything. I wrote a nice email to all her teachers saying thank you and something that dd had enjoyed. Secondary though.

Do teachers just take all the 'tat' into the staffroom and slag it off and bin it? This is what this ex teacher is suggesting happens. I agree @Miniestelle. Way to kick people when they are down OP.

I teach FE so rarely get a gift, I have been for a drink with some of my favourite access course classes over the years though . My cousins teach primary and they hate mugs too, one year my cousin literally got ten best teacher mugs and she just didn’t have space for them all so donated them to charity shops. They don’t eat chocolate either (too health conscious) so tend to give that away. They always prefer a homemade card to anything with monetary value.

@Miniestelle

Purpletomato i totally agree with you. I am a bit upset about this thread really. I just can't believe someone would take the time to right such a crass message. And the arrogance of talking for 'all teachers' as an 'ex teacher'. The sheer audacity to call children's presents 'tat' and and for spa weekends, meal vouchers and Waitrose vouchers.

It's upset me really. My son has a teacher and a teacher's assistant. I can't afford much so decided to plan ahead and budget so he can buy both a little present. We have decided to buy a personalised stamped for each of them. He decided on the message and colour. Last year I couldnt afford anything, and i was embarrassed. It is from him after all. Do teachers just take all the 'tat' into the staffroom and slag it off and bin it? This is what this ex teacher is suggesting happens.

I’ve worked in over 20 schools (not a teacher) and I’ve only once heard a teacher make a slightly negative comment about a parent’s gift - and that was only because the parent was involved in an MLM, constantly rammed it down everyone’s throat at every opportunity - it became a running joke that their MLM product was the cure for everything - and the gift they gave the teacher was linked to the MLM. Even then it only raised a “I wonder where you can buy x item…” (it was in a printed gift bag with the parent’s email, Facebook, Instagram and phone number so was a tongue in cheek comment).

I know quite a few teachers who worry about families putting pressure on themselves to do gifts so please don’t worry. The chances of your child’s teacher being as nasty as the Op are teeny tiny.

@Awwlookatmybabyspider

I agree, Purple. I don't think whip rounds are fair. Not everyone's got £20 £10 or even £5 to put in the pot, especially if they've got 2 or 3 kids. Some parents have just about got each £1:00 spare for present. There'd be no clique Queen bee dictating to me about how much money I hand over, not a chance.

Randomly that’s why I ended up being the one that does the collection.

The parent that used to do it was absolutely fucking hideous to others about amounts. I offered to do it one day when she was whinging about the effort and she couldn’t really say no without looking like a dick. It was a week after she’d utterly humiliated another parent for “not bothering” to contribute when everyone knew that person was in a really difficult situation.

I don’t even look at who has sent what. Just the total amount. I was the parent who didn’t have more than £1 spare at one point so I don’t care who puts in what.

Also all of the kids sign the card (some do their own as well, but they all get the chance to sign) and I don’t give a monkeys if their parent has contributed or not.

@FakeColinCaterpillar

I’ve never understood as a local authority employee I couldn’t accept anything and teachers could accept armfuls of gifts.

DD went to a school in a deprived area and on the last day of term parents would turn up with gigantic baskets of gifts. These were people struggling to make ends meet. It’s sickening and I know there was a lot of competitiveness going on. The school did little to discourage it before covid. The culture needs to change.

Agree with this. I've worked in the public and voluntary sector for years and gifts are strongly discouraged. At most they can be up to the value of £5 and should be shared eg chocolates. Schools really should consider discouraging gifts, especially in areas where lots of family's are on a low income

The whip round happens in our DCs class

If you don't contribute your child's name doesn't go on the card

I despise it quite frankly as it identifies who can't afford it

I did raise that point but was shot down. Affluent area but there are definitely parents who can't afford it

@Fanofcrisps

Oh dear. I'm a teacher and expect nothing. I sent my dsd to school with a box of celebrations for her teacher who is finishing a couple of weeks early. I think that's plenty. I hate the thought of anyone having a whip round on my behalf. Not everyone has got a spare £2

Glad to see the voice of reason from the above and a few teachers and ex teachers. It isn't teacher-hate to think that, much as we value them, there are many valuable proffessions/jobs that do not get this stuff, many of which are paid less than teachers. I think I have an issue, and obs others do, as treating one proffession as more deserving of spa vouchers than other equally valued proffessions. And I'm teacher trained, and DD is a teacher, before anyone says I don't understand the stresses.

I made these for my dd who left secondary school this year (had teacher name on and was laminated) she said one teacher started crying and another emailed me to say she had never received a gift as she has alway worked in secondary school and she will cherish it x

It’s 6 years since mine left school but in junior school we were asked for £30 by the class rep. £15 for the teacher and £5 each for the TAs. With two children I didn’t always have that much to spare.

If you buy high school teachers boxes of chocolates, they share them with the children who are in after school detention.

@UnitedRoad This is madness 😱 What the hell did they buy for the teacher??! Say there were 30 kids in class x £15 it’s a whopping £450!!!

I started a thread yesterday on mn about teacher bashing. The OP for this thread has gone and put something which is going to understandably provoke a bit of teacher bashing.
Not all teachers think this way. Some of us are very appreciative and thankful for any form of thanks from children and parents. If you happen to get something nice as a teacher, it's just a bonus, definitely not an expectation or something to be fussy about.
The only thing that's sometimes pissed me off as a teacher (primary), is parents that don't even say thank you on the last day or just a goodbye. You're just there to do a job in there eyes I guess. Or maybe they've just quietly hated you for the year... I'd like to hope that wasn't the case though.

Jesus Christ.
I have been a teacher for 20 years.
You grabby grabber you!
The teachers I know do not expect gifts. I’m happy with anything or nothing. Having the pleasure of teaching the lovely children is enough for me.