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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think this is too much?

128 replies

MiserlyMisery · 14/06/2016 11:26

I have just received a letter from the DS's class reps informing me that we want to thank DS's teachers Mrs F (4 days a week) and Mrs C (1 day a week) for their work that of Mrs F can only be described as mediocre at best and to give them a present. Each child will make a flower for each teacher. They will buy a plant and the flowers will be laid in the flower pot. I must bring the completed flowers, along with a tenner to their house by X date.

There are 21 children in the class, assuming the family with twins only pays once that is 200 with which to buy two plants. AIBU to think this is crazy?

I will state that I intensely dislike Mrs F who has done absolutely nothing for DS this past year and who quite honestly in my biased opinion should not be teaching. I resent being instructed that I am to hand this money over for her. Is this normal procedure and its just my dislike colouring my reaction or would you ask what they are planning to buy exactly?

OP posts:
RedToothBrush · 14/06/2016 13:14

Stage a rebellion!

Send a letter round to everyone saying simply:

"A collective £200 for flowers? Are you on crack?"

Sit back, see what happens.

BoatyMcBoat · 14/06/2016 13:19

£10!!!!! Shock I wouldn't, even if I thought a teacher was the best thing since sliced bread - sorry, teachers, most of you are worth your weight in gold, but a) I don't have gold, and b) you're all, without exception, being paid more than I am already.

In Primary, we gave dd's favourite teacher (and mine) a bottle of plonk and some home made biscuits in a nice tin.

In Secondary, if dd wants to give a teacher a present, she deals with it herself. Generally, it's home made sweets or a piece of art (they'll all be worth a lot one day!).

TheNaze73 · 14/06/2016 13:19

redtooth I doth my hat to you. How funny? Grin Are you on crack, is a great question to ask

nobilityobliges · 14/06/2016 13:23

Are you in a very high income area or at a private school? If you're all rich I kind of think it's alright for the to ask for this actually. Obviously you don't have to give though, but clearly the organisers know it's not compulsory.

BabyGanoush · 14/06/2016 13:32

We've had this a few times.

I just e-mail back saying:

"Thanks, DD wants to do her own present this year so we won't be taking part in the group present this time, xx BabyG."

easy

MyCatWasRightAboutYou · 14/06/2016 13:42

200 quid for two plants and it's not even a leaving gift?? Confused

That's ridiculous.

RedToothBrush · 14/06/2016 13:50

TheNaze73 I'm going to be in trouble when DS starts school aren't I?

Diplomacy is not my strongest characteristic.

MiserlyMisery · 14/06/2016 13:54

Not private. Not a particularly high income area, a few posh houses, the rest middling.

Have just spoken to one of the mums with a child in the younger year (mixed class) and she hasn't received anything. She thinks it might just be from the children leaving the class, 9, which makes it vaguely more reasonable although I'm pretty sure we had the same thing last year but only 5 was asked.

Its still more than she deserves. Sigh. I must get this out of my system and learn to be civil before DD starts. Home made biscuits laced with something might be the way forwards I suppose.

OP posts:
BoatyMcBoat · 14/06/2016 21:40

Just ignore it, and anyone who mentions being a bit shocked or unhappy about it tell them to too. This is a ridiculous thing, far too much, and for a ta people don't even like. Why thank her for doing a job badly? The practise of everyone must have a present whether they deserve it or not is just silly.

When I was a child, parents sent a box of chocs for the staff room; if a child particularly liked a teacher then they made a card, though I do remember a teacher being really touched because one child had saved pocket money and bought her some sweets (!).

converseandjeans · 14/06/2016 21:56

This is the amount we give at my kids primary school. I initially thought it was loads then thought about how people going out for pizza, taking a taxi, having a haircut etc.. are prepared to leave a decent tip for a service that took about an hour. Of course the teachers are paid a decent salary but majority go above and beyond and are with the children more hours than the parents some weeks. So if you think about 39 weeks a year and 5 days a week and divide the £10 over the year it doesn't seem too bad. The teachers in my kids school get vouchers - but it gets divided up between the TA and all of the other helpers who are often unpaid. To be fair the gifts the class rep chooses are lovely - nice flowers/vouchers etc. and not tacky. So much more use than an assortment of 'favourite teacher' mugs and chocs they may not like. I don't think it is assumed or expected. If you don't get on with the teacher then it is probably not worth contributing.

acasualobserver · 14/06/2016 22:03

£10? That's silly. £1 per parent would be much nearer the mark IMO - a token gift is all that should be required. But if you are as dissatisfied with your child's teacher as you appear to be, then give nothing. It is, as they say, a free country. If, however, you simply want to add to the toxic MN discourse about teachers then please proceed.

swearymad · 14/06/2016 22:26

I liked my son's teachers but didn't see why I needed to give them gifts for doing their jobs. So I just didn't.

ScreenshottingIsNotJournalism · 14/06/2016 22:31

I paid into a group gift like this once, the "recipient" wasn't the one that benefited!

£200 for a plant? I don't think so, cuttings from the garden in an old pot & £200 for the rep's mum who always puts herself up as the arranger of stuff, but then gets the huff that "nobody else helps or appreciates all the stuff I do for them that they didn't ask for or enjoy" and thinks the world owes her whatever she siphons off for herself….

yes I'm once bitten twice fuckoffI'llgetmykidtodoahandprint Grin

MiserlyMisery · 15/06/2016 08:23

Alright then Hmm I'll add to the discourse casual and you can tell me if I'm being unreasonable in being dissatisfied.

She informed me in the first term of last year that he belonged in a special school as he seemed totally bewildered by what was happening around him, not joining in, not following instructions etc. We had a meeting with the teachers in which we pointed out he was being schooled in his third language, we had just moved to the area and it was decided to give him time to settle in. We have been told to stop speaking to him in our native languages Hmm

At some point she called me in to tell me I needed to teach him not to lie. (at this point he never had lied to us). Her reasoning being he went to tell her another child had hurt him. She asked the child if he had. Child said no. Ergo my son was a liar.

One afternoon he didn't want to go back to school (comes home for lunch) because Mrs F had hurt him. I took him in and asked for a word, asked if anything had happened that morning and explained. She said no, launched into telling him off for lying and said that she hadn't had any contact with him that morning as she'd had a TA and DS had been exclusively with TA. Then she remembered that she had grabbed him on the arm as he'd tried to walk behind her chair and pulled him round to go in front of her. I explained to DS that she hadn't meant to hurt him, she interrupted and said that she hadn't hurt him. Let it go as DS is sensitive to touch, especially if he's not expecting it.

They're allowed to take something in once a week for show and tell. He usually refused, but one week decided to take his favourite book in. There wasn't time for him to show it, but he was allowed to show it to another child. Child wasn't interested, but DS was upset he hadn't been allowed to show it to the class. Went in for a word and her only response was, "but he knows something about it, he was trying to explain it to us Shock ". Her tone was complete shock as if she'd just written him off as an idiot. She said it was clear he was hiding stuff and he should go to the school services for an assessment.

Following this any conversation followed along the lines of me asking if all had gone ok. Her saying "yes, today was fine. Does he have a diagnosis yet?"

Continued until the a few weeks before the Christmas holidays where I found out he wasn't getting the rewards the rest of the class was (because "there's no point giving him them as he does the same activity over and over again"); that she was repeatedly asking him questions in front of the rest of the class, ignoring his (correct) response and repeating the questions as if speaking to an idiot until all the rest of the children fell about laughing; teaching the children to pull their eyes into slits when singing chinese songs; led him to believe he wouldn't be getting any presents from Santa (then denying she had said anything to him); telling the children that some people are different and don't like having their cheeks pinched so they are not to do it to DS; wanting to isolate him from the rest of the class for activities; arranging field trips when she knows he won't be there (three times, imo is no coincidence); not letting him join in the gym class for the first year (dyspraxia); instead of insisting he joins in with activities, she lets him play in the corner if he says he doesn't want to do to so basically he is now ridiculously behind; comparing his work to the others and when I ask what she is going to help him says its not her job to do that, it is just as it is; suggesting he does reduced hours this year so that the other children can see he is different and will stop asking her why he can't do things as well as they can. I only found out before Christmas by chance, she never told me he wasn't keeping up, I was led to believe all was well, she was waiting for the parents evening in February. Which is when I found out that she had never asked him if he understood what he had to do because she gives her instructions once and the children are expected to listen. Now we've no idea if its an language issue, unwilling to do it as he has difficulty/doesn't want to be laughed at if he doesn't do as well as the others, processing issue or stubborn refusal. I have to teach him to toughen up and to tell him to stop going to her if he is upset/hurt and telling her what has happened. So now he comes home with nail imprints/bite marks/injuries from being pushed over and refuses to say what has happened.

My child has gone from a happy friendly child to one who whispers answers to me if I ask him a question, for fear of getting it wrong and being laughed at and to hurting himself so he doesn't have to go in in the mornings. Thankfully he now has a 1:1 four hours a week and is catching up.

So yes, I resent being asked for money for her "doing her job".

OP posts:
StillDrSethHazlittMD · 15/06/2016 08:33

When I was at school (42 now) there was almost none of this collection nonsense that seems so common now. I have teacher friends who get cupboards full at Xmas and at the end of each year of stuff from parents. Most of them hate it and don't want them and give them away.

The only time we, as kids, ever did collections - and we organised them ourselves - was a whip round for a bus driver on a school trip (yes, even in primary school we did this) or if a teacher left that we really liked.

AbyssinianBanana · 15/06/2016 08:37

Wow. Fuck local etiquette.

Anything rude will be chalked up to being an expat and not knowing any better - so may as well be THAT parent.

RabbitSaysWoof · 15/06/2016 08:40

Wow what a bitch. Shit in a box and wrap it up.

WhatALoadOfWankers · 15/06/2016 08:50

Bloody hell OP . Fuck that . Point blank refuse . YANBU

Unpropergrammer · 15/06/2016 08:53

She is completely and utterly inappropriate. You definitely need to be making sure the head is aware of all of that! Put it in writing. Kick up q stink. 100% not okay.

callherwillow · 15/06/2016 08:59

You know some will STILL say you misunderstood because you weren't there? Grin

Georgina1975 · 15/06/2016 09:03

I think it's all ridiculus to be honest. If somebody has gone very far out of their way, then maybe. But an annual expected thing!?!

I remember the Christmas box for bin men, newspaper boys etc... ... Partly as recognition that these people did pretty hard manual labour on crap wages. Do these people also organise collections for the local street cleaner (or the school cleaners, dinner ladies, maintenance people for that matter).

£200 present = Blowing smoke up teachers arse most likely

BalloonSlayer · 15/06/2016 09:05

She thinks it might just be from the children leaving the class,

But you said your DS has her again next year, so he's not leaving her class, so why have you been asked?

CocktailQueen · 15/06/2016 09:09

Just say you've made your own plans. She sounds awful.

MiserlyMisery · 15/06/2016 09:14

No Balloon, I said my DD has her next year Sad

OP posts:
tibbawyrots · 15/06/2016 09:16

Bloody hell, that's awful! You really must do something as what she's doing is eroding his self confidence fast and that is something which is going to affect him for potentially his entire life. Poor little mite.

I know how it feels not speaking up because someone will laugh due to years of bullying which culminated in my breaking down in class in the last year of primary school, my teacher sorted it out and I had 3 months of being treated normally then went to secondary school and someone from my primary school kindly told my new classmates about it so it started again.

I hated school.

Sorry to derail. Flowers