Teacher presents. End of term.

[rackhampearl]

Aibu to ask you teachers what your best and worst present experiences have been from --parents students. Also has anyone got any ideas? I'm thinking of miniature bottles of Hendricks gin and a small can of fever tree in a gift bag for the teachers heavily involved in my DDs school life and some loaf cakes for the staff room. Is that abit naff?

I loved handwritten messages from the children. I’ve kept them all in a scrapbook!

Nothing with best teacher on it please- they come from a good place but end up in landfill. Parents at our school won’t/can’t pay for school trips or dinners so don’t expect that a class whip round will work everywhere. A nice card and a heart felt thank you is more than enough.

I love a card. Don’t underestimate how much teachers value them. I keep every single one of them - I have quite a lot after many years in teaching. When I have a bad day, or I’m feeling sad, I get them out and have a read. Some of the kids who wrote those cards will be in their forties by now and yet they still cheer me up on a regular basis.

Wine is always welcome, mind.

My friend keeps being given wine. She’s a recovering alcoholic. She was delighted with vouchers though.

Im a secondary teacher and head of year 11. I love the cards and thank you letters or emails. My yr11s have just left and their cards made me cry. The cards are definitely the best bits. As for presents, any thing is appreciated, but nothing is expected and no child is judged for not buying something - ever. It is so nice to feel appreciated but I don't deserve a £300 gift! That is crazy and way too much of an expectation to put on people. Teaching is a tough job, but the bits that I hate are the politics and underfunding, not being in the classroom with the kids - they are the reason I stay. Most teachers are greatful for anything. Dh and I make our way through the wine, the dc help eat the chocolate, the mugs get used.

I am going to echo the idea of the lovely card. I'm a physio, not a teacher though.

Apart from a few presents, I've forgotten them all. But I have kept every single card I got.

This class collection thing- is it guilt trip parents into handing over money they don’t have by telling each child to bring in money for a class present?

I work in a school nursery and a card makes me really happy. I don't drink, not a huge fan of chocolate. So the card makes my day.

I agree op. I hate the class present concept as they seem to be a set amount rather than a whip round pop in what you want .

No one knows who can and can’t afford a fiver .

HolesinTheSoles I'm sorry but I don't make things up. Why would I bother?
And it's "know" not "no" maybe one of your many teacher friends can explain it to you

Get your child to make bookmarks. They could have a nice messages on. They could thread some beads onto the tassel. Useful, personal, inexpensive and easy.

I know quite a few teachers and almost all have said they do it because it's easy or it fits in with having a family.

Said no teacher ever.

It's not easy. And it's massively un-family friendly.

Echoing all those people who’ve said about cards. Me and my colleagues were completely gutted when our cleaner (well meaning but misguided) threw all our cards away recently. We have a wall of happiness where we pin all our thank you cards, whenever we are feeling shitty about our jobs we look at our cards and remember why we do it. She thought she was doing the right thing clearing the wall for our next year of cards - we’d been collecting them for 15 years.
The cards we receive from students are by far the things we value the most.

So many happily tip a waitress, hairdresser, pizza delivery etc for a service they have already paid for yet begrudge the person who helps theirs child daily. Quite sad,

This we have class collection for younger DS grateful to not organise it at ten pound easier and cheaper than buying three lots of cards gifts etc. Getting a football gift for older DS teach as he's been a legend and my son wants too. Always send in biscuits at Christmas note made to not stop at secondary school.

We do a class collection (though some choose to not contribute and do their own thing, which is fine), and get John Lewis vouchers, not just for the teachers but the TAs too who as Far as I can tell work nearly as hard for nothing like a decent salary.

Grumble, you may not have wanted to thank your own teachers but that's just one experience.

Mine have been very lucky to have some amazing school staff in their lives and I feel no guilt whatsoever in spoiling them and not the local police etc who I've had no dealings with.

The point isn’t to be stingy to a teacher when you would tip a waitress. The point is that people who can’t afford to chip in to the class present certainly could not afford a meal out, but whatev’s. We’re all loaded, huh?

@Grumblepants
That was really unkind to holes.

Ta here.
I never expect presents, but always appreciate whatever I get, as it means someone has taken time to go and organise something for me, which is lovely.

Just echoing what others have said but the heartfelt and touching cards I keep and cherish!
Feel awkward with gifts, especially when it's from a family I know have very little or is something I do not want (mug, scarf, bath stuff, perfume).
I had a colleague once who would display all the presents and tell them all what she wanted- no shame and no thought for the kids who couldn't afford it!
That said one child once got me a book by my favourite author - I'd mentioned it once and he remembered - I was really touched.

@Grumblepants Admittedly many people may go into the profession thinking that it is family friendly (3.30pm finishes/ alllllll the holidays) but I can assure you it is an incredibly unfamily-friendly profession and the teachers I work with/speak to often express their frustration at having to place their own children below the needs of those in their class. Not that they begrudge it, they just want some kind of balance.

I couldnt be a teacher, and massively respect the job they do, but i reckon that there are more pros than cons to being family friendly. One of the biggest headaches working parents have is childcare during school holidays. How many other jobs are you home all school holidays? In a answer to original question, our class usually do a collection at xmas and our own thing in the summer. The last 2 years my DS has had 2 teachers on jobshare and 2 TAs which mounts up if buying separate presents, will have 2nd thoughts now about takibg home made food in!
At xmas my work place gets given chocs, biscuits and alcohol. We divvy them up and if any dont get taken i take them to a food bank.

We had a class collection for my son’s yr 6 teacher (son is now at uni). He bought a down jacket with the voucher, which I know he still uses now, because I go walking with him. He has really happy memories of that class and is reminded of them every time he wears the coat... no exaggeration!

And I’m the pp who said I love handwritten messages, so I’m not advocating huge collections- but I know he treasures that coat!

A card with a heartfelt message. No gifts.

I reckon that there are more pros than cons to being family friendly. One of the biggest headaches working parents have is childcare during school holidays. How many other jobs are you home all school holidays?

Ime, most teachers are so run down and exhausted by the end of term that they spend most of the holidays ill, sleeping and recovering. Or marking the work they don’t get time to mark during term time. Or planning the next topic/scheme of work and planning lessons. Or going into school when the building is quiet to change displays in their classrooms.
So while they might be physically present at home, it is not a relaxing fun time with their own kids, with maybe the exception of a few weeks in the summer.
During term time they are in school early and stay late, spend most evenings and weekends doing more marking and planning and assessments and reports. They nearly always have to miss their own DC school events because they can’t get time off.
There are definitely more cons to being a ‘family friendly’ job than pros.