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?

@Grumblepants It is not an easy job at all.

I think your own experiences are influencing your opinions of teachers. I'm sorry that you felt that your teachers were not able to be there for you but most of us try our best to go above and beyond for every child.

Or marking the work they don’t get time to mark during term time.

They’d be bonkers to do this. Why would you carry work over academic years?

Teaching us very very hard and not family friendly but they do, generally, get the summer holidays off. Agree that they’re probably too knackered to do anything except recover from the year for a bit though

Oh and our council make you declare any gifts received.

@Passthecherrycoke I meant they mark work in the half term holidays and Christmas and Easter holidays, not during the summer. They obviously don't carry work over academic years. Although writing notes for the next years teacher on each child’s strengths and weaknesses is usually done in the summer holidays

The summer holidays are a joy and they do help with childcare, of course they do, but 'family friendly' would suggest being able to be there for one's own children's big occasions -concerts, prize givings, nativities, sports days, assemblies etc- and that's where teaching can be one of the least family friendly professions, if you don't have a sympathetic HT. And then there's the hours of unpaid overtime in the evenings. It never fails to astonish me that people with primary aged children can believe that teaching is an easy number. But this thread isn't about teaching being 'easy' or 'family friendly'. The OP was asking for ideas for presents, not asking for opinions from those who think teachers are undeserving skivers and shouldn't get anything.

DD's teacher this year has been really negative and at one point I considered requesting changing classes, I'll get a gift for the class ie a book probably. Although DD is very loving and will probably want to get her something, in which case it will be something very neutral and not expensive.
DS's teacher last year was amazing, we got her some molton brown hand cream.

Just read some comments, I do think there are easier jobs than teaching, but its also not the hardest job. Most teachers do seem to say they re exhausted and how stressful it is though, 2 teachers in the family, I avoid asking this conversation with them if possible, they have no insight to how difficult others peoples jobs are imo.

pens4kids is a brilliant idea - I think I will do this instead.

I don't agree with this at all. I'm working now but when I wasn't I was told by the queen bee mum in my daughter's class that I was required to contribute £20 to the teachers present (the teacher, by the way was shit, although I didn't say that). When I wasn't able to contribute, queen bee mum made a dramatic point of allowing everyone apart from myself and another mum ( a teen mum on benefits who no one bar me ever bothered to speak to) to sign the card.

As far as I'm concerned the teacher present gift giving has got completely out of hand. Teachers aren't poorly paid and if you really want to say thanks then write them a note to say thank you. If they're a decent person that will mean as much as £600 worth of amazon vouchers.

Don't have that conversation with your family members who say they're exhausted and stressed. Clearly your relatives are exaggerating or lying. Just crack on and ignore them, because after all, there are harder jobs, which incidentally, no teacher would argue about. And if they're not lying, you'll find out anyway, when they get ill, or quit teaching. So no need to talk to them about it at all.

My best ever gift was a tub of roses, box of Ferrero roche and a card signed by everyone kid in one of my yr9 classes just before I went on maternity leave. The fact that they'd organised it themselves was lovely and the messages in the card almost made me cry. I've still got the card; it's special.

I'd say only give alcohol if you know the teacher (I wouldn't even have someone to regift to). I love chocolates. They don't have to be fancy. I'm a mum and Roses/Celebrations/Qualitry Street are a family favourite whereas Hotel Chocolat are all mine

Of course there is no need to talk about it, their choice, either teach or leave. Why should there be numerous conversations about it?

Because they're family? For the sake of their mental health? Have some people on Mumsnet had an empathy bypass?

Although I think I’m unsympathetic to one person in particular and don’t generally fell this about others.
I do agree it’s a hard job and some teachers are amazing.

A difference of opinion doesn’t equal lack of empathy.
Exasperation perhaps.

My favourite gifts are usually stationary. Most teachers have an unnatural obsession with stationary 😂

Ha ha! You probably mean stationery. Unless they're alive, gifts are always stationary. And yep, as a teacher I'd have loved my kids to be stationary (though maybe not obsessed by it). I am a bit obsessed with stationery though.

Sorry - I couldn't help myself!

...but back to the question.

I still have every thank you card I've been given by parents and (especially) children. The gifts are long gone (and possibly re-gifted, since most parents wouldn't know my tastes in things)

I'm sorry, I was a bit sharp there. The other thread with the squirted juice has clearly shredded my nerves. You're right, you are entitled to your opinion. But honestly, teachers know there are harder jobs out there but they aren't complaining about nothing. Things have become really difficult. And rightly or wrongly, in the last few years, I have relied on family members to listen while I vented, or I think I might have exploded internally. I am getting out this summer, because although I adored teaching, enough is enough.

I think the person I’m thinking of is so irritating (in law!) that it came out on this thread. She does complain about nothing, but that does not negate the real difficulties. I think my judgement has also been clouded by my DD’s teacher who has not thrived under her.
Sorry you feel you need to leave.

@saraclara some of the spelling on here from people working in education is shocking. Sorry to sound like a cunt but ‘greatful’?! FFS.

Teacher presents at our school are out of control. They cause so much fucking angst. There's always a few mins who try and force everyone to chip in 20 quid. It's outrageous. What if your child has had a horrendous year? What if the teacher had not been supportive or kind to your child? What if the parent simply cannot afford it? I didn't get any presents last year because when i went to parents evening the first comment I got was about how tired the teacher was and how she was clinging the days down until end of term. There was zero understanding of how hard parents who work have it. How I'd left the house at 5.30am that day and come straight to parents evening. How most parents would have a tiny proportion of the annual leave teachers get and have to plough on. I have family members who teach and even they agree that although their jobs can be challenging there are much harder jobs out there.

every year the teacher collections cause massive ruckus. Expensive gifts or money should be banned.

My favourite gifts...
A pen with a simple message saying thank you for being the teacher their child needed me to be.
Another where a parent wrote a fake school report for me mentioning all the things her son remembered enjoying.
A cheap aquarium ornament from a child who knew I kept fish.
And 2 tiny rabbit tea light candles from another who knew my dd kept rabbits.

Last year I really appreciated the email sent to the headteacher praising my teaching of their child. I got the mick taken out of me by the other teachers but I didn't care.

We've had a pretty terrible year with one teacher this year - I'll still get her a present because DD will want to give her one, but the other staff have been fantastic (and the Head knows I think that). Thankfully there's been a lovely student in the class with the pretty dreadful teacher who's mitigated the damage done and actually tried to help DD and it's one bad apple in a generally fantastic school.

Most of ours generally ARE amazing (and I've done the job myself so I get it... hence me spotting very clearly how this bad apple is totally coasting and doesn't want to engage with kids with SEN) and I genuinely do value that, only wish we had the financial leeway to go along with the over the top huge bouquets of flowers etc that the playground show off brigade indulge with at the end of term sometimes (even though rationally - half the staff I know have holidays booked right after they break up so it's a pretty pointless present cos they'll be dead by the time they get back)

Whoever said Costa gift card what a great idea! I’ve been wondering what to get so I’m gonna go for that and a card. Simple yet lovely, I’m no teacher but I would prefer a voucher for coffee and cake than 30 wines and chocolates.