Teachers don’t want Thank You Teacher gifts

[Graveltone]

Even though schools have 5-8 weeks of term left, the shops have various TYT gifts such as mugs, coasters, keyrings etc. Teachers do not want this crap! Charity shops near me have numerous TYT mugs and crap on sale!

My friend is a teacher and parents have been told not to give gifts. Teachers don’t want 30 mugs, boxes of chocolate, alcohol (that is embarrassing if teacher doesn’t drink for various reasons) etc. Nor want flowers - don’t have enough vases at home to house 30 bunches of flowers.

Friend’s school accepts cards and hm gifts.

Think before you spend your money on your DC’s teachers.

Good they don't like them because I can't afford 10 gifts. A tenner per head that is 100 quid that feed us nearly 10 days.

I will not fell poor or bad this year when everyone give them gifts and we don't.

My eldest daughter is a teacher and whilst she doesn’t expect due does loves the gifts.

Born in 77 and our teachers were given a card and chocolates every year. No group gifts but these would have been harder to coordinate before class messaging groups.

I’m a secondary teacher.
I’d bloody love anything that showed I wasn’t thought of as shit off a shoe.

@SabreIsMyFave OP isn't trying to "speak for everyone", she's expressing her opinion - as she is perfectly entitled to do. You, on the other hand, think that because one person once told you that every gift they've ever received is perfect in every way, every teacher on Earth must have the exact same experience as her. You're not just trying to tell OP what she can or can't say, you're trying to dictate what she's allowed to think. Not just OP, but all teach... wait a minute, hold on - who was it you feel needs telling off for thinking they're entitled to speak for everyone?

The nicest gift to get is a picture drawn by the child!

DH was a teacher and while he appreciated the mugs and ties etc, he absolutely treasured the handwritten notes he got from the students.

I usually just do cards with a drawing in from DC, tbh. I don't like buying gifts for people I don't know well enough to know what they like, and frankly I think DS1's teacher last year barely warranted the card.

We chip in as a while class and get John Lewis vouchers or the like. Teachers always been very happy with that.

i agree re the mugs though (as an ex teacher)

Wow, you're a flipping delight OP.
Mind your own business.

In our school we do a collection and then get vouchers like £200 John Lewis/Waitrose vouchers. I'm pretty sure they're appreciated!

This!

Classic MN middle class reply!
Space NK?! Just no!

Another teacher here who absolutely loves gifts! I genuinely cherish any cards or gifts I’ve got along the way and remember which child gave me what.
I hate the thought of anyone who is strapped for cash feeling under pressure to get me something though. If you’re in that position, an email to the Head is a cost-free way to show your appreciation and that is also really appreciated by the teacher.

I’m a teacher and I really appreciate the gifts and so do my colleagues. When I had a baby I got such lovely and useful gifts from my form group, I still remember them fondly 16yrs on. It is really odd that you are trying to police this. You aren’t even a teacher!

Are you a teacher? Actual teachers on here are telling you it's not boring and we don't think it is tat.

No money gift is necessary. A drawing with some nice words means more , I have one on the wall of my office that still makes me well up

10 gifts? Have you 10 children?

She's probably including support staff as well as teachers. 2 - 3 children x a teacher (or 2 in some cases) and a couple of TAs per class.

Thank you so much for answering! Was it organised from the school or parents? I never remember my parents giving anything or my friends parents but then I was young so I might not have noticed. I don't even remember if we made cards for them in school. I do remember making cards for mother and father's day and easter cards Etc.

This week I’ve enjoyed some homemade biscuits, a bar of chocolate, a number of cans of a drink I have a severe addiction too and some lovely cards. The card that said my lessons made school bearable made me cry. I agree that parents shouldn’t buy into the commercialism of teacher gifts but a can of coke tied with a ribbon has made my day!

I taught university and ran a history club for a while, and my students gave me a silver locket engraved with the name of the club and dates. I also have a notebook signed by all my students when I ran a study abroad. Another group bought me a tea cup/saucer and I was given a bracelet, plus loads of cards. All of those things are precious to me, esp. now when retired and I can remember what wonderful young people I had the privilege to teach.

Exactly.
I've had some fab alcohol based gifts over the years!

Due to my current role I don't really get gifts as frequently these days, as no longer attached to one class. And this year my finish date will be 2 or 3 weeks before the end of term, due to a medical issue. So no gifts this year.

The gifts I still have from over my 30+ years of teaching are some of the homemade class cards, and some of the lovely messages I've received. I even have some saved which came via email too.

I've always appreciated any gift given, and normally give my class(es) a small token gift when they finish here too.

But whilst gifts are appreciated in whatever form, the thought is the key, and they are not expected.

The school secretary almost never gets gifts ime so i used to always give them one.

Born in the late 60s and have no memory of giving actual presents.
One year (I'd have been about 10) a group of us got together and wrote a song to sing to our form teacher. It included the lines:
We all give many thanks to Mr Teacher
He's made our lessons such a joy to learn
And we are glad to say
His hair has not turned grey
And hope next year it still will be the same.

Hope he liked it (poor man). At least it meant something but maybe he'd have preferred a gift voucher.

When my DCs were at school though, it was just the accepted thing that teachers were tipped with presents and cards and I - like others - joined in, because it's what was done. Like tipping in a restaurant.
I'd have only not done it if the teaching/service was awful. Most of the other parents felt the same, so enjoy the gifts but don't think they're all because you're a remarkable teacher. It's just what parents do.