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.

its all just such a waste. We are all supposed to be buying/using less.

if you MUST then a voucher for something you know they will use is, I guess, the best way to

We club together as a year group and get gift vouchers which can be used in multiple places. There are 2 teachers and 4 teaching assistants we divide whatever we get by 6. Some parents give a fiver, one gave £100 (I did check with her that hadn't mean to give £10 and added an extra 0, but no, she said she appreciated the staff so much she wanted to give £100). We usually get around £400 total, so that gives a pretty decent voucher of about £70 a person. It's the least we can do, after they work so hard all year under tough conditions to benefit Our children. And we feel its important to recognise the teaching assistants who work really hard for quite low pay

Teachers are individuals with different attitudes to end of year gifts, believe it or not. Only a tiny minority expect or feel they deserve them. Only a tiny minority mock them or actively don't want them.

I'll hazard a guess that most are like me. I didn't expect them. I certainly didn't want anyone feeling that they had to get me something, as a lot of families are really struggling. But I appreciated anything I was given, especially if it was clear that the child had chosen it. And I absolutely loved a card or note of appreciation.

Five years on from retirement, I still have a note from the parent of a very challenging child, on my kitchen pin board. It reminds me that my work made a difference.

The OP isn't a teacher - not sure what her purpose is other than to get people to teacher bash

When I taught in schools I used loved getting multiple boxes of Maltesers on the last day of term. Any white wine would get passed to MIL and I would keep the red. I appreciated the sentiment though and loved the kids' enthusiasm when they passed the gifts over.
Mugs, wine glasses etc would tend to get left at school though.

You don't speak for all teachers. Personally I still use and love all of the mugs/keyrings/fridge magnets I accumulated over the years of being a teacher and remember who gave me each one.

Deviating a bit, but in response to people saying this wasn’t a thing in the 1980s. I left secondary school in 1984. Every end of year through the whole of primary I took in a present for my teacher (usually Roger and Gallet Soap or Woods of Windsor hand cream!) as did most of my classmates. In a class of 32, I’d say more than half brought in gifts. This was a perfectly ordinary state school in a not affluent area.

OP I don’t agree with you about this. Over the years I have bought my DCs teachers an end of year gift. Consumables usually. Nice chocolates often. Plus a card written by the DC. I’m not suggesting our offering has hugely improved the teacher’s life, but it’s a nice thing and I don’t feel embarrassed for having done it.

In my professional life I have had a few gifts of appreciation. They have always been appreciated.

I've got a box with everything in from mugs, to photos and cards. I love getting them out and looking - remembering the kids who gave them and wondering what they are up to .

My year 13 group gave me a mug with their class photo! Love it . Plus a group presentation of a bottle of fizz and a Hotel Chocolate selection

a lovely thought

Well, no one wants the crap with Thank You, World’s Best Teacher all over it, which is what the OP said. Cash, giftcards and handmade-by-the-child things are always acceptable.

It’s all very well saying not to be ungrateful, but the crap is a waste of everyone’s money, and if you work in the kind of school where you get piles of it every year, it really is hard to keep being grateful for it.

Totally! I'm a teacher in a wine growing region, but a bottle of Echo Falls would go down very nicely on a warm summer evening. (And non-drinkers could easily re-gift it.) Alas, teacher gifts aren't really a thing here!

I only ever kept two gifts, a small tea-light holder and a oil burner. The cards and drawings are far more important.

😲

My daughter is in year 9 and recently went with her friend to her old school to pick up friends younger sibling. She was pleased to find out the younger sibling was in her old year 6 teachers class, she was even more pleased to see the watercolour painting of his favourite football player, that she’d painted and framed with a poundland frame as a gift when she left was still on the wall near his desk.

Bloody ungrateful so-and-so's 🤣

Another teacher here. Always happy with chocolates, wine, toiletries, anything. It's really sweet. The only present I objected to was a box of chocolates so out of date that the chocolates were mouldy. That was foul.

My best mate would disagree - she’s a teacher and loves all the chocolates and everything in between she receives

It really isn’t. I’m a teacher and I’ve never worked with or met another teacher who isn’t incredibly grateful for any gifts or cards at the end of the school year!!

I love all gifts of all variety.

She’s not even a teacher.

I would love that stuff! As an FE teacher, we receive nothing.

I gifted my DDs teachers like a mad woman! Whenever I bought something for myself that I liked, I bought one for them too and put it away for the end of year/Christmas. I suppose I was just always really grateful for the free childcare! I home educated until they were 8 & 9 and I know just how much more expensive that was - I don’t think many teachers would refuse decent presents …

Ha ha, my cats would love that gift!!

I usually get my son to find out what the teacher likes and tailor my gift accordingly. However, I have been guilty of buying chocolates as a gift. Sorry 🙄

Edited - I ALWAYS write a thank you card though.

Yes, this. Sounds like op's friend is ungrateful and doesn't need any more gifts!

I used to work as a TA in a school and a college, I only ever saw a handful of presents for each teacher. They were always a nice varied selection of wine/chocolate/plants/flowers and cards. All the teachers were very appreciative. Some would swap with other teachers in the staff room e.g. swapping red for white wine etc. They really enjoyed it. Sounds like op's friend is a snob and expects a Starbucks voucher?!