Is it fair to give TA less than teacher

[cheeriobye]

I've read that some TA's don't get given a gift when the teacher does and I've also read that sometimes TA will get a gift but of a lower value compared to teacher.

Is this fair?

In my case it is the teacher that has made a large difference to my child's education and I know they spend a great deal of time outside the classroom on working too. Therefore that's what I want to acknowledge at Christmas.

The TA in my case would get a token gift.

Is this fair and ok? Also appreciate responses from TA's

I get a little something as a thank you for the year for their teachers,TA, dinner ladies and caretaker. To many school staff forgotten about or not appreciated. Not everyone can do this but a card or a thank you when you see them goes a long way as they're looking after my little ones when I'm not there so we like to show our appreciation in any way we can. Our caretaker helped build a sensory room for our son while we were waiting for him to be moved to a school better suited to ASD, just wish I could do more for our school. Just do what you can if you can, depends on how happy you are with the staff to of course.

In my kids primary there was a couple different TAs and they didn't work the whole week, or swapped on other classes or whatever. The teacher is more senior and responsible for more things so I think it's fine they get a more valuable gift.

Well I hope all you lovely TAs with your valuable experience use that now to train to be teachers.

See it as a stepping stone as clearly you are wanted and needed.

@JustLikea

Well I hope all you lovely TAs with your valuable experience use that now to train to be teachers.

See it as a stepping stone as clearly you are wanted and needed.

Here’s the thing. I don’t want to be a teacher. I like being a TA. I can make a difference but without the intense scrutiny. I can work in the evening but I can choose not to. Being a TA means I can still have plenty of time for my own children. Being a teacher - not so much.

Here’s the thing. I don’t want to be a teacher. I like being a TA. I can make a difference but without the intense scrutiny. I can work in the evening but I can choose not to. Being a TA means I can still have plenty of time for my own children. Being a teacher - not so much.

Same - can't actually think of many jobs I'd like to do less than be a teacher. Perfectly happy in my current role.

At the end of the day, there is no ‘right’ regarding gifting. It’s up to each parent to choose whether they want to give anything to anyone and if so, to who and the value. And I really think TAs and teachers and other parents needs to accept what anyone chooses as totally their own prerogative.

Most people don’t take too much notice of what others are giving or getting. Too much thought about this, beyond what you think you want to do yourself, seems to be where the issues lie. People get anxious about doing the ‘wrong’ thing or being judged. There’s no need for any of it, because it really is up to individuals. No-one has to give or has a right to receive, regardless of what they do in their job in school, or regardless of their pay or how hard they work. Therefore, the comments Passing judgement in what is right or wrong or what others do, just seem mis-placed to me.

I’m in a school and I have seen pretty much all permutations of gifting over many years. Honestly, give what you like. Receive anything that’s given with gratitude and don’t think about what you haven’t been given or what others might have been given. And move onto your own family Christmases. The gifts received at school or not are such a small part of the year and the season, and we know it’s not worth sweating the small stuff.

I remember being mortified when I’d contributed to a class collection and the person buying gave the Teacher loads of vouchers and the TA got a bottle of champagne … the TA always went above and beyond

@JustLikea

Well I hope all you lovely TAs with your valuable experience use that now to train to be teachers.

See it as a stepping stone as clearly you are wanted and needed.

Nope!

As I said up thread, being a TA and being a teacher are two different jobs. I have no desire to be a teacher. I love my job, but if I wanted more pay I would would leave working in a school and do something completely different (possibly what I used to do pre-DC which pays much better than teaching).

Teachers plan lessons, plan resources, have meetings after school long after I’ve gone home. Good luck to them. I don’t spend my evenings and weekends and some of holidays fretting and preparing for work. Fuck that shit, enjoy your bottle of wine

@RodJaneFreddy

As a TA I couldn’t have put it better myself.
I’m always grateful not to be a teacher. Having a degree and the know how I often get tempted. Then I slap myself and say fuck that 😂.

I used to be a TA and I would still say teachers deserve more - they work long hours and the buck always stops with them when anything goes wrong. The only exception would be maybe a one-to-one TA getting something special from the child they work closely with, but I'd find it odd if a child who didn't spend that much time with TAs gave them the same present as the teacher.

Their differing wages and career options reflect their different responsibilities and workload. Presents are about the time with my kid.

Therefore the teaching staff get a shared gift and his 121 gets her own extra gift - Costa gift card this year

@VanillaAndOrange

I used to be a TA and I would still say teachers deserve more - they work long hours and the buck always stops with them when anything goes wrong. The only exception would be maybe a one-to-one TA getting something special from the child they work closely with, but I'd find it odd if a child who didn't spend that much time with TAs gave them the same present as the teacher.

Depends on the school I guess, but in my school for example, children spend more time with the TA than with the teacher. All playtimes, free time etc. Plus interventions, split inputs or group work. Add to that the grazed knees, the tears,anxieties, arguments and so on. It's not the teachers' fault of course. They have to be at the front of the class, teaching, doing the register, assessing, marking and a million other jobs, whereas we're more likely to actually have the time to spend with the kids.