Topic: Gift for teachers

[redimp]

All the administrators I have ever known in schools get the same holidays as the teachers and do not have the long preparation time at the end of the school day or during the holidays.  That is not doing down the job as I have also known some of the headteachers they work for who would be absolutely useless if it were not for them.

[Hyacinth]

Gifts - am I too late for this? From experience, please don't give perishables unless you know the teachers well and know they've not got their own hols scheduled to start in the immediate future. Boxes of chocs, bottles and jars fine, tho :) One Christmas I had to offload all mine to the local hospice, except for the duck. That went in the freezer. It was dead already, btw 8)

[Heldi]

Teachers...you do bite!  I was winding you up!  ;)  :D  Which is why I mentioned my Dad.

Seriously, I don't agree with giving pressies but then I might be a mean, tight so and so  :P. No I think it sets a precedence for those of us who don't want to join in with this new (to me ) tradition or simply can't afford it. I fork out left, right and centre enough.

If my son decided upon himself that he wanted to give his teacher something then he can go ahead...I would suggest to him...why not a piece of artwork? A homemade book?A piece of writing? A homemade "Thankyou teacher" certificate done on the pc. All showing he has actually learned something?

Tipping...now theres a thing. I hate it when it is forced upon you because of traditon or because the staff don't get paid well enough in the first place,that sort of thing. I want to be free to decide if I think the service has been good enough to deserve a tip. I don't always tip my hairdresser...at 90 odd pounds I think I've paid enough already. Eeee I should be on Grumpy Old Women.

Last year on the last day of term before the summer the Deputy Head was standing in the yard giving away carrots to anyone who would take them!

I can't remember my Dad getting anything other than a sore head... from the end of term trip to the pub.  Teachers!  ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

Of course we bite; it's an unfortunate but necessary part of the job. How long do you think we could keep control if we didn't display our fangs occasionally?

[redimp]

Knew yours was tongue in cheek Heldi which is why when I ranted (I was very tired) I quoted t'other one :)

[Heldi]

 Stay in at lunchbreak and do some lines? Sorry Mr Brenchley.  Yes I'll remove my pet lip aswell.


I once had to write out the hymn "At the Name of Jesus" 3 times during playtime for nicking Billy D's hymn books during assembley.  I also got to "Stand Out!" by the corridor monitor for talking. I'm so ashamed.

[dandelion]

My two girls are going to Year 1 and 3 too. One teacher got a lavender plant and the other chocolates. I have to say I do admire teachers. Occasionally  I work in primary schools and I'm always exhausted at the end of the day!

My youngest came home yesterday with a potted horse chestnut tree. She took a germinating conker to school in spring and the teacher potted it up. Now what am I going to do with it :-\?????

[Hyacinth]

Added to my post above - from diary Christmas 1979...I was going away for 2 months 1st January

"Most unwelcome and over-the-top gift

Christmas eve morning, with all the shopping for Christmas through to the New Year done, I had delivered:-

Large wooden crate containing swedes, turnips, parsnips, carrots, cauliflower, beets, savoy cabbage, a carrier-bag of spinach, leeks and spring onions, all piled on a sea of sprouts and topped by a bouquet of parsley.

A crate of fruit - 4 kinds of applies; Granny Smiths, Cox's, Royal Gala and Golden Delicious, large Jaffa oranges, pears, grapefruit, lemons, a dozen or so bananas, black grapes, white grapes, and millions of mandarins.

And a duck.

It was Christmas Eve and my kitchen resembled Harvest Festival."

A bottle would have been just fine!

[triffid]

Have just packed off Mr Triffid to pick up Small Triffid, armed with pots of honey (from our bees) for his teacher & assistant. Have always used the mantra of 'things to eat, pour or burn'  ;D when dealing with prezzies for teachers, nurses etc.

And sorry to see such ungenerous comments in some of these posts... two of my family are special-needs teachers and they're so committed to their work they probably ought to be committed!

[pansy]

I think its a lovely idea to give a little home made / home grown present. I normally just get a token present and card for my childrens teachers, but must admit I got my daughters teacher a pretty necklace and bracelet for her present today.
It was a bit more than I normally spend, but shes been unbelievably good to my daughter who had some really difficult problems this year, at one point it was actually suggested that we have her home tutored for a while, but her teachers help and support got her through it.
So I thought something sparkley to say a heartfelt 'thankyou' was in order.  :)

[Mrs Ava]

I gave my teachers gifts - and I was at school some (cough) 20 years ago and beyond.  Anyhow, I don't care about how long teachers work, or others, my question was do you think it is a nice idea or saddo idea, and we did it, and I ended up with 3 tearful teachers.  They all live very locally to me, and 2 I know socially as well as through school, so I know the goodies will be appreciated.  (Didn't do the sloe gin tho, decided I would save that for me!!)  ;D

On the work hours thing, like so many on here, I am a mum, wife and now, gardener, so I work 7 days a week, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.  When I am on holiday, I still have the kids and hubby to look after, keep house and garden, and look after the array of pets.   ;D ;D

[Yellow Petals]

(Didn't do the sloe gin tho, decided I would save that for me!!)  ;D

LOL.

In a shopping queue today, two mums aged about 30ish had some rolls, crisps etc and two little sized bottles of Black Tower wine.  As she paid, one mum said, 'these are for the teachers', to which the other replied in a horrified voice, 'what?  I thought you got them to go with our lunch??'  I did laugh.  She was all for going back and getting another two and was still half jokingly mumbling about it as they walked out of the shop, hehehehe.

[ted72]

My word what a can of worms has been opened.

EJ I think your pressi is a lovely thoughtful gesture, unlike the boring box of chocs I sent for my sons teacher, men are hard to buy for anyway so thats my excuse! and the box of maltesers for the class assistant( thats all she deserved cos she is a miserable trout face he he).


I like the thought of giving pressis, for me there is as much joy in giving as receiving. I work as a nursery nurse and we get pressis given from the kids at chrimbo and its lovely,makes you feel appreciated more than the wage packet does at end of the month! The kids get so excited about bringing the pressi no matter how big it is.

To be honest I dread the day when Kayden turns around and says that he doesnt want to take presents anymore because it will be yet another sign that he is growing up to quickly. I didnt even dare ask my daughter Elise whether she would be taking presents for her high school form teacher sure the look I would have got in return would have shot me down in flames.

Anyhow talking of giving pressis it reminds me I need to get some chocis for the nurses who have just looked after me.

trina

[MonsterMum]

I agree that MOST teachers work really hard.  I have a friend who is a teacher in a primary school in a very run down area (drug addict parents who forget to pick their children up etc etc) and when she first started she worked long hours to prepare her classroom etc. 

I was talking to her on the phone the other night and in September she will be taking the 9 year olds, which means that in the morning she will be taking D&T and Art all afternoon.  She3 was boasting that this means she will have ver5y little prep to do for D&T and that it took her a whole hour to do an entire years prep for Art, with no marking.  She will be doing minimal hours and getting her holidays, and yes she gets paid very well for this.

I know that I will hear from her over the weekend to see what she can give me cos the parents have given her too many chocs etc

Like EJ I am a wife and mother so work 24/7 for my family, but they never bring me prezzies!

[sarah]

Like EJ I am a wife and mother so work 24/7 for my family, but they never bring me prezzies!

oh baby boo bah, you must train them better! yesterday my husband came back from the market with two pots of perenial lupinsfor me. what a guy.

[valmarg]

Redclanger, with regard to your rant on (I think) 20 July, the answers to your questions, are that my HUSBAND (nothing to do with the recent crappo PARTNER) come November will have been MARRIED for 40 years, we are prematurely retired, live in a detached bungalow, and drive a rustbox of an old Ford Escort.

What that has to do with your ability to turn out illiterate children, I can't imagine!!

One thing I will reiterate is the fact that I would not give a present to the sado/masochists that taught me and my husband!!

Things may have changed, but I doubt it.

valmarg!!

[Robert_Brenchley]

Actually, they have changed. I well remember the sort of teacher youre referring to, and they put me off the profession for 30-odd years before I finally drifted into it. But seriously, they were unable to relate to kids, had no class management skills whatsoever, and wouldn't last five minutes these days. Once the cane went out, and teachers had to rely on relationships rather than threats, they soon left the classroom, and good riddance to them!

[grawrc]

There have always been excellent and inspirational teachers and there will always be poor and ineffectual ones.  Modern methods of training and recruitment are tending to minimise the number of weirdos (sadists/ paedophiles etc) who make it beyond the first term's training. The rigorous quality assurance procedures in most schools have discouraged the lazy buggers  who would for example sit with their feet on the desk doing the crossword or not even darken the door of the classroom they were supposed to be teaching in. So things are getting better. All teachers work hard for their pay now, not just the dedicated few.

As for presents for the teacher? Well my kids took them in primary, because they wanted to.

As a secondary teacher myself I have no need nor wish for presents from my pupils. The best present they can give me is a well worked out essay or a good presentation. Most of all it's the expression on their faces when they are successful that gives me my kicks. One of the great richnesses of the job is the privilege of assisting young people to grow in knowledge and self-confidence and to experience success.

[Robert_Brenchley]

True, but I do appreciate it when I get a Christmas card from some kid I've really struggled with!

[Merry Tiller]

Most of my teachers (and my kids teachers for that matter) were complete rubbish, wouldn't give them the time of day, let alone gifts. I had an IQ in the top levels and only 1 of them spotted it >:(