A present for teacher

When I was teaching I hated the present giving at Christmas and the end of term unless it was really personal. I still have a handmade pottery "thing" (not sure what it is) but it was presented to me with pride and a long detailed explanation of how it was made. also a book of sums which the child assured her mother I would love and would not let her buy anything else!
More precious were the little notes from parents inside a card thanking me for my care and effort for their child.

Its a big thing now apparently. My youngest daughter always gives something the children have actually made but she knows lots of Mums who do quite elaborate things !

My little car mad grandson , who this year has a Mr Aston as his teacher ( who we all quietly refer to as Mr Aston Martin) is getting ...... a dinky Aston Martin and a KitKat ( both of which are much treasured by my grandson !!)

I heard on our local radio this week a Headmaster suggested to parents not to buy presents for teachers and to donate just £1 per child to the school charity which they support locally,this stops parents trying to outdo each others with presents and as he said if you have 2/3 children in the same school it is easier to find £2/3 than buying a single item for each child at maybe £5 each,such a good idea.

A card and a thank you is all a teacher needs. Please no smelly candles or mug. 10 years after retiring I still have several ' to my teacher' mugs ?

I agree. A nice thank you card or a note is more than enough. One Council in Scotland has advised no teacher presents, as HMRC may be interested!

I used to hate seeing parents trying to outdo each other. I knew someone who worked in an international school in the Middle East, they received designer handbags, laptops and champagne!!!

Those in my family who teach really value the thank you note or card. Hand made gifts very acceptable too, the more obviously hand-made the better.

I love the idea of a book of sums, that’s really something to cherish.

My DIL is a primary school teacher and I know she much prefers thank you notes and handmade gifts. When I read some of the lovely notes she gets I get quite emotional.
I don't think teachers are impressed by expensive presents.

Oh this is a pet hate of mine total oneupmanship at its worst or a bribe to like my child A thank you should be all that’s needed and I like the idea of a blanket rate to a given charity

I always appreciated the wine and chocolates!!

My lovely friend was always so generous with the gifts she received at the end of term.

I wasn't a teacher but sometimes received one or two of them from her; the ones she really liked she used but the others went to charity.

Whilst lovely, expensive gifts were so embarrassing to receive. Some parents saw it as a competition. My favourite and hence remembered gifts were from two children. One child came from a very poor family and he had saved his 25p a week pocket money for four weeks to buy me a fairy from the pound shop. To me, that gift is priceless. The other was from a girl who appeared to be giving me a box of After Eights but when I opened it, instead of sweets, there was a banana and a note which said that she may not have appeared to have been paying attention in our healthy eating lessons but actually she had.

I also like the Polish tradition where a child brings one flower for each adult who teaches them so at most they bring in 3 or 4 flowers but the teacher or TA ends up with a beautiful big bunch.

If you have to spend money I suggest you buy a chicken or a goat or something similar from the likes of Oxfam in the teacher's name. The teacher gets a gift but isn't embarrassed and some good comes from spending money.

At a nearby school parents are expected to ‘voluntarily’ donate £20 per child towards a shopping voucher for the teacher. Do the sums, 30 children in the class. What happened to the proverbial apple?

Bloody hell! That's diabolical and unethical.

Whatever sort of school is that! The head should be ashamed

An ordinary state school. Strong religious ethos. Parents pursued if they try to avoid payment.

I always found the whole gift giving thing embarrassing when I was teaching, just for doing your job.
Only a few children in my school would give presents and it made it uncomfortable for the rest of the class whose parents couldn't afford it or chose not to give. So I ended up having to thank the gift givers in private or with as little fuss as possible.
I would rather have a home made card or drawing than a present.
At my granddaughters' school parents are expected to donate £10 for each child towards staff presents (organised by groups of parents I think). I really don't like that either.

I still remember when I bought a small pack of Ferrero Rocher for my daughters reception class teacher when she went off on maternity leave.
That evening I was looking for the pack I had bought and discovered some missing. I had to dash round the corner to get something else.
I am sure DD could not resist but it appears this had been a joint enterprise. Her older brother was also on on this great chocolate robbery crime.
When they get together the pair of them still argue about who exactly planned this crime. Silly beggars . (They are supposedly grown up now. )

Just a very little something or a home made card with a message would be best.

My son will go home next week with a car boot full of wine and chocolates but he would be happy with a home made card from each child. At my GS school the class rep collects money at the beginning of each term to cover gifts and cards for staff. At my GDs school, where the fees are eye watering, all gifts are banned. Presumably because the one upmanship got totally out of hand. Teachers don’t want gifts. What we would like is respect from the parents and good behaviour from the pupils all the year round. That would do me and my son.

Teachers at the school I worked for usually got a pretty mug, small potted seasonal plant, or something similar. The area was mixed; some families quite affluent and others really scraping along, but the teachers always said they didn't expect anything but were very touched by the personal gifts made for them. A relative who was a Head Teacher, and a very good and caring one too, has two glass display cabinets at home packed with the gifts from children over the years - she cannot bear to part with them, although she is long retired!

My son is quite happy to be given chocolates, biscuits, wine etc. He then wraps them up and gives them out for Christmas presents....lol

Stop it!!!! Gifts for teachers are inappropriate, they show our children that commercialism is more important than respect and duty. A hand made card from the child is lovely, a note from the parents is gratifying but anything else is naff and should be seen as such.

We are supposed to be educating kids in school, what is this gift fest teaching them?

I really like the idea of each child donating a small amount to the school funds. My youngest grandchildrens school is always struggling for money.

This is the first year ( I know were only 3/4 months in) that either if mine have had the same teacher continuously . They've normally had at least 2-3 by now .