Gift cards for teachers?
OK, I’m opening a can of worms, but here goes…
Winter break is coming, and cheerful appeals are now arriving daily from room parents asking us to donate cash to buy holiday gift cards for teachers. This can get pricey, especially if you have more than one teacher in a classroom or several children in school.
Some organizers ask for voluntary contributions where any amount of cash you can chip in will do. Others ask for a specific amount…usually about $10 per teacher. If you have two teachers with a class of 24 kids, a $20 contribution from each parent can amount to $240 per teacher. That’s a nice haul, and likely far more appreciated than varying scented candles.
In wealthier school districts, that gift total can easily balloon, while in poor districts, there’s likely not going to be such a big gift, or anything at all.
Do you feel obligated to participate because everyone else is doing it? Or do you think you can’t give a gift big enough to this person who so deeply impacts your child’s life? Do you draw the line at the holidays, or do you chip-in for gifts at other times of the year (say teacher’s week)? Can you afford this? And should we be doing this at all?
For the record (and if any of my sons’ teachers are reading this), I’m all for it because it’s pretty hard to find something thoughtful, original, reasonable and appropriate (so much for the singing Big Mouth Billy Bass).
But $20 in tough times is $20, and a far cry from the days when a hug and an apple on the desk would do.
The forum is open…to teachers as well.
Nancy Cambria is the Children and Families reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She writes on a wide variety of topics pertaining to the well-being of children and family issues. She posts on children and family policy in The Grade blog and on general family and parenting issues in the Parents Talk Back blog located in the lifestyle section. 
you absolutely need to give a teacher gift. Teachers are woefully underpaid (esp in a Catholic school where my kids go) and usually go above and beyond the 8-3:30 hours in their contract. We tip everyone at Christmas (too much so sometimes) - the mailman, the guy who cuts my hair, paperboy, etc.. the person who spends more of the day than i do with my kids and has a pivotal role in how they turn out, certainly deserves a nice thank you. I always give gift cards and include a personal, handwritten, thank you not to the teachers. I would rather skip a gift for one of my kids, who along with many others, probably have too many, then cut down on teacher giving.
Over my 30th year of teaching I have received a plethora of holiday gifts. Perhaps the one I appreciated most was a heartfelt, complimentary letter about me written by one of my parents. She sent it to my principal and superintendent. It cost the parent virtually nothing but was very valuable to me. In these difficult financial times don’t forget the gift of the written word.
This is an important topic. As parents, we are grateful for the care and education of our children, so at the holidays, it provides us an opportunity to express our gratitude. But, I’ll throw myself under the bus here - teacher’s chose this as a line of work and get paid well for doing so. Are we parents this ‘grateful’ when the dentist fixes our kids teeth, or the nurse takes care of our sick child at the doctor’s office? Probably not.
The best gift - at any child’s age, is a sincere heart-felt note FROM THE STUDENT to the teacher giving thanks. I did not think this up on my own.
One year, our youngest daughter (in 6th grade) wanted to “do something” for several of her teachers. It was a year that I returned to higher education (thus our income was immediately reduced to half) and we had moved so we still had some outstanding expenses. We agreed that if would be great if she could give them something and encouraged HER to think of something SHE could do. Since she thought was past the age of making something as a gift (but this has changed this year as she becomes better at sewing!) SHE decided to write them a note in a holiday card. Using a blank card, (which she did spend one Saturday decorating) she wrote a lovely note to those she wanted to. Every teacher remarked, and more than once over the next year, that this was the very best gift they could ever receive.
So, get the teacher a gift that really should mean something. I say tell the well-meaning mothers “No” and have the student do something for his or her teacher. Isn’t this what the holiday spirit should be about anyway?
I am a teacher and a parent. I’ve been in the dilemma of what to give the teachers. My boys aren’t much on writing, but I do enjoy getting a card with a written note or a short letter from my students or from the parents if the student can’t really write, but just sign their names. Knowing you are appreciated for the work you do is the best. No knicknacks, no pressure from the other parents to contribute, and, really, I think $10 is too much, although appreciated. Let each give as he/she is inclined. I sitll don’t spend more than I have to on family. If I find something I think they will like, and it’s less than $10, I buy it. How much we spend is not the issue. It’s the thought that counts.
I have to say, that as a wife of a teacher at a catholic school and as a parent of a child in public school, we give presents every year and enjoy getting them as well. My husband’s favorite gift over the years from family that gives out pizelle cookies. They are a great treat and did’t cost the family much. We give our daughter’s teacher something that is important for her to give them. We usually don’t spend over $10, but it’s always something from her heart. Believe me, we have all felt the impact the economy has had on everyone- but I couldn’t imagine not spending a little of my holiday money on someone who spends more time with my daughter than I do during the week.
I am a retired teacher who also received many Christmas gifts from my students . One year, I, along with the other teachers in my grade level, sent home letters to the parents suggesting that we would prefer the money that would be spent on teacher gifts, be spent on items that could be donated to our local nursing homes.
Items such as body lotions, socks, dusting powder, ect. were delivered to the nursing home to give to residents who may not have had any other gifts.
It was a wonderfully appreciated project.