What Do Teachers Really Want?

as a fellow teacher, I would suggest gift cards, and receiving them from the class as a whole works great too, book stores and target, or a pampering one like bath and body works, even starbucks cards are nice too

hope this helps you

Happy new year, and what a beautiful family with 4 children.
I am a teacher, and with so many teachers to acknowledge, you are quite thoughtful.
I always tell my students how much I love the gifts/notes/cards/pictures that they make themselves. So maybe they dont feel that it is necessary to purchase a gift.
I do appreciate the kindness of the families who give any little gift, and their thoughtful gesture. I have received class gifts and individual gifts. Both are appreciated, but it is not necessary, and a handwritten note from your child is just perfect!

Dear Debbie,

A note written to the teacher from student and or parents would be very much appreciated. I got a few gifts, but my students' parents were low income. I just loved my notes from the children though.

I think that our culture is getting too organized and too many new 'have to do's' are creeping in - honesty and kindness are better than gifts.

C. N.

Hi Im a 39 year old Room Parent. I chose this year to request $3-5 from parents if they'd like to help get a present for the teacher. Some parents chose to do their own thing. I ended up with $39. I got her gift cards for what I knew our teacher liked. I think many people have budgets and you can't get much witha small budget for a teacher however, it is easier for some who don't have the time or patience to get an individual gift. The flip side of the coin is not everyone is meticulous about sending thank you's. I know, it's rude not to acknowledge a gift, think about the people we meet in our daily lives who don't say excuse me, thank you or please. I guess we can't expect it, but you'd think a teacher would realize the importance of this.

Hi Debbie,

I am a former elementary teacher of 10 years. I think it is so thoughtful of you to consider this question so deeply! I am sure your children's teachers appreciate it, although it is sad that you rarely receive thank-you notes. I am beginning to think that is a lost art, unfortunately. Anyway, as to giving a gift individually or collectively, personally, I would most appreciate the individual gifts. For me, it's not about how much can be spent, but about the personal expression of appreciation. And if the person coordinating the collection has a different idea of an ideal gift than the rest of the parents, or of the teacher, then all that money might go toward something that may not be appropriate for that particular teacher.

Another way of approaching it is to get to know the teacher and get a sense of what he or she would appreciate most. Maybe you'll find out about a fervent wish that could be fulfilled if you all went in on it together. Who knows? I hope this helps.

All the best,
A.

Dear Mom D.:

As bad as this sounds, and as much as we try not to favour one child over another, I must tell you (I am a teacher) we notice gifts. Everyone does. Little Ken- an energetic and sweet, but challenging boy in my Kindergarten class of 4 year olds has a Mom that sends notes to me..."Thank you for your attention to my son. We love him so much and appreciate all you do". I remember this every day...because...every day I have to talk to him about his behavior.

Some children have given me face cream... others chocolate..and so on. It is sweet. I think this teaches them to be thoughtful of those who are trying to teach them, but some parents (clearly) make it a contest to show the affluence of the home the child is from...like this is supposed to matter. I chalk that one up to poor upbringing and low self esteem...no matter how rich their current circumstances are...and you can usually see this reflected in the upbringing and behaviour of their child.

With teachers, sincerity stands out. Back to Ken- the parental notes have reminded me that his parents are present and active in his education, and so many parents are not. The notes give me hope and give me patience. This kind of support to a teacher is so valuable for your child. And although gifts have their own value in teaching children the meaning of giving so I wouldn't rule them out completely... the sincerity lasts longer... way more than chocolates or face cream.

I think it depends on the teacher... pooling money together to do a group gift is nice but then so are individual gifts... we have given gift certificates to a local spa. A gift certificate to a local educational store is good too if it's obvious the teacher uses her own money to buy materials for the classroom. My sister is a teacher and had a family give her a weekend at their vacation home every year - she loved that gift! I think avoiding giving them candy and baked good is a good thing. Picking a flower from your garden and writing a heartfelt letter of thanks (if you really like the teacher!) is also very nice. I would avoid gift certificates to Starbucks unless you see the teacher with one in her hand every day. I think gift certificats are best I guess.... support local businesses when you can!!

I have had many teachers send me a handwritten thank you note to my home in the mail. But not all teachers are created equally! Perhaps you are giving too much ... it doesn't sound like they appreciate the gifts. Maybe you can give the teacher the gift of an anonymous tip that says "you really ought to thank your parents for gifts". Or tell the principal that the teachers need some etiquette lessons!!! Even a mass email or duplicated letter addressed to all the parents is better than nothing...

Hi! I'm a teacher. Best gift I ever got was when a child last year told me he wasn't able to buy me anything, but he'd like to give me a hug. Gifts that are very large or gifts given too often are out of the norm and make me feel uncomfortable. As for thank you notes, I always try to write them. But when I was brand new, sometimes time slipped away before I could get to them. Imagine writing 30+ thank you notes for students plus for staff on top of lesson planning--it's definitely the polite thing to do but can be very overwhelming. Given the amount of work teachers do outside of school, I'm lucky to get 4-5 hours of sleep at night. I usually thank students on the spot also, so maybe your kids aren't passing the thanks (or maybe even written notes) on.

Either a class or individual gift is fine. Gift cards are great. My favorite gift card would be one for a bookstore, so I can buy things for my classroom or for myself.

As a teacher, the daughter of a teacher, and the mother of four teachers, i have an idea about this. Teachers really want an indiviual gift, if it is from the child, it is made by hand with a note or drawing; if it is from the parent, the gift is for the class with a personal note for the teacher. It is best if it is not candy or food items. The best gift ever was a wrapped gift for every child in class, many of these children received their only gift that day.
We like to have the room mom organize activities and essentials for the benefit of the students, not the benefit of the teacher. Though people have good intentions, they sometimes confuse room mom with team mom. The best possible support and sign of appreciation comes when the child shows respect for his/her teacher. It is in those actions that we see how much we are truly appreciated in the privacy of the child's home.

As a teacher, I say one big gift.

I hate to say this because my mom loves to give little gifts to everyone, but I'm a teacher with 25 students, and those little gifts usually sit around and end up in the good will box. No one shares my taste.

However, that class gift certificate of $100 at Nordstroms or Macy's is my favorite. It's so wonderful to choose what I like or pass the thing on to a friend who needs it.

A. G

i'm a teacher and definitely not choosy about how a student or students will gift me. i've had students give me individual gifts & i have also received a large gift from the entire class. each time i'm gifted it is a BLESSING. i'm one of those people that almost always send out thank you cards...but i just hope parents my parents understand that sometimes life gets busy and as much as the gift is appreciated, you won't always get a thank you card. (parents/students shouldn't be gifting just to get a thank you card anyways).

hope that helps.

I should have searched before posting my question but thats ok. This is a great question, I am loving the feedback on this.

I suppose this is a little late for the holidays, since they just put your request up today, but here's my two-cents...I was a pre-Kindergarten teacher at a Catholic school for 4 years, before having my first daughter and staying at home full-time. When I was a teacher, I was so appreciative of pooled class gifts, as opposed to getting small little trinkets. I mean, how many mugs and magnets, teacher notepads, etc., can one person use? I received gift certificates to spas, restaurants, etc from the class as a whole. I never knew who did and didn't contribute (there were always some children who gave me a little gift) but I always wrote individual thank you notes to the kids and mailed them out over the break. Of course, I had no children of my own and actually had time for that! With my daughter being in preschool this year, I gave my $15 towards the class gift (this $15 will buy gifts for the holidays, the teachers' birthdays and end of the year) but then I also bought some anti-bacterial stuff from Bath and Body and gave that to the teachers from my daughter. At the holidays, that stuff is always on sale, and as a teacher, I used it quite often (actually still do, now that I think about it!). Anyway, it only cost about $5 per teacher, which I thought was pretty good. I received a thank you from one teacher, but not from the other. I gave the gift early--a few days before the break. From experience, I know that if you're not careful, with all the kids giving you little gifts, then it's hard to keep track of who gave what. That could also be why you haven't received a thank you. Regardless, I am sending a thank you to my child's teachers for the little gift my daughter made us in class. As a former teacher, I know how hard it is to come up with somehting new every year for the kids to make, and I often did not receive any thank you from the parents, whether verbal or written.

Ok, I think I've rambled enough. HOpe this helps. Sorry my response is all over the place!

Hi Debbie,

My sister is a sixth grade teacher. She gets a lot of food gifts (how much candy and cookies can one person eat?) and knick-knacks (how many '#1 Teacher' mugs/ pens/ plaques/ keychains can a teacher use?). She doesn't get a lot of money to buy supplies for her classroom, and buys things for her kids that she can't get reimbursed for by the school district (birthday popcorn and juices). The one thing that she really appreciates is gift cards. Even if you don't have a lot of money to spend, put it on a gift card! Don't but another '#1 Teacher' pencil box, put the $5 on a Target gift card so she can use it to buy supplies for your child. She appreciates all gifts she receives, and since she has 140 students in and out of her classroom each day (she team teaches with 3 other teachers) it is impossible for her to write 140 thank you notes. She will show her thanks by dedicating her time to all of her students.

Just my two cents... =) Good luck!

I believe in the group gift, and everyone is included. I always collect and accept any donation. Teachers do so much for our children. Visa gift cards are my choice, they may spend it how they please, even on groceries. I have all the children sign a card, so it is more personalized, and we present the gift as a class. I am a working class mom and know sometimes money is tight, why give 30 boxes of candy when maybe you can help with their bills- its like a bonus!

Try some breastfeeding sites, like la leche league for bottle "nipples" advice. They can suggest some nipples for you to try!

S.