Gifts for Teachers

In My Humble Opinion
1

Well, it’s the end of the school year, and my husband came home with a stack of presents from his students.

Giving a gift to a teacher is, of course, absolutely unneccessary, but in case you’re so inclined, I thought I’d offer some suggestions as to what kinds of things are appreciated most, and what things, well, aren’t.

I’d like to say “it’s the thought that counts,” and that’s true, but knowing that all that money was wasted is kind of depresing. And dealing with mass quantities of unusable gifts can be a chore. I was prompted to write this because when my husband brought home a box filled with stuff, I had a sinking feeling…but was delighted to find that he received almost no useless stuff! Yay!

This is, obviously, based on my and my husband’s personal opinion of what constitutes a good teacher gift. Other teachers, please give your opinions too!

Note of thanks: The best. Always appreciated and treasured, whether from the kid or from the parent. One year, a pair of girls jotted down my husband’s many funny sayings from class, and they made a little booklet with cartoon pictures of my husband and the quotes. That’s something that we’ll keep forever.

Gift certificate: Excellent. My husband has received a lot of these over the years, and they are such a treat. He just got a $25 “gift coin” redeemable at almost any store in town! Wow! He’s gotten certificates for Barnes and Noble and lots of local shops and restaurants. Starbucks used to sell greeting cards which included a certificate for a free cappuccino. That was great because my husband doesn’t drink coffee and I got to redeem them! Sometimes, a bunch of kids’ parents will chip in for a higher value gift certificate (like the gift coin).

Fine Candy: This is good. My husband got a little box of Godivas and a box from the best chocolate store in town. He’s a chocoholic, so he loved it. Even if the teacher doesn’t eat candy, he or she can easily share them.

Junky Candy: Not so good. Just not that enjoyable, even to a dedicated sugar junkie.

Homemade treats: I hate to say it, but these don’t usually get eaten. YMMV.

Bath products, perfume: Not good. Many people are picky about what products they use, often because they have sensitive skin. My husband doesn’t get too much of this stuff because he’s male, but I hear female teachers get bombarded with it, and are always trying to give it away.

Candles: Eh. Some people love them. Lots of people don’t. And a lot of people really dislike the smelly ones. But they are easy to give away to candle-loving friends, so they are not so bad.

Trinkets: Awful. Decorative pens, bookmarks, mugs, auugh! We are overrun with these things. We either don’t use them at all (bookmarks) or have far too many already (mugs). They are impossible to give away, because everyone has too many of them. I understand that people like to get these things because they are non-controversial, but they’re just not much of a treat for the teacher.

Subject-related items: Good–if it’s something that can truly be used in the classroom. My husband’s always glad to get some cool book for his kids to use in class or to browse in after class.

Music: Good, depending on the teacher. My husband’s kids will sometimes make him a tape of their favorite music (not necessarily as an end-of-the-year gift.) He always enjoys this, even if the music stinks–one girl made him an all-boy-band tape! But we both like to listen to these tapes and find it thoughtful that the kid went to the trouble. And some kids listen to really good stuff and we’re grateful to be introduced to it. Some teachers wouldn’t like this, but the kid will know who will like it and who won’t.

So, in conclusion–the best thing you can give is a note of appreciation. If you want to give a gift, too, go for a gift certificate. It can be for a small amount (like the certificate for a cappuccino) but it will be a great treat and highly appreciated. A consumable item that can easily be shared is a good idea too. Don’t waste your money on generic “gifty” stuff.

Of course, there are some teachers who will love the gifts that I have called “not good.” If you know that there is something that the teacher will like, get it by all means. But if you’re not sure, go with one of the more sure-fire suggestions.

2

I’m a teacher and my daughter (and I) give “appreciation gifts” to her teachers. Usually, we get a card and she writes what she liked about the teacher…then, we get a gift card from Borders or Barnes and Noble, or even Target.
Those are things I would like to receive from my students. I work at a low-income school and usually I don’t get much at the end of the year, because the families can’t afford it. That’s ok…I don’t mind…that’s not why I became a teacher.

3

Your husband must be a fanstastic teacher to recieve so many gifts at the end of a school year. I envy his students.

4

When I taught in Budapest, Hungary, it was tradition to get gifts from classes. I got bottles of wine and candlesticks.
And a mug.
Still, they were a lot more special being some of the first gifts I got from students.

5

Thank you. He is a fantastic and well-loved teacher. But I realize that I should have made something more clear in my OP–we live in a very wealthy town, so the parents can afford to blow $100 on teacher gifts. I know that gifts for teachers are common in some less-wealthy communities, too, and I hope that my post will help those parents make wise choices if they choose to buy a gift, and to let them know that a note is more than sufficient.

6

[slight hijack]

Got a story I have to share… :slight_smile:

My Latin/Classics teacher is ancient, extremely vague and really shouldn’t have to cope with a class of sixteen-year-olds. However, she’s also very sweet and we wanted to get something nice for her when we left school. I couldn’t think of anything to get her, and during the discussion regarding the matter, someone started telling a story about something that happened a couple of years ago. I’d been in one of her lessons, bored as all-get-out, and reading a book under the desk. It was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and she took it out of my hands and demanded, “What does this have to do with Latin?”

I decided to go for broke and said it had everything to do with Latin, and told her about the spells being in Latin (eg, Wingardium Leviosa, Lumos, Nox, etc…) and I even told her about the rather appropriate meaning of Remus Lupin’s name. Oddly enough, she confiscated the book. I got it back a week later with a note saying she’d read it and loved it, and thanking me for letting her confiscate it (I know, I know…)

To cut a long story short, I found the perfect gift for her last week. Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone translated into Latin. We gave it to her a few days ago and she loved it.

Sorry, had to share this, as I’ve never seen a gift appreciated more… :slight_smile:

[/hijack]

7

[ul]And I always heard that you should give the teacher an apple. :confused:[/ul]

8

Or how’bout something shaped like an apple, or with an apple glued on it? SO’s mom retired after 35+ years of teaching. She’s got truckloads of mugs, pens, Christmas ornaments, magnets and more, all with apples, some with worms wearing glasses sticking out of the apples. Many of these knick knacks say “Worlds Best Teacher” on them.

When I was a kid we brought flowers from our own garden, usually with a wet paper towel squashed inside foil.

9

And blackboards. The little educated worm and his apple are usually in front of a blackboard. My mother and aunt have truly impressive collections of these sorts of things after 30 years.

Mom never gets end of the year presents, but she often gets stuff at Christmas. Some of it almost invariably makes it into my stocking. Hand creams or lotions that Mom’s allergic to but I’m not (some it doesn’t bother her, and some it kills both of us), earrings she can’t wear but thinks I’d like, little trinkets she thinks I’d get a kick out of. a package of candy she knows I’m specially fond of, that sort of thing. Other stuff gets given to other people who would enjoy it.

Getting rid of stuff she can’t use isn’t generally a problem. Of course, the house is awash in “World’s Best Teacher” stuff, but Mom kind of likes those things and doesn’t mind decorating with them. I told you my family was weird.

10

Every year around the holiday season my brother and I pick out a teacher who’s helped us especially that year and we give them a bigger gift certificate to…someplace. Usually, a nice restaurant. I make cards for all of my other teachers.

Oh, and I give one to the school librarian, the secretaries, the principal and the bookstore manager.

At the end of the year, I usually go up and thank the teacher(s) personally, especially if they’re retiring.

It works well :slight_smile:

11

I want this book! Please, please, tell me it’s widely available. It is a perfect companion to my Latin Winnie the Pooh and Ovid’s Metamorphosis.*

What? Doesn’t everyone have a Latin edition of Ovid on the shelf nearest your favorite chair?

12

Mine was titled Winnie ille Pu :slight_smile:

13

I’m with the OP on the homemade goodies. These just get thrown right into the trash (with a “thank you, it was delicious” note sent, of course). We don’t know what sort of thing might have inadvertently been put into the cookie batter.

The best are gift certificates and dinner certificates. Those are the most appreciated.

14

Here ya go, Kallessa - Amazon’s link to the book. Oddly enough it says it hasn’t been released yet, but it will be soon. I hope you can get hold of it - it’s really oddly compelling. I read four or five chapters without thinking I was doing something odd, and I’ve only got three years of Latin to sustain me!

15

Loneraven: What a wonderful and thoughtful gift! And I admire your quick thinking on explaining what Harry Potter has to do with Latin. I’m glad to hear of people studying Latin, as I keep hearing of schools that are discontinuing their programs. Semper ubi sub ubi!

Are you suggesting that these are desirable or undesirable gifts? Because they sound pretty undesirable to me…

Now, that’s great!

16

Green Bean - thanks. grins We weren’t the nicest, or most attentive, or most intelligent class ever, but I’m glad she’s got something to remember us by. I signed the flyleaf of the book and wrote in “Upper V, MMIII.”

As for people studying Latin - it would seem we’re a dying breed. My three years of lingua Latina are over now - no more shall I be able to stand in front of a class and orate, “Cerberus et canis. canis in via latrat,” and other such gems of pertinent information.

Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus. :slight_smile:

17

'Nother teacher checking in. I don’t need gifts at all, of course, and when I do get them I try to be discreet about it, because I don’t want non-gift-giving students to feel bad at all.

I’m going to agree that a sincere note of appreciation is my favorite gift, and gives me warm fuzzies all over. I almost always keep letters in which my students have told me, specifically and in detail, why they like me, and I reread them when I’m feeling like a failure.

Gift certificates are second favorite, especially to bookstores and restaurants.

Every once in a while a student gives me something I can tell was specially chosen for me, and I like that. One kid gave me a very nice Robert Frost collection with black & white photo illustrations, for example.

I always say thank you very nicely for ornaments, knickknacks, and objects festooned with apples, blackboards, and cute little worms. These generally get either thrown away or donated to the Goodwill, because I have absolutely nothing to do with them. I love my students, but that doesn’t mean I have to add tackiness to my home for them. And since they’re so teacher-specific, I can almost never re-gift them.

18

A guy I graduated college with was headed straight into a job as an elementary school teacher. I chipped in with two other people to get him a sweatshirt that said (roughly, as I remember it):

I will not hit people in class. I will not yell or say bad words in class. I will not kick anything in the classroom, or throw anything, or bite people, because I AM THE TEACHER.

19

My mother (a teacher) sends a note home to the parents in her class asking them to buy something for the classroom instead of something for her, if they were planning on buying a gift. She includes a list of books, supplies, and other items that she would have ended up buying for the school (out of her pocket) at some point anyway. It works really well for her. YMMV, of course.

20

Another teacher checking in here. I agree that the very best gift is a card or letter from the parent. I have one card that I read over and over again when I’m depressed, and it lifts my spirits like nothing else.

If you feel that you must spend money (and please don’t feel that you do), my preference is for something that can be used in the classroom. I lust after fun notepads and pens in interesting colors.

If a gift is any sort of ceramic or decorative item, it will probably be sent to Goodwill; I just don’t have the space in the classroom or at home.