I read on a daily basis another very lovely blogger named Jill. She has rabies. Baby rabies. (it’s not a real disease)…She recently wrote this about giving something to her son’s teacher for teacher appreciation week. While I’m 100% behind teachers, and I could certainly never do their jobs, do they really need a whole week? Secretaries get a day, so do bosses–as if bosses really need a day, right? But a whole week (at the end of the school year, no less) does seem a bit odd, as the ‘other Jill’ postulates. I mean, a lot of parents DO give ‘end of the year’ gifts to the teachers. You know, I know my kid was a hellion, so here’s a bouquet to brighten up your desk! or something like that. Most schools are letting out in the next few weeks anyway, so parents are really ‘paying’ the price for their kid’s education so to speak.
This is when I get out my ‘old grump’ card. Back when I went to school, you said thank you to your teachers, or you said goodbye and looked a little teary, or you just ran around like crazy because that’s what kids do when it’s hot and they’re stuck in a musty old school building…
So here’s my question: are we overdoing it? I mean, sending something every day for a week? Can you imagine? If you read Jill’s blog, she spent $12. I saw another mom on facebook, she clearly spent a lot of time crafting paper flowers and put them in a watering can with a note about ‘growing’ the kid’s education. Time and money wise, that ain’t cheap! Add in the fact that you have to do that 5x (and a lot of kids have more than one teacher, too) plus end of year gifts and it adds up pretty quickly. Not to mention a lot of parents give Christmas gifts to the teachers, too, I’m not sure if anyone ever takes an apple at the beginning of school anymore, but it’s a far cry from an apple to a week-long deluge of gifts. Now multiply that by 20-30 depending on the classroom…. can a teacher really ‘take in’ that many trinkets and such without overloading their house?
What do you think? Are we as a culture overdoing it? Is there too much emphasis on ‘stuff’ when a simple thank you, a card, a picture your kid colored, or say, volunteering at a function would give the same impression of gratitude?
Go ahead: talk about it…
I know that there are a TON of ‘teacher’ gifts at Goodwill. And many of my teacher friends say “If I get one more damn apple themed product I will scream.”
A gift card at the end of the year seems to be the most appreciated, then they can get what they want.
And we overdo because society does… time to fight back against that and do only what works for US.
I teach high school at one of the poorest schools in Oregon. On a weekly basis, I deal with disrespect from students who find it appropriate to swear and discuss their drinking habits in my classroom rather than spend the 45 minutes we have together each day reading or writing. I have parents who yell and tell me that their student has done absolutely nothing wrong even though I have their students paper side-by-side with another student & they are the exact same essay. I deal with a school board who has treated their teachers so poorly that we voted last night to go on strike beginning on May 21. Do I think I have it any worse than anyone else lucky enough to have a job these days? Absolutely not. Nor do I expect my students to come to school every day this week with homemade gifts. But please keep in mind that for most teachers, teacher appreciation week is simply a week when one or two people MIGHT say thank you for your hard work rather than choosing to focus on what we aren’t doing well or quickly enough.
I work in non-profit and get more than a little tired of my teacher friends complaining about how little they are appreciated, how little they are paid, how much they do, how much they have to buy from their own pockets. Sorry, but that’s the nature of the beast in my profession too, and I don’t get 3 months off a year (also, I’m paid less than starting salaries of teachers in my city). This shouldn’t have been surprising to anyone who pursued a degree in education, just like the fact that I don’t get paid much and deal with a lot of crazy because I pursued a career in non-profit shouldn’t and doesn’t surprise me.
I think you should do nice things for the people in your life – no doubt about that. Show your kids’ teachers you appreciate them (and everyone else in our lives for that matter). But I agree – nobody needs a week.
I give Christmas and End-of-the year gifts to the teacher – in the shape of gift cards from the local store. Am I over doing it? I don’t think so – that teacher has spent the entire day teaching and watching my kid – along with ~20 other kids (it is higher for the public schools). Not only do they have to keep kids focused but teach them the skills they will need as adults. That’s got to be pretty exhausting.
For teacher appreciation week? I’m not into going all fancy – but having the kids write a note saying how much they appreciate their teacher along with a picked bouquet from my yard. And, I think the reason it is a whole week long is to give us, the parents, an opportunity to do it – a “one-day” thing would mean we’d miss the day.
Do people really send gifts each day? I just graduated 8 years ago and don’t recall getting my teachers any gifts that week. I know that the school did nice things for teachers that week. Had little treats for the teachers and had a luncheon for them.