posted on December 6, 2000 11:50:37 AM
Is anyone a teacher?
Today's paper says "forget the candy in coffee cups, and no ornaments please..." It goes on to suggest all these homey things that truly have nothing to do with me or my family. Things like "cookies in a jar" and lots of fabric covered lids and boxes. No offense to this stuff - it is just over my head. My thing is to go to yard sales and drown the school in donations of books and craft supplies. I have singlehandedly gave them a stack of stuff 5 ft wide and up to the ceiling. They think I am batty and it pleases me.
I am considering a gift certificate and don't know if that is incredibly feeble, or the best choice in the land. If the latter - then a GC from WHERE? I don't know anything personal about the teacher. I do know I had occasion to reem her out for 40 minutes at the top of my lungs the first week of school (this was justified by anyone's standards) and these months later, she has done excellently well by my daughter and has my utter respect and appreciation so I would like to show this with a choice, choice of gift. I need more than a "token" here.
posted on December 6, 2000 12:10:53 PM
I used to use one of my Greeting Card programs to make "From the Desk of" note cards for my daughters teachers. I think I made them in sets of 20, and included matching envelopes. These were the quarter fold size...
I used classroom motif stuff, a ruler, apple, pencil and pen clipart, that kind of thing.
posted on December 6, 2000 12:18:17 PM
Great idea Meya, thanks!
Hip hip Hooray!
I can't do this either (crafts- impaired, design impaired, it's a long list..) but my husband can.
posted on December 6, 2000 12:58:49 PM
When I was teaching I got all kinds of good stuff. I got a really nice gift basket from Bath and Body Works (smelly stuff, as the kids called it), ornaments, ect......(never did get an apple).
Gift certificates are *wonderful*!
One thing to note, I was always just as pleased, if not more so, with the 'personal' type gifts. A note to say I was doing a good job, a kid made decoration, even a pat on the back. In fact, I still have all the decorations given to me and I use them every year.
posted on December 6, 2000 01:28:00 PM
My son is in year-round school and is off from Thanksgiving until New Years. This year I gave his teacher a Blockbuster Video gift card so she could enjoy some movies during their 5 weeks off. She was thrilled and mentioned in her thank you note that she already knew which movies she was going to rent.
I also include an ornament with my son's name & date as a remembrance of the year.
We have a great "Restaurant Row" in our town and you can get a generic gift certificate that they can use at any of the several dozen eateries. That's one of my other favorite gifts.
*****************
That's Flunky Gerbiltush to you!
posted on December 6, 2000 01:31:23 PM
It might seem tacky---but WALMART has a great teacher aisle and the selection is great---so give her a Gift Certificate for there---if she doesn't spend it on teaching stuff---she can spend it on herself.
Teachers spend a lot of their own money on theor classrooms---this will let her spend somebody else's money
posted on December 6, 2000 05:00:09 PM
Yesss! As a former teacher, I must say that the personalized note cards sound great. Also, a gift certificate to a book store or video store. OR, if you feel flush, a gift certificate to a popular restaurant. What teachers do NOT need is more food, candy, etc. Or perfume, or sachets, etc. Of course, every gift is really appreciated, no matter what it is; it's just that some gifts are appreciated even more than others.
When I was teaching in Las Vegas, in the early 60s, the class went together to give me a gift certificate to one of those fancy hotel shops, and I really cleaned up during the post-Christmas sales. Had more fun!
posted on December 6, 2000 05:30:48 PM
My friend is a teacher and I'm always amazed at how much she spends, of her own money, on decorations and supplies for classroom use.
I think a gift certificate is a great idea. We have a store called Holcomb's which is a sort of supply store for teachers. I know a gift certificate to them would be appreciated. They are nationwide but I think the name varies locally.
posted on December 6, 2000 07:01:38 PM
Well we were going to do Blockbuster but decided spring for the dinner. We are blowing off so many inlaws this year it is like we have "found" money, so no better place to put it. She deserves dinner AND a movie so that's what she is going to get.
roadsmith - this is a small school and I am going to try to organize like your class did for you next year. What a spectacular surprise that must of been, you must have been a very special teacher.
posted on December 6, 2000 07:05:07 PM
VeryModern, 4 years or so ago, I wrote a poem for my older son's 1st grade teacher, called 'To Teach Is To Touch'. Now every year, I print up the poem on parchment paper, and fit it to one side of a double-sided acrylic frame for both of my kids' new teachers. On the other side, the kids glue on potpourri. And every year another teacher gets misty-eyed over it.
Why not have your kids write a poem for their teacher and decorate it in a frame? Gifts from the heart are the best.
posted on December 6, 2000 08:00:48 PM
kiheicat - your gift sounds great and if my daughter gets motivated I would surely help her put something together.
Myself? I can't write poetry, and my gift of dinner and a movie *is* from the heart. I genuinely appreciate her skill and effort and want to do something to acknowledge her as an individual away from her job.
I also want a gift that comes from *me* as opposed to my daughter because of the history here. I came down on this teacher like a tidal wave from hell and she took every bit of it because she was so egregiously wrong and the consequences both potential and realized were so severe, that she really was without defense. That said, if she were a lesser person, she would have penalized my daughter in some form but she has not.
This action (or lack of action) has earned her my total respect, not only as a teacher but as a human being. I have already let her know how appreciative I am of her professionally and now I want to recognize her as a person outside of her job. She is kicking a** in that class and I really do want to her to have dinner on me. With all my heart.
posted on December 6, 2000 08:48:23 PM
VeryModern, you just came up with the best gift without even realizing it... the words you posted. Write her a letter with the words you just told us, in a nice caligraphic font, and enclose it with whatever material gift you give her... it will be felt as intended.
posted on December 6, 2000 09:41:38 PM
Verymodern: This will make you laugh. (You said you liked the idea of a whole class going together for a gift certificate for the teacher.)
This was done for me--but in 1961. The gift certificate TOTAL was $14.95, to a ritzy hotel shop in Vegas, which I used at an after-Christmas sale.
With that I got an Italian knit suit!! AND a pair of leather gloves. Do you believe it?
Wish someone would tell me what that $14.95 translates to in today's dollars.
posted on December 6, 2000 10:16:01 PM
Just give a teacher a gift that YOU would like to recieve...they are NOT that different...I know what present my little teacher (okay, Librarian would like )
Just make sure that it is appropriate for the age group giving it.
Keith
I assume full responsibility for my actions, except
the ones that are someone else's fault.
posted on December 7, 2000 10:30:53 PM
kiheicat said.
"Why not have your kids write a poem for their teacher and decorate it in a frame? Gifts from the heart are the best."
posted on December 9, 2000 03:13:28 PM
I have never met a teacher yet who didn't spend a significant portion on his or her incomes toward teaching supplies or decorations for their classroom to get kids in the mood to learn.
Any paper shop, walmart, decoration shop, McDonalds (one teacher gave away free lunch for best or most reader of the month out of her own pocket), food certificates, book store gift certs, UNIVERSITY continuing credit DOLLARS (any amount). Gas gift certs (driving kids around to math competition or special classes).
Lots of things!
Appreciate your children's teachers because ignorance is too frightening!
)