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This is a common misconception that I would like to set straight. We DO NOT get paid vacations. We get paid only for the days we work, and then that money is taken and divided into 12 equal payments and paid monthly.
If I get fired, resign, or retire at the end of the year in June, I am still going to collect a paycheck for the next couple of months. Why? Because I am collecting money owed to me for completing my contract which ended in June. If I were getting a "paid vacation," I wouldn't be able to collect any money once I left.
Larry, regarding "paid vacations" for teachers. It is certainly not true.
Look at it this way, let's say that you have a job where you work Monday through Friday and get your paycheck every two weeks. Does that mean that you get a "paid vacation" every Saturday and Sunday? No, you worked ten days and got paid for ten days. You did not have four days of "paid vacation".
Teachers have contracts where they work a certain number of days per school year and are paid for those days. All their employers do is keep some of the money that their employees have earned previously and dole it out over 12 months. That is why most teachers teach during the 9 to 10 month school year and get paid over 12 months.
The money that is paid after the school year ends is just money that the school districts kept and did not pay to their teachers in a timely manner as they earned it.
Last edited by germaine2626; 12-17-2015 at 09:06 AM..
Omg I actually remembered something. In preschool the room mom was doing a cash round up for a teacher and her asst teacher for the end of the year gift. I had liked the teacher until the end of the year. I found out she was talking c*ap about me. She was also being oddly over involved with my decision about what school my kid was going to (she wanted me to choose a public school but I chose a private school and she actually yelled at me). I was so mad, I didn't want to give anything. So I ignored the emails and just sort of passed off the comments when the room mom mentioned it to me.
So mid summer I got a text. "Hey, I covered your part of the gift to the teacher. Just get the cash to me when you can".
Ugh
LOL, my return text would contain some words that I can't write here, along with the general sentiment that I didn't ask for it to be done, didn't intend for it to be done, and don't owe a thing, rots of ruck getting me to pay you.
Students giving Xmas gifts to teachers? Never heard of such a thing when I was in school.
A mother taking it upon herself to take a collection to do so? And $25 per? Rather presumptuous, to say the least. Take a flying [poke] at a rolling donut.
LOL, my return text would contain some words that I can't write here, along with the general sentiment that I didn't ask for it to be done, didn't intend for it to be done, and don't owe a thing, rots of ruck getting me to pay you.
Students giving Xmas gifts to teachers? Never heard of such a thing when I was in school.
A mother taking it upon herself to take a collection to do so? And $25 per? Rather presumptuous, to say the least. Take a flying [poke] at a rolling donut.
Teacher gifts are a long-standing tradition. I remember giving gifts to my teachers back in the 50s. My mom loved fruitcake and always gave one of her homemade cakes to the teacher, on the theory that she (always a she back then in ele school) didn't have time to bake. Now you probably know that not everyone likes fruitcake, but my mom didn't seem to get that. I think the teachers appreciated the thought, if not the cake.
I do have a Jewish teacher friend who wanted to put an end to it at our kids' elementary school.
I do agree (and have stated previously) that $25/kid is a lot.
LOL, my return text would contain some words that I can't write here, along with the general sentiment that I didn't ask for it to be done, didn't intend for it to be done, and don't owe a thing, rots of ruck getting me to pay you.
Students giving Xmas gifts to teachers? Never heard of such a thing when I was in school.
A mother taking it upon herself to take a collection to do so? And $25 per? Rather presumptuous, to say the least. Take a flying [poke] at a rolling donut.
I ended up giving her the money. It wasn't a ton. She was a neighbor and her heart always tends to be in the right place, even though her brain wasn't.
We didn't give Christmas gifts to teachers when I was a kid either. We never gave any gifts to teachers. I did once. In 3rd grade teacher got very sick and was out for several months. When he got back the class decided to throw him a party. I brought him a gift (I adored him and was so happy he was back!). Well I ended up being very embarrassed because no one else did. It wasn't a thing. But it's been normal where I was raising my kids in the south, and seems to be normal up here in Minnesota as I have been seeing kids bringing up big gifts for their teachers this past week. So it might be regional.
We had a situation like that with a kindergarten teacher. The room mother wanted $25 per child to pay for a spa day for the teacher's birthday. We were nearly penniless at the time, because someone had stolen my husband's identity and emptied our accounts, and it takes months to get any of your money back when that happens. So I didn't have to decide whether or not to contribute the $25, because I didn't have it. I ended up making a cake for the teacher, even though my daughter hated the teacher and always referred to her (not at school of course) as a bad word that rhymed with the teacher's name. The same room mother put out a list of gift ideas for Christmas that was all gift cards for stores like Macy's, James Avery, and a bunch of fancy restaurants.
It was a refreshing change when we moved to a different school district and didn't get a big list of classroom supplies we had to bring, in addition to the usual school supply list. We also didn't have to give $10 for every classroom party, just a specific food item. And the teachers were surprised and delighted when we brought them anything...sometimes a few homemade cookies, a pack of dry erase markers when my daughter noticed the classroom was running low, post-it notes in fun shapes, etc.
Yes? No? If you truly feel like this person is just a crappy teacher and she/he has been rude to you in the past and your child, do you look past it and give a gift bc it's the "season of giving"? Do it bc you don't want your child to know you don't like their teacher.
DD is in Pre-K. I got sent home a letter asking for $25 per student for a class collection for a gift. No clue who this mother is either. I'm really not a fan of class collections to begin with and when DH saw this, he said he did not want to contribute and I sort of feel the same way. After a particular incident last week, I even thought for a minute of not buying her anything, let alone contributing the $25. The assistant teacher, who is nice and does more for DD then I've seen the teacher do, is sick and has been out for weeks, so not sure when or if I can give her a gift. And it was going to be something small, like some candy. Last year dd's school had the most caring, nurturing staff around. I didn't think twice about not gifting them for XMas and end of the year. I did for both and wrote a nice hand written note both to the teacher, assistant and director. This school and teacher is the COMPLETE opposite.
So WWYD? Contribute to collection? Don't contribute and give a cheap/small gift? Or bc you think she's crappy, give nothing? What do I do about the assistant since she won't even be there.
I would not. Gifts are a choice and not a requirement.
There is no way I could/would spend 25$ on a teacher gift. In our Pre K their were several teachers so that would be what we consider a small fortune. My daughter is in kindergarten - we love her teacher but spent a little under $15 and had her make the card.
I would have to say no to any letter asking for a $25 contribution and just do a small gift instead. Yes, I personally would get a teacher that I didn't particularly like a small gift so that my would learn to respect educators, even those that aren't our favorites & because like others said- kids absolutely love gift giving.
Yes? No? If you truly feel like this person is just a crappy teacher and she/he has been rude to you in the past and your child, do you look past it and give a gift bc it's the "season of giving"? Do it bc you don't want your child to know you don't like their teacher.
DD is in Pre-K. I got sent home a letter asking for $25 per student for a class collection for a gift. No clue who this mother is either. I'm really not a fan of class collections to begin with and when DH saw this, he said he did not want to contribute and I sort of feel the same way. After a particular incident last week, I even thought for a minute of not buying her anything, let alone contributing the $25. The assistant teacher, who is nice and does more for DD then I've seen the teacher do, is sick and has been out for weeks, so not sure when or if I can give her a gift. And it was going to be something small, like some candy. Last year dd's school had the most caring, nurturing staff around. I didn't think twice about not gifting them for XMas and end of the year. I did for both and wrote a nice hand written note both to the teacher, assistant and director. This school and teacher is the COMPLETE opposite.
So WWYD? Contribute to collection? Don't contribute and give a cheap/small gift? Or bc you think she's crappy, give nothing? What do I do about the assistant since she won't even be there.
If I thought she was a crummy teacher I'd put my child in a different Pre-K. But since your child is there, yes, in order to keep the peace and not possibly draw negative attention to my child, I'd do the "smile and nod" and give a small gift as a gesture, more for my child than the teacher. Hopefully you can find a better pre-K after the holidays.
And you don't need to do a class collection gift if you don't want to. We're all adults. If you don't want to participate in the class gift and want to do your own thing, do it.
Teacher gifts are a long-standing tradition. I remember giving gifts to my teachers back in the 50s. My mom loved fruitcake and always gave one of her homemade cakes to the teacher, on the theory that she (always a she back then in ele school) didn't have time to bake. Now you probably know that not everyone likes fruitcake, but my mom didn't seem to get that. I think the teachers appreciated the thought, if not the cake.
I do have a Jewish teacher friend who wanted to put an end to it at our kids' elementary school.
I do agree (and have stated previously) that $25/kid is a lot.
I remember giving tops 2-3 teachers gifts in elementary school . And it's bc I requested it. Now people telling you what to give I guess is the new thing, AND EXPECTING you give. Really, if all 18 kids give money, for a preschool class nevertheless, that's an almost $400 gift. Come on now
Well I def. decided I will not be giving towards the class gift. And I'll be honest my main reason for this is I feel she's undeserving of it. Still up in the air about giving something small, like something edible. The only parent I've ever spoken with told me some parents got this letter sent to their homes. No clue who this mom is, or how she got home addresses. My child is half day, but in a full day class bc of low enrollment for the half day program. So when I pick her up, no parents are there, but I do get to see the teacher on her cell phone endlessly, in the middle of the classroom with the kids running amock while she's TEXTING , with the door SHUT when she's supposed to be out in the yard ON HER CELL, but instead the 18 or so old assistant sub is out there, or for the full 20-30 min of recess sitting on a chair texting on her phone the entire time not watching a single kid. That's just a little bit of why I think she stinks.
Also, to the poster who said teachers have it easy. You have NO clue. I'm certified to teach myself, but stay at home now. Besides being home with 2 kids under 5, working at my old job in the corporate world is beyond a walk in the park compared to teaching. And I haven't even taught a full year yet, but know all this just from the little teaching I have done and being in the classroom when I was getting my degree. Teaching is one of the only professions that can be completely thankless at times and that you bring home your work with you every day. When do you think papers get graded, planning gets done, not to mention the never-ending paperwork, professional development, requirements to run after school programs,etc. It's also one of the top 5 jobs with burnout and that people leave the profession completely after 3 years.
But yeah, it's such an easyyy job
Last edited by Me 82; 12-17-2015 at 11:18 AM..
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