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We do have a couple of parents who bring in baskets of goodies for the staff when they come in for IEP meetings, which is very, very nice and gracious.
Last spring the MDT at our old school was doing a marathon review/revision of IEPs over several days. They turned it into a potluck. I brought several boxes of Girl Scout cookies (my son's IEP took a few hours). The ED brought a grilled chicken salad. I forget what else came but we ate and worked and it was a grand time.
Just wondering...I feel so tapped out as a parent. My kids have activities (girl scouts, sports, etc) and they have both done fundraisers for underprivileged kids which is a worthwhile cause this time of year. Those groups asked for purchases and money for the children.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skatergirl
Now, I've got notices from my kid's room parents that they're asking for more money for a gift for the teachers (in addition to the contribution asked for at the start of the year for parties, etc)
I can understand an end of the year gift, but just started wondering if teachers have expectations of receiving gifts from their classes at Christmas?
No! Most teachers would agree that the little trinkets just pile up and end up in garage sales, regifted, or sadly thrown away. Save the hassle and money and spend it on your kids... or someone less fortunate. If you absolutely feel the need to get your kids' teacher a gift, then make it something awesome like a free car wash.
At my daughter's elementary school the room parents would always ask for money to do a Christmas gift and an end-of-the-year gift. It was a G/T magnet school which was known for its awesome parent participation. There was no minimum and it certainly was not mandatory. Anyway, by 4th and 5th grade the room parents would just give the teachers the cash and it was often several hundred dollars.
I was always happy to donate because all of the teachers my daughter had were great and I think teachers, in general, are underpaid.
My parents are both primary (elementary) school teachers and never have to buy things like bottles of wine/scotch or boxes of chocolates because they always get about a dozen of each every Christmas/summer. Some years when I was a kid they'd even end up with more presents than I did
I'm not a teacher--but I would see "individual" gifts as being akin to giving one's boss a gift. Frowned upon, because of the possibility of preferential treatment, or even the appearance(?) of preferential treatment.
We have gotten gifts for our kids teachers every year, but not something big. In preschool, we always got something for the teachers and also for my grandson's therapists. It can get expensive with so many *teachers* for an autistic child though.
This year at the end of the year, my grandson's K teacher will have a letter to her principal to go into her personnel folder detailing all the ways she went above and beyond the call of duty for him (and really for all her students). He is autistic and his year has been fantastic because she has done everything in her power to make sure he doesn't miss out on anything.
As a teacher, I NEVER requested gifts, btw. That was unheard of at all the schools I worked in (preK and high school, btw). In the inner city hs where I worked, we got very few gifts, but 80% of the kids were on free lunch. In the suburban preschools, we often got expensive gifts. Usually there was one large one from the entire room given by the room parent and sometimes several little individual ones from students as well. It was nice since we were pretty low paid, but we never would have asked for gifts or even expected them.
Here in Texas, I think gifts for teachers are frequent at the holidays though and are given at the Holiday parties in school.
Wow, I should have taught school in London! Not that I expect a bottle of wine, but nice!
Actually my parents teach in a small village school in Yorkshire where I grew up where everyone knows each other, etc. Teaching in inner-city London would be, ahem, a little different!
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