Solicit gifts from students

On Tue, 8 Jun 2004 13:09:57 EDT, "Beeswing" wrote:

"Cathy Kearns" wrote in message
.com...

I suspect it's the room parent sending out these notices. It is
traditional
that student give the teachers small gifts at the end of the year or
for
special occasions: new babies, weddings. Since these small gifts
often
can pile up for the teacher (how many "best teacher" mugs can you
actually handle....) the room moms often send out a letter to give
parents a way of contributing to a bigger gift. I've never heard you
had
to give to the group gift, or even give a gift at all, the room parent
is
just trying to make it easier for the parents who haven't spent
the last year talking to the teacher weekly, and might not know what
the
teacher would enjoy.

Along the same lines:

My daughter has has the same (wonderful) teacher for three years now,
but will now be moving on to a new teacher. Is it okay for either us or
our daughter to give a bouquet of flowers to the teacher on the last day
of school, or is that considered going overboard? Are flowers okay as a
"small gift"?

Another nice thing to do is to write him or her a letter mentioning
some of the specific things that you have noticed about his or her
teaching and about high points of the year for your child. I really
love hearing that people *noticed* the stuff I worked hard on, or the
new techniques that worked.

Louise wrote:

Another nice thing to do is to write him or her a letter mentioning
some of the specific things that you have noticed about his or her
teaching and about high points of the year for your child. I really
love hearing that people *noticed* the stuff I worked hard on, or the
new techniques that worked.

Thanks for the idea. I feel pretty good about the positive feedback we've given
the teacher all along, but this is still a very nice thought.

beeswing

"beeswing" wrote in message
...
Louise wrote:

Another nice thing to do is to write him or her a letter mentioning
some of the specific things that you have noticed about his or her
teaching and about high points of the year for your child. I really
love hearing that people *noticed* the stuff I worked hard on, or the
new techniques that worked.

Thanks for the idea. I feel pretty good about the positive feedback we've
given
the teacher all along, but this is still a very nice thought.

beeswing

In addition-something IN WRITING can be used as part of the teacher's
portfolio. One of the standard areas of evaluation is "communication and
relationships with parents" both for continued employment and for things
like National Board Certification and some of the teacher recognition
programs.

In article , Beeswing wrote:

Thanks, Kevin. I've actually never gotten a teacher a year-end gift
before, and I'd love some good suggestions. This teacher is really
special.


We usually give a bookstore gift certificate and a "thank you" card
saying what we felt was so special about them. Judging by teachers
I've known on a personal basis, most "keepsakes" are less appreciated
than the givers intend. If you know the teacher's hobbies, a gift
certificate to an appropriate shop (yarn shop, garden center, etc.)
is also a good choice.

--Robyn

"mdurg" wrote in message ...
Is it normal etiquette for an elementary school teacher to solicit gifts
from their students? We got a letter from school today asking for a $4
donation for a Chimnea (small enclosed fireplace) for "their big deck on
their new house" for the teacher. Now this isn't so bad, because in this
case both my wife and I really like this teacher and what she has done for
our son this year. And I think someone else has passed out the solicitation
without her knowing.

But I can think of another case a few years ago when another of his teachers
got married and solicited the class (3rd graders) for a wedding gift! That
was really bad, or at least I think so. I can imagine some of the parents
unwilling or unable to fork over a few bucks and their poor kids going in to
school and feeling left out because they didn't give anything.

Am I off base here? Or is this not right?


Thanks for your opinions!
mdurg




As a child I remember giving gifts to my teachers at holiday time or
the end of the year. They were usually things my mom made for the
teacher. This was never seen as out of line; however, I am in a
teacher education program right now and thinking about it, it sort of
could be construed as out of line. I think it is one thing for parents
to show their appreciation. Most teachers do appreciate this. The hard
thing is that some kids may not be able to afford to buy their teacher
a gift and then they feel left out.

Relating to your second question, I think it is completely out of line
for the teacher to ask her students for wedding gifts. In general, I
think it is out of line to ask for gifts. Who does that? I do think it
is fine that the teacher told her students about getting married.
Teachers are very important in children's lives and sharing their
personal stories is another way to help to build a community.

Hope this helps.

wrote in message . com...
"mdurg" wrote in message ...
Is it normal etiquette for an elementary school teacher to solicit gifts
from their students? We got a letter from school today asking for a $4
donation for a Chimnea (small enclosed fireplace) for "their big deck on
their new house" for the teacher. Now this isn't so bad, because in this
case both my wife and I really like this teacher and what she has done for
our son this year. And I think someone else has passed out the solicitation
without her knowing.

But I can think of another case a few years ago when another of his teachers
got married and solicited the class (3rd graders) for a wedding gift! That
was really bad, or at least I think so. I can imagine some of the parents
unwilling or unable to fork over a few bucks and their poor kids going in to
school and feeling left out because they didn't give anything.

Am I off base here? Or is this not right?


Thanks for your opinions!
mdurg




As a child I remember giving gifts to my teachers at holiday time or
the end of the year. They were usually things my mom made for the
teacher. This was never seen as out of line; however, I am in a
teacher education program right now and thinking about it, it sort of
could be construed as out of line. I think it is one thing for parents
to show their appreciation. Most teachers do appreciate this. The hard
thing is that some kids may not be able to afford to buy their teacher
a gift and then they feel left out.

Relating to your second question, I think it is completely out of line
for the teacher to ask her students for wedding gifts. In general, I
think it is out of line to ask for gifts. Who does that? I do think it
is fine that the teacher told her students about getting married.
Teachers are very important in children's lives and sharing their
personal stories is another way to help to build a community.

Hope this helps.


I completely agree. As future elementary teacher (I am also currently
in a teacher education program) and given my experiences in the
classroom so far, I believe that it is out of line for a teacher to
ask for gifts, especially money, from their students. First of all,
the role of the educator is to help your child learn. Although I
believe it is perfectly fine to show that teacher appreciation for
doing a good job, it should be a voluntary thing, not something
directly asked. I do think part of the role of a teacher is to become
very involved in the school and local communities and to have open
communication with student's parents/caregiver's so they feel as
though they are apart of the learning process. BUT asking for
donations is not part of that communication.

IF the teacher wanted to ask for donations he/she could do so by
putting in a school bulletin/newspaper that goes out to both teachers
and parents of students. That way is remains a voluntary act and no
one student (or their family) is put on the spot. I can imagine that
students may feel bad if they are unable to donate and many others in
their class have. A good teacher should realize this and prevent this
from happening. Teachers should want to make their students feel as
comfortable as possible in the classroom; a place where they really
feel like they are a positive part of the whole learning process.

I would also say that it if a teacher asks for gifts from their
students and you consider it out of line, to talk to the school
principal, administrator or another parent about it so that it might
not happen in the future.