Gift card for teacher: How much is too much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher I most enjoy people who write cards that show appreciation and talk about positive impacts of my teaching.

That to me is the most rewarding, you work hard day in and day out, and there are many hard days but knowing that you are making a difference and having people acknowledge that is what I value most.

Money and gift cards are always a little awkward. yes, I love having more money but I do often feel like those parents expect something in return. As though I should do more for their child than other kids or let more slide or not be as critical because they have given me money. For some parents this is why they give...other parents just give as a gift and forget about it and never associate it again with the teaching but as a teacher it is hard to know which parents fall into which group! I have had parents 4 months later refer to the money/gift they gave me at Christmas.

That is so horrible. I am so sorry that parents ever make you feel like the gift was meant to make you favor their kid in any way. I love our preschool teachers so so so much, but would hate to make them feel uncomfortable in any way. Will cap gifts at $20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think giving a teacher anything worth money is seen as a bribe.

Why not a handmade craft instead?

Because a handmade craft isn't really very useful and just adds to the clutter.

I think a $100 gift card would be great. If the teacher thinks it's too much to spend on herself, she could just use it towards the classroom.

And definitely send a note explaining how much you appreciate her!

[Anonymous]

Our PTA offered to buy gift cards for all teachers, we just had to choose which retailer we wanted for each teacher. They also listed amounts starting from $25 and up.

[Anonymous]

Doesn't DCPS have a restriction on teacher gifts to $20? I thought that MCPS had a similar restriction.

The restrictions are to prevent favoritism.

[Anonymous]

Moco teacher here,

Check with the financial administrator at the school for the policies in your district. In moco, a teacher is supposed to not accept more than 25 dollars from one family per semester. It's awesome you want to do something kind and generous, but make sure you don't put the teacher in a position where she needs to refuse a gift, or break a rule.

[Anonymous]

Wow, $100 seems like an awful lot. We could never afford that. I do a $25 gift card for each child's teacher and put it in a little bag with some holiday hershey kisses and a card. I also give a $25 gift card to my DD's speech therapist. For specials (art, PE, music) I give $5 starbucks cards, also in a little bag with some chocolates. Not sure what to do about librarians, as we have 2 part-time.

[Anonymous]

Alright, aren't Xmas gifts just for the sake of giving? Sure yes, give thanks too but I don't see tying the amount of the gift card to what the teacher did for you. More work= bigger giftcard?

We give the same amount giftcard whether we like the teacher or not. It's about giving gifts, not playing favorites.

There is Teacher Appreciation week which comes at the end of the school year- i think it's more appropriate to show your appreciation there wtih your big gift card for the teachers you like best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Alright, aren't Xmas gifts just for the sake of giving? Sure yes, give thanks too but I don't see tying the amount of the gift card to what the teacher did for you. More work= bigger giftcard?

We give the same amount giftcard whether we like the teacher or not. It's about giving gifts, not playing favorites.

There is Teacher Appreciation week which comes at the end of the school year- i think it's more appropriate to show your appreciation there wtih your big gift card for the teachers you like best.

I think this is a lousy teacher posting. We give what we are allowed to give, but I absolutely give the max allowed to great teachers. It's not a bribe. It's a message of-please treat yourself to something special as a thanks for all the extra work you do to make things work. If a teacher stinks there is no reason to give much. I assume there will be some parents who think that teacher is great and they will give. It's bad enough that the amazing teachers don't get bonuses or something like that. I say shower them with prase and whatever gift you feel comfortable with to make sure they know they are really good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think giving a teacher anything worth money is seen as a bribe.

Why not a handmade craft instead?

Who the fuck wants a handmade craft? I have three children I gave birth to. I am a teacher who has 25 children in her main class, and then 24 in a math class. There is no way in hell that I want 49 handmade crafts from my school kids PLUS whatever crap my own kids make. EACH. YEAR. Let's not be hoarders, together.

OP, anything over $50 makes me feel a little weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think giving a teacher anything worth money is seen as a bribe.

Why not a handmade craft instead?

Who the fuck wants a handmade craft? I have three children I gave birth to. I am a teacher who has 25 children in her main class, and then 24 in a math class. There is no way in hell that I want 49 handmade crafts from my school kids PLUS whatever crap my own kids make. EACH. YEAR. Let's not be hoarders, together.

OP, anything over $50 makes me feel a little weird.

+1

[Anonymous]

I'd give candles and baked goods. Those are best and what teachers really want the most.

[Anonymous]

MCPS has a limit on the amount teachers may receive from parents. I would see if your school system has a limit.

[Anonymous]

The accompanying note expressing your appreciation is really what matters to teachers. I work for MCPS and respect the $25 cutoff. I think anything beyond that is showy. In fact, if I received a $25 gift card, I'd even think that was way above and beyond. Really, we appreciate the notes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Alright, aren't Xmas gifts just for the sake of giving? Sure yes, give thanks too but I don't see tying the amount of the gift card to what the teacher did for you. More work= bigger giftcard?

We give the same amount giftcard whether we like the teacher or not. It's about giving gifts, not playing favorites.

There is Teacher Appreciation week which comes at the end of the school year- i think it's more appropriate to show your appreciation there wtih your big gift card for the teachers you like best.

I think this is a lousy teacher posting. We give what we are allowed to give, but I absolutely give the max allowed to great teachers. It's not a bribe. It's a message of-please treat yourself to something special as a thanks for all the extra work you do to make things work. If a teacher stinks there is no reason to give much. I assume there will be some parents who think that teacher is great and they will give. It's bad enough that the amazing teachers don't get bonuses or something like that. I say shower them with prase and whatever gift you feel comfortable with to make sure they know they are really good.

Uhm, no, I am so not a teacher.

There have been teachers here who have said that the big amount giftcards do make them feel uncomfortable.

I am more likely to give more during teacher appreciation week. It's the end of the year and even if the teacher feels a bit weird, that it would be a lot less likely to be thought of as a bribe.

[Anonymous]

I'm a MCPS teacher and we may not receive gifts in excess of $25. Personally, I prefer notes from the family or from the kids over gift cards or other presents.