Former teacher here. NO CASH. It is just not appropriate. Gift cards are fine.

Not a teacher here, but I personally don't care for B&N. It's so overpriced! There is a better selection of books and games than at Target, but I can't stand the prices.

ok, i will not give a crisp $50 this year. i will give a $50 target gift card instead. thanks for the insight.

We've always gotten thank you notes from teachers, even when I send in the gift the last day. But that means they're having to rush them on the last day of school, so I can see how an earlier gift is helpful.

I always write a thank you note or, if it's after school is out, send an email to say "thanks".

It sounds like there may be one or two teachers on here who have been very vocal about their distaste for B&N cards. I don't believe most teachers share that opinion.

And they can't read in cursive anymore -- I will now have to print out the thank you note!!!!

I know I always write a thank you card to the student. Of course, this year the student didn't even know what it was and I had to tell her.

I send in gift cards (target, Amazon) along with a small box of candy/coffee/tea (depending upon the teacher). It's just me -- it feels wierd to just send in a gift card without something attached to it.

Wow, I've never received a thank you card for a gift to a teacher. In fact, DD's teachers didn't ever even say thanks in passing after xmas. Is that the norm?

No cash, gift cards. But I like to get them before the last day so I can write thank-you cards!

No cash. Gift cards are nice, but even nicer is a thoughtful thank you note.

Anonymous wrote:I'm a MS teacher. I don't think that you should give cash - that looks like a bribe.

The problem with B&N is the lack of locations these days But maybe your school is close to one...

Most teachers are just happy to be thought of. Please don't stress out over gifts. I have never heard one of my colleagues say anything negative about a gift.

Most teachers are extremely resourceful people and we always put things to good use.

Same thing here. I have never heard anyone gripe over a gift. I think $10 gift cards are nice, so the $25 cards I'm hearing about would be really nice.
I don't drink coffee and get quite a few Starbucks cards. They don't get used as fast, but come in handy when my son has a cold baseball practice and wants a hot chocolate.

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher and prefer to get gifts before the last day of school so that I can get thank you notes written before school is out. It is so much easier than having to mail out thank you notes.

You could send a nice email.

As a teacher I LOVE getting B&N gift cards. Whether I choose to use them for my classroom, my own kids, or myself I can't think of anything better for a teacher. And Starbucks is always nice too, who doesn't need caffeine!

And cash would make me uncomfortable. In part because it's strange to write a thank you note to a parent/child that says "thanks for the $25". If it's a gift card at least I can say something like "thank you so much for the gift card, I went write out and bought Goodnight Moon" or something.

I'm a MS teacher. I don't think that you should give cash - that looks like a bribe.

The problem with B&N is the lack of locations these days But maybe your school is close to one...

Most teachers are just happy to be thought of. Please don't stress out over gifts. I have never heard one of my colleagues say anything negative about a gift.

Most teachers are extremely resourceful people and we always put things to good use.