* Warning - this is in the nature of a rant! Those of a nervous disposition should look away now! *
I very much appreciate the work that teachers do. I value education to the extent that I chair the Governing Body of DS's primary school. I see firsthand the hard work, commitment and dedication that teachers put into the children that they care for.
What I do not appreciate is being told by another mother that I should be contributing towards a class present for his teacher and supporting staff. She is suggesting ten pounds per child. I am very fortunate in life; I could spare that sum. Others could not through no fault of their own, but are now feeling pressurised to do so.
DS and I shall be doing what we always do. We shall work together to produce something homemade and hopefully edible. The effort required will show how much we appreciate all that his teacher has done for him this year.
* Rant over - you may now come out from behind that cushion! *
Oh good grief, don't these parents realise that even for the loveliest teacher on the planet, a tenner may be just too much for some tight budgets?
ReplyDeleteI rant with you!!!
Oh my goodness Lesley this is awful, says a lot about the consumerist world we live in. When our boys were small we always made a handmade gift of some sort to give which was always appreciated as yours will be. How is the veg box coming along? Great post Lesley, thank you
ReplyDeleteLots of love
Dorothy
:-)xxxxx
This is a cheek on the part of that mother on several levels - presuming, as you say, that everyone can afford a tenner, and then that others would want to relinquish their choice of present, and their opportunity to make or choose something individual for their teacher - and even to choose whether they want to give the teacher something...what is the world coming to?
ReplyDeleteMy own opinion on teacher gifts is that if they all get swamped with items every year, their houses and kitchen cupboards soon won't hold all the mugs and trinkets, so food and drink (ie consumables) was the best way to go - home made biscuits, chocolates, etc always went down well here xxx
This comes up in my husband's workplace fairly often. The idea of being told what and how much to give as a gift, really takes away from what a gift truly is.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes think it's simply ignorance on the part of the person organizing the gift -- not understanding how other families handle gift-giving situations. But I also think it is pride on the gift organizer's part. He/she wants to look like the big "hero" putting together "such a nice gift".
We do as you do, put together our own gift, and ignore those who are trying to orchestrate our gift-giving.
As a recently retired teacher, I agree. £10 is an extortionate amount! What on earth would they buy with such a large sum?
ReplyDeleteI once had a single blue hydrangea from Nan's garden; a wonderful gift.One of the best gifts was a card from a six year old thanking me for helping her to "like school". My own children made cards , pictures etc. These tokens were always gratefully received.