Fifteen Perfect Gift Ideas for Teachers
In the beginning of the school year we’ll receive them from family members and friends looking to wish us well as our new students arrive. They’ll be followed by coffee mugs from our union representatives and another from the PTA. During the holidays and Teacher Appreciation Week, they’ll come from our students and their parents. At various times throughout the year, they appear in our staff boxes as expressions of thanks from our administrators or from the people who take care of our pension plans. We’ll pick them up at the conferences we attend and from the workshops in which we participate. Once, I even got one from the guy who delivered our new textbooks.
Parents have only the best intentions, and they can’t possibly know about this mug-glut unless they have a teacher in the family. As a teacher with years behind the big desk, I want to let you in on a little secret: if “it’s the thought that counts,” then teachers need to share what they’re really thinking!
We certainly don’t go into teaching for the money, so it is touching that so many students and their parents go out of their way to express their appreciation. However, it’s hard to buy a present for someone we don’t know very well. All too often parents feel pressured to find something (anything) to buy their children’s teachers, spending more money and time than any teacher wants. In this desperate search for an appropriate gift, coffee mugs are popular because not only are they aimed at the target demographic (“To the World’s #1 Teacher” pretty much says it all), but they’re also relatively inexpensive and easy to send off to school with a child.
However, I can only drink so much coffee a day; I have to agonize over which student’s mug to use. I spent my early years in teaching trying to perfect a rotation that could include them all before I realized it was an impossible task: Juan Valdez himself never worked harder while trying to drink a cup of coffee!
I offer the following suggestions in the interest of helping parents express their gratitude without breaking a sweat (or the bank).
Fifteen Gift Ideas That Teachers Dream About
1. Personal Notes: A note from a child expressing thanks and/or demonstrating skills learned in the classroom. I have several prized student notes posted to my computer monitor years after my students have graduated; the mugs their classmates gave me had only a fraction of this shelf life. A heartfelt, handwritten student note is an educator’s most valuable currency.
2. Joke Books: I start off each day with a joke, but any teacher likes to have school and age-appropriate jokes handy! One former student customized a list of jokes she got off the internet solely for my classes (I use it to this day).
3. Framed Student Art: I proudly display the framed clippings about me that students created, glued, and put under glass. It helps future students understand more about me as a person, and it also sends the signal that I value student work!
4. Home Cooking: Over the years I’ve packed on the pounds as a result of goodies made for me by my students. Parents have also made special lunches for me and dropped it off during the day to say thanks. Still, there’s only so much fruit cake a person can handleâÂ?¦
5. Quotes, Poems, or Songs about Teaching: Teachers love having time-tested quotes about learning at their fingertips: compile a list of the best and present them in poster or booklet form.
6. Parent Coupons: Offer to share your talents/expertise with the class! Teachers are always looking for ways to work with parents and use your collective skills to educate their classes.
7. Plants: There’s nothing that dresses up a classroom like a room full of low-maintenance plants! It’s the gift that keeps on giving, and it makes for a fantastic atmosphere in which your children will learn. I got flowering hyacinth bulb one year that kept my students fascinated for months!
8. Donations in a Teacher’s Name: I am still touched by one student’s donation to the Adopt-a-Pet foundation in my name (I am famous for bragging about my two cocker spaniels).
9. Gift Certificates: Teachers usually end up spending much of their own money on their students anyway, so each five or ten dollar certificate means a lot! Consider the usual suspects: bookstores, office supply stores, video rental stores, or local restaurants that can supply food for class parties.
10. Teacher Supply Box: We can never get enough anti-bacterial soap, tissues, pens, colored pencils, markers, glue, tape, scissors, air fresheners, fans, notepads, construction paper, etc.
11. Books: Regardless of the subject, teachers are always on the lookout for discipline-specific books that use humor, games, etc. Inscribe the front page with a dedication to your teacher (or donate to your school/public library in their name)
12. Plan a Party: Whether it be for teachers or for your child’s class, it’s nice for someone else to take over the planning once in a while!
13. Order a Magazine/Newspaper for Class: Again, a gift that keeps on giving and directly benefits every student! Even better, most schools already plan a magazine drive of some sort during the school year.
14. Jar of Treats: Let’s face it: we say they’re for the kids, but they’re also for us!
15. Board Games: There are so many incredible ways to challenge students with games that are specific to each discipline, yet many of us can’t find the time or funds to get them for our classes!
When it comes down to it, teachers really don’t care about the gift as much as they appreciate the thought (really)! We’re ecstatic when a parent takes the time to find out our hobbies and interests when giving a gift (I’ve been given hundreds of different Notre Dame-inspired gifts, yet I never tire of them) or finds posters or software that can helps us inspire their children. Whether it’s a craft made in school or the donation of an old cd-player for the class to enjoy, the key is to keep the focus on the children.
Teaching is as much a calling as it is a profession, so a well-chosen teacher gift will always benefit the children that he or she teaches. Also, if you know of anyone who needs a few extra coffee mugs, feel free to ask your nearest teacher!
