What kind of gift should I buy from my child's teacher?

Teacher Appreciation Week takes you? The columnists of Slate's Ask a Teacher dish on gifts that are sure to be a success, and columnist Matthew Dicks explains how make your appreciation really count.

"I need inspiration for the end-of-year teacher gifts! What is everyone doing? When I recently read this trivial and familiar question in a Facebook parent group, I opened the thread with concern, knowing what I could possibly find. Here are some comments: the Orange You Glad gift basket? There was a bucket of orange sand with a choice of artfully hidden carrot items: a tiny cardboard of Goldfish cheddar, a fluorescent highlighter, a Banana Boat Solar Sunscreen-sized tube, an orange Tic Tacs case, a mandarin stick lip balm – all wrapped in a shimmering orange cellophane. The commentator's photo was filled with love, love and glowing comments. Awww, so much fun! What creativity! If only I had thought of that! Cute! Cute! So cute! I did not answer; it was a big group and this mother, a stranger to me, was clearly proud and excited to provide inspiration for the requested gift. But behind my screen, I cracked it.

I've been a public school teacher for nine years and since then, I've noticed that social media sites and Pinterest are increasingly taking hold of parents. I certainly experienced it myself as a parent. I, too, have opened Instagram and discovered that many parent friends are now sending themed treats to the 4th of July child care or giving gifts to caregivers on Thanksgiving. Where opportunities such as Teacher Appreciation Week or the end of the school year had already resulted in a handful of modest tokens, the number of holidays given as gifts and the sumptuous nature of the celebrations seem to have bursts. And a special feature of this trend – the one I expected and feared when I read this thread of Facebook – was the cute gift from the teacher.

A search on Pinterest for "teacher's gift" offers an avalanche of suggestions. Elementary to this particular gift? First, Pinterest's teacher gifts require some assembly from the donor, often in the form of multiple small objects united by a theme and carefully grouped together (which, of course, requires time, money and additional skills from the donor). Two, many of these gift occasions are completely invented. Think of St. Patrick's Day, the first day of school, the flu season (not a thing, not a thing, so extremely a thing). Third, these gifts are deliberately valuable because they use predictable decorative elements – ribbons, jewel tones, scalloped edges, fonts with brush strokes imitated from handwritten letters – to evoke a "cute as a teacher" aesthetic.

Not to mention the word games. No pun is too tortured, no too artificial gift concept for the teacher's adorable gift. Thank you for helping me shine! (Everything is yellow.) I could not have chosen a better teacher! (All is strawberry.) I'm SODA-enlightened to have you for my teacher! (It's a six pack of Coke.) NACHO average teacher. Thank you for having your heart PUDDING in teaching. I thought I was in your class. You may be an INKredible teacher! (I did not invent one.)

I certainly understand and appreciate the spirit that drives this type of gift. Teachers spend most of their working lives with children, creating natural humor and fantasy that are part of the joys of working. In addition, the gift is ostensibly of a child, or at least given in his name. Often, however, the impulse to offer something unique and creative, combined with the fact that teachers work with children, give gifts that would be more appropriate for the children.

Public education is widely regarded as ungrateful and poorly paid work; This year, teachers from across the country went on strike to protest their working conditions. In 2018, for the first time, a majority of Americans said that they would not like their own children to pursue a teaching career. I am sincerely grateful to anyone who wishes to alleviate the difficulties faced by teachers. It is always rewarding to know that a family appreciates my work.

However, here is the thing: for me, these cute gifts help to give the impression that my role, although generally perceived as altruistic and noble, is also not basic, nor particularly serious nor sophisticated. The bucket "Orange You Glad It's Summer?" What I saw on Facebook was entrusted to a primary school teacher, but it's just as appropriate as a favor when celebrating the birthday of the second grader. Good teaching is stimulating, intellectual work, which requires regular research and professional development, constant problem solving, skillful pedagogy, and reducing all these high-level requirements to "HEART work" (a game favorite word of all time). va) and a handful of Target Dollar Spot bins undermine the professionalism of teachers.

There is a dividing line between "intelligent" and "infantilizing", and the more adorable and meaningless the gift, the more meaningless the implication. When friends or acquaintances ask me for teacher gifts (and they ask me all the time), I have the norm to think of another adult with whom you have a professional relationship, to someone you respect and that you appreciate the skills, like your real estate agent or your accountant. Let's say you want to give this person a pledge of your gratitude for their services. Does the gift you plan to offer to your child's teacher seem strangely youthful in this context? If you do not want to hand over a colorful basket of tchotchkes on the theme, tied with a bow and stuck with a punny card to your stepfather's cardiologist, you should also rethink it for Teacher Appreciation Week.

So, what should you do? You may have heard this warning before, but it is certainly not necessary to give a gift, and teachers do not think differently about families or students who give it up. If you are moved, a note from you or a caring feeling from your child is more than enough. However, many parents feel the need to present a modest pledge, especially at the elementary school, and many room parents and APTs are responsible for planning the gifts or festivities of the Appreciation Week. teachers. If so, here are some guiding principles for giving gifts.

First: remember that teachers are normal human adults. We need all the same things as you and we like the same stores. Second: useful gifts are often the best. Third: Although I advocate gifts for teachers who respect our professionalism, this does not mean that you must aim for heaviness or the impersonal. In a job that is generally not recognized for its prestige or excess of resources, gifts that add a little luxury or more functionality to your favorite teacher's day are always welcome. Here are some suggestions of gifts that I would be delighted to receive.

Zip pocket

The rigidity of the timetable is one of the challenges of the teachers' work day. If children are in class, so are we. There is really not much room for a snack or a visit to the pharmacy. I therefore try to keep a lot of personal items on hand for any unforeseen problems that may arise spontaneously during the day. These zippered pouches are an attractive and functional way to keep a stock of ibuprofen or an organized and accessible emergency protein bread, while remaining discreetly stored in my office.

These zippered pockets are both fun and functional.

Zojirushi stainless steel mug

A seasoned teacher probably possesses enough cups of talented students to serve tea to the entire population of Britain. The Zojirushi coffee mug, however, is not a cup of any kind. Thanks to some engineering prowess, this travel thermos keeps the coffee hot. Like, steamed, all fresh out of the jar, for a very Long time. Honestly, it's a little surprising the first time you use it. It will be a blessing for any teacher needing a boost in the middle of the third hour of a hundred days of celebration.

Keep the coffee very hot all day.

Citrus powders

I am standing and using my voice most of the day, which makes me really thirsty. At noon, the idea of ​​drinking a fourth drop of lukewarm water fountain to aluminum is really unattractive. Anything that makes the hydration more palatable is a great option. These citrus powders, or a bottle of infusing fruit water, would be a treat.

The lukewarm water really ages at 14h These enliven it.

Electric pencil sharpener X-Acto

You watched American Vandal, right? (You should do it if you did not know it!) Do you remember the kid sharpening his pencil every few minutes every day to drive his teacher crazy? Real kids sharpen their pencils twice as often. Most electric pencil sharpers quiver and die when they are faced with the demands of an average public school class, but not at this workhorse.

This workaholic will never stop sharpening.

PaperMate flair pens

Finally, how do I communicate the sublime perfection of PaperMate flair pens? No lie or exaggeration, these are the most useful items from my supply drawer. I cherish them and accumulate them. In my class, I project with a document camera and give my students guided notes or a template for their work almost every day. Ballpoint pens wash under the camera; permanent markers with fine points bleed. But flair pens! They create a clean, bold line that is perfectly visible without leaks or blur. They are worth their weight in gold and are a favorite gift of all time.

No pen can compete with these.

Since I write about teaching for Slate, a recurrent theme is that of mistrust, even tension, between parents and teachers. I do not want to make this worse, and I do not want to add one last point to the list of all that society says to parents that they are doing wrong. In fact, writing this, I want to let you escape. Our jobs are difficult, but yours too. This week of teacher appreciation, do not think too far. Quit Pinterest, keep your bucket of orange sand for the beach and do whatever is affordable and easy for you.