Wedding Woes

S/O FWP, Teacher Appreciation (again)

We all got an email from the PTA which includes "After considering feedback from previous years, the PTA decided to scale back the daily gifts requested for teachers and staff, and instead replace with some SIMPLE, yet CREATIVE ways to show our appreciation."  [emphasis mine]

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They then went on list a whole bunch of "SIMPLE yet CREATIVE" things we're supposed to do:  print this thing and have your kid decorate it, print this recipe card template and write down a themed recipe (isn't that what Pinterest is for?), etc.

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It's definitely a step in the right direction, but I kind of already had a plan, and it did not include decorating the classroom door in a superhero theme, dressing Wooz in her teacher's favorite color, and volunteering for lunch duty on a Wednesday.  (Fridays are great days for me, Wednesdays not so much.)

I don't mean to complain so much, and I want to be clear that it's not about the teachers--I love the kids' teachers and appreciate them to death.  It's more the PTA's micromanaging that gets under my skin: do these 17 simple things (in this order) to show your child's teacher you care!  I think I'll have Wooz do the art project and the teacher-color day, and otherwise stick with my original plan.

DS's preschool is so much easier.  


Re: S/O FWP, Teacher Appreciation (again)

  • Teacher Appreciation at our school is "send $$$" and/or volunteer time to decorate/put together gift baskets/etc. I put cash in an envelope and called it good. 80% of the moms there don't work so they always have enough people to help out. 
  • We literally just got an e-mail about this: 
    Monday : Bring a homemade thank you note for your teacher from the student
    Tuesday: Bring a flower from your Garden
    Wednesday: Parent Potluck for Teachers ( Entree', Desserts, Drinks, sides)
    Thursday: Bring a sweet treat for your teacher
    Friday: Bring a Fruit for your teacher
  • I don't love it when the PTA and schools plan events that seem to forget many parents have jobs.


  • You know what teachers like....FREE FOOD. Just like everybody else. You don't have to cute it up for them.
    Our PSO sent messages home that had the teacher and their aides favorite foods- like dessert, restaurant, etc. with a note that if you wanted to give something else you could send a GC for one of these things. Plus, they each get an Amazon GC. I do have to say, I like how they do Teacher Appreciation. 
  • Is this just an elementary school thing or does it go through all grades now?  
  • We have 23 school days left and I still haven't seen any mention of a teacher appreciation day/week.
  • VarunaTT said:
    Is this just an elementary school thing or does it go through all grades now?  
    Our school is K-12 so it's all grades for us. 
  • I'm a high school teacher and there are 168 staff members (2200 students). I second NOLA but would add quality over quantity. Our ptsa tries so hard to do something everyday and have our "big finale" on Friday. Last year it was a single, dark green, nasty smelling tealight. One day our gift was literally 4 paper clips, another day the took a pile of 10 index cards which they cut into thirds so we got 10 tiny little index cards. I would much rather everyone save their time and money and get us a donut and a regular BIC pen on Friday. High school teachers are pretty much notorius for being snarkier than cheerful elementary school teachers but I can't imagine wanting 30 "things" cluttering up my house made by kids that are not my own.


  • VarunaTT said:
    Is this just an elementary school thing or does it go through all grades now?  
    We're at a private kindergarten program at her daycare - so in our case it's applicable for 6 week old babies that don't know their rear from a hole in the ground to 5/6yo kids. 
  • lnixon8 said:
    I'm a high school teacher and there are 168 staff members (2200 students). I second NOLA but would add quality over quantity. Our ptsa tries so hard to do something everyday and have our "big finale" on Friday. Last year it was a single, dark green, nasty smelling tealight. One day our gift was literally 4 paper clips, another day the took a pile of 10 index cards which they cut into thirds so we got 10 tiny little index cards. I would much rather everyone save their time and money and get us a donut and a regular BIC pen on Friday. High school teachers are pretty much notorius for being snarkier than cheerful elementary school teachers but I can't imagine wanting 30 "things" cluttering up my house made by kids that are not my own.
    That was my big issue last year.  That was the first year Wooz was in elementary, so I figured I would do what I did in preschool:  Target gift card tucked into a heartfelt note.  (We described what we loved about each teacher, asked Wooz her favorite thing about each of them, etc.)  And I thought I was awesome.  And then kindergarten TA week rolled around and it was "Monday is snack foods day, Tuesday is pampering day, Wednesday is live plant day," I don't even remember what Thurs. was, and then Friday was the "big finale." 

    I appreciate that the PTA is trying to scale it back, but this still looks like a giant pile of WTF to me.  I love Wooz's teacher, and I don't see her sitting at her desk, yearning for 20 random recipes for god only knows what and a huge pile of Superhero templates that the kids have colored.
  • So I'm a college professor so clearly not the same kind of teacher you mean here, but all I really want is for my students is to say they appreciate me, because I really do appreciate them. 
  • AddieCakeAddieCake member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    edited April 2016
    The best "teacher appreciation" gifts I get are boxes of tissues. Seriously. It is so nice having plenty of those. I love when kids or parents bring those in. 

    Our admin does things like breakfast and the district gives us a crappy gift, like highlighters that are dry. 
    What did you think would happen if you walked up to a group of internet strangers and told them to get shoehorned by their lady doc?~StageManager14
    image
  • You know what teachers like....FREE FOOD. Just like everybody else. You don't have to cute it up for them.
    FI would agree. As a HS teacher he gets candy and homemade baked goods most often. Those also rarely make it home. He's not good at sharing.

    Although, he loves and keeps all hand written notes of appreciation he receives too. 
    image
  • My sister is an Elementary teacher and her PTA did something similar last year. This year, the teachers requested that they scale it back to just a reminder that it was appreciation week. She received so many things when all she really wanted was a pat on the back and sincere thank you notes or comments. They have a chocolate cupboard in their house with tons of stuff from kids.
  • CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited April 2016
    Most of the school where I substituted just has food in the teacher's lounge for us.  This included all school levels, elementary, middle and high school.  It was much appreciated by all.

    My son used to work in a gas station/car wash that had fresh donuts in the morning.  At 6:00 AM, he was supposed to bag up the day-old donuts to make room for the fresh ones.   I picked up the bag on my way to school and put them in the teacher's lounge.  Everyone was so sad when he quit that job!
    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg
  • banana468 said:
    I don't love it when the PTA and schools plan events that seem to forget many parents have jobs.


    ...Or a budget!!!! 
  • SP29SP29 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    This is so crazy.

    I don't have kids yet, but I also don't remember any of this when I was a kid. Being a teacher is a thankless job, but I feel like the TA week stuff some of you have posted is just over the top. I agree- it feels like a competition, it stresses parents out, and the teacher probably ends up with a bunch of stuff (s)he doesn't want.

    What is so wrong with a heartfelt letter/note to say "Thank You!"?
  • SP29 said:
    This is so crazy.

    I don't have kids yet, but I also don't remember any of this when I was a kid. Being a teacher is a thankless job, but I feel like the TA week stuff some of you have posted is just over the top. I agree- it feels like a competition, it stresses parents out, and the teacher probably ends up with a bunch of stuff (s)he doesn't want.

    What is so wrong with a heartfelt letter/note to say "Thank You!"?

    When I was in school we did a teacher gift at Christmas, possibly Valentine's, and that was IT... Sometimes there was something at the end of the year.   I just see this TA week stuff as being more fake than real appreciation...
  • MesmrEwe said:
    SP29 said:
    This is so crazy.

    I don't have kids yet, but I also don't remember any of this when I was a kid. Being a teacher is a thankless job, but I feel like the TA week stuff some of you have posted is just over the top. I agree- it feels like a competition, it stresses parents out, and the teacher probably ends up with a bunch of stuff (s)he doesn't want.

    What is so wrong with a heartfelt letter/note to say "Thank You!"?

    When I was in school we did a teacher gift at Christmas, possibly Valentine's, and that was IT... Sometimes there was something at the end of the year.   I just see this TA week stuff as being more fake than real appreciation...
    It was invented by the florist and greeting card industries, along with secretary's day, er, I mean "Office Assistant Day".
    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg
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