Dear Prudence,
I’ve always had a small tradition with my children that we give a small gift to their teachers at the end of the year—nothing fancy, and we always give it at the end of the year so it won’t be looked on as a bribe (school policy). My daughter, who really loved her teacher this year, finally settled on a small statue. Today she got off the bus in tears. The teacher had given the gift back to her and told her it was unacceptable. I thought there had to be a misunderstanding, and I emailed the teacher. I got an email back from the teacher saying that she had “far too much junk already and didn’t need more.” She added that if we wanted to send her a gift card she’d accept that. (Gift certificates and cash are forbidden according to the school’s policy.) I’m beyond horrified. Do you think this is something I should escalate to the principal? Or should I let it go?