OK... I usually save this rant for November and December, but somebody gave me my first bunch of chocolate for an end of the school year gift.
I'm not sure why people feel this need to "gift" teachers with MANY, MANY thousands of calories. I really don’t want to spend my summer vacation on a treadmill working off this candy.
I'm not a "I'll eat one and save the rest for later" kind of person. MOST of the teachers at our school are overweight (as are MOST Americans), so I'm guessing they are not "eat just one" kind of people either.
Teachers do not lead a calorie deprived life. The faculty lounge has been OVERFLOWING with food for weeks now… teacher appreciation week, staff (non-teachers) appreciation week, multicultural week, the staff end of year pot-luck. I could literally eat 5,000 calories a day while leaning against the copy machine, and not even make a dent in the mountains of food. This afternoon at school is the Volunteer Tea… with punch and a sheet cake. The average teacher struggles with the amount of food that we need to turn down every day. Really, we KNOW how to celebrate with food and generate quite enough all on our own.
Also the weight of the teacher doesn’t seem to matter. I’ve gotten food gifts when I was fat (Was the thought process, “She is so overweight… she must not watch what she eats…” ?) And I’ve gotten food gifts when I was thin, (“She’s thin and healthy. She probably burns it off and can eat anything she wants”.)
Most of the teachers I know CARE about their weight and STRUGGLE with their weight. Half of California’s teachers are over 45 (me included) and many (most?) of us struggle with blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, etc.
PLEASE write your child’s teacher a note from your heart at the end of the school year. Or buy him/her a gift certificate for a Teacher store or an Office Supply store or a Book Store. The average teacher pays $700 a year of their own money on classroom supplies.
Please, we really don’t need candy and cookies to take home. Our families do not need more empty calories either (I’ve already had to turned down the PTA’s offer to send me home with about 10,000 calories in leftovers from some luncheon.)
Originally posted by GoingSkiing: I have seen some very groady looking baked goods... And kids delivering baked goods in Dec. at the height of cold and flu season... with runny noses and such...
Not good.
Yup to all you posted. When a student gives me ANYTHING homemade, I pitch it.
Even in my own kitchen, I have seen my daughter sneeze on a tray of cookies or have had to push a cat off the counter. I have a clean house and good hygiene- I am super picky and know that other homes are far more relaxed.
Originally posted by TriGirl: I really would suspect that most home kitches are cleaner than the factories where Oreo cookies, etc. are made.
Oh noooooo.... not true.
We had a mom at our school who made "worms in dirt" for a Halloween party. It is choc pudding with gummy worms with crushed choc cookies sprinkled on top for the "dirt".
OK, she made them and put them in disposable plastic cups... She was very organized and made them about 4 days before Halloween... and didn't have room to store them in the fridge... so she stored them in her garage... (and in CA in Oct... it can be 80 degrees in your garage... not to mention mice, insects, etc.)
She tells us (the moms) this story as we are sitting around at the classroom Halloween Party. We had to take them all away from the kids and dump them... in front of the mom and her kid. It was not pretty.
Happened in my kids class when he was in first grade.
We also have a lot of gang activity in our district... and while they generally tend not to be so involved as parents... (or in my neighbors case, are often incarcerated...) Believe it or not, they do sometimes send baked items for classroom parties, etc.
On a more minor note... I've seen the finger licking that goes on when you put children and frosting together... You do NOT want to eat any cupcakes where children have helped... believe me.
I have seen some very groady looking baked goods... And kids delivering baked goods in Dec. at the height of cold and flu season... with runny noses and such...
Originally posted by GoingSkiing: We have district rules now that everything for a bake sale, etc. has to be store bought.
For soem reason, I have been thinking about this comment since I read it. This seems very strange to me. Why would you bother with a bake sale if everything was something that could be purchased in a store? The point of bake sales is that a small amount of money for ingredients can bring much more for the school.
I really would suspect that most home kitches are cleaner than the factories where Oreo cookies, etc. are made.
I love homemade cookies but store-bought ones, eh, who needs it?
----------- Jen
Posts: 2868 | Location: Ohio | Registered: March 11, 2004
Originally posted by johnbol: I've often wondered, is the difference that I mostly taught in high school? Seemed it was more an elementary teacher thing to give/get gifts.
Originally posted by cobismom: Thankfully, our school district sent out a note to all parents at Christmas time and the end of the year that gifts for doing their job was not necessary for teachers. Some parents listenened and some did not. Food is an easy gift to give, but as with all gifts I used to give them to others and pass them on. We were asked by teachers this year as PTA if we would mind bringing fruit instead of the usual goodies for the appreication week celebration. That was wonderful. The teachers also asked us to please contact room mothers to remind the kids and parents that notes or food given to the food pantry in our name would be a great gift. And bless their hearts most did just that. Again proving that it takes telling people what you want and appreciate rather than expecting them to know.
What a GREAT idea! Thanks for sharing Cathy.
Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.
Thankfully, our school district sent out a note to all parents at Christmas time and the end of the year that gifts for doing their job was not necessary for teachers. Some parents listenened and some did not. Food is an easy gift to give, but as with all gifts I used to give them to others and pass them on. We were asked by teachers this year as PTA if we would mind bringing fruit instead of the usual goodies for the appreication week celebration. That was wonderful. The teachers also asked us to please contact room mothers to remind the kids and parents that notes or food given to the food pantry in our name would be a great gift. And bless their hearts most did just that. Again proving that it takes telling people what you want and appreciate rather than expecting them to know.
It's never too late to get it right.
Posts: 3473 | Location: Central USA | Registered: March 11, 2004
Somebody asked on the WW board... so what has been your favorite gift...
I think that teachers really like gift cards of all kinds. I’ve gotten cards from Starbucks and I appreciate that. One mom gave me a gift certificate for a soap store. That was nice. Other teachers have gotten restaurant gift cards and KNOW that they appreciate them.
I teach after school 4th-6th grade band. My all time favorite gift... One of the moms took a piece of sheet music and had all of the students sign it. The mom put the music in a cheap $3 frame. And that has been my favorite gift of all time.
It was back when the first Harry Potter movie first came out and they BEGGED to play the music. I said that it was too hard and they begged. I bought the Very Easy arrangement and we worked on it for months and months and they really pushed themselves and learned some new things. It almost fell apart when we performed it… but they didn’t notice and they were beyond pleased with themselves. At the concert, this kid Max didn’t have his music and I was fit to be tied. I didn’t know that the music was making it’s way around the band with a pen. :~)
Every year, I have the students sign a piece of sheet music we played and I frame it and put it on the wall next to Harry Potter.
I also have a former student (who is a friend of my sons… and I drive to school every morning… and is sleeping at our house this week) and his mom makes a very nice donation every year to a foundation that supports music education. He sort of “failed” my class and never practiced and really never learned to play, but I REALLY appreciate her support of the program. She has offered me gas money… but I appreciate her donation much more.
I also had someone give me a DVD of a performance this year and I really appreciate that. There were some kids interviewed and one girl said, “I think that Mrs. W is a good teacher. She is flexible, firm, fair and she's fun, too.” That is probably the nicest thing anybody will every say about me. They can play that DVD at my funeral. :~)
[QUOTE]Originally posted by GoingSkiing: Man, you got to get ahold of your PTA pres. QUOTE]
She and I have already had words. In January, they had a huge presentation on healthy eating and good nutrition with the traveling science teacher. I was so pleased with the content and super excited. I came to find out that on the same day, they had a PTA fund raiser kickoff where they were selling TUBS of cookies dough with an inane contest in each classroom of who could sell the most POUNDS of cookies.
Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.
Originally posted by Bee: Yep - every single kid. I actually wanted to send in another piece of fruit (it's sweet after all) but dd wanted nothing to do with that.
Man, you got to get ahold of your PTA pres. 20-30 platters of sweets in every classroom??? That is beyond ridiculous. I’ll bet if you polled the teachers… THIS is not their idea of appreciation. I wonder how much is tossed (if the teachers were honest.)
OK… the teachers are armed and ready for some big time stress eating at the end of the year and report cards.
Originally posted by Tayhudson: I had a teacher that would wear HORRIBLE ties every day, and he said most of them had been gifts from students.
LOLOLOL!!!!
I don't expect gifts... and most students don't give them to me.
The classroom teachers at my school get PILES and PILES of presents, both in Dec. and at the end of the year. They bring boxes to take it all home. I know that they re-gift some of it.
Some of them refer to the stuff with apples on it as "crapple"... after MANY years... some of them have quite a large collection of apple/teacher mugs and pins and wall hangings and apple knick-knacks.
Most of the teachers I know throw homemade food gifts away. Especially with frosting... one teacher warned me, "Never eat anything with frosting... you don't want to know the finger licking that goes on when children 'help' with frosting."
We have district rules now that everything for a bake sale, etc. has to be store bought.
I don't remember bringing gifts either (I grew up in NY). However, my mom recalls sometimes chipping in a couple of dollars and having the classroom get a gift certificate for the teacher.
We don't have class moms at Cori's school so we're on our own for gifts. Everyone seems to do it in my neck of the woods (and holiday time too).
For teacher appreciation week (which was just a couple of weeks ago) we had to send in certain things on certain days - Monday was a piece of fruit, Tueday was something sweet (I sent an organic crispie bar but lord knows what the teacher got that day), Wednesday was a card from the student, Thursday was a card from the parents and Friday was a single flower.
Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.
Originally posted by Tayhudson: Maybe it is a regional thing. I know it is really the "thing to do" here in the South, but it really wasn't in Indiana.
I don't have ANY memory of taking gifts to school for teachers when I was a kid in Ohio, either. Now maybe it was just my family that didn't do it, but I don't have any memory of ANYONE taking gifts to school for the teachers.
Not long after graduating H.S. and moving to DC, I was a Sunday School teacher for 4 and 5 year olds. I thought it so sweet when one of the mothers gave me a small Whitman's Sampler (candy) as a gift at Easter and told me how much her son talked about me at home. It really made my day.
Sheri, I don't remember kids taking gifts either, the only reason I think that there were kids that did, is that I had a teacher that would wear HORRIBLE ties every day, and he said most of them had been gifts from students.
Dawn
"Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You have to set yourself on fire." anonymous
Posts: 4303 | Location: Indianapolis, IN | Registered: March 15, 2004
