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Career low point. Staffing a day trip to France. Leave at 5:00 return at 20:00. One parent is 2 hours late picking up daughter. I'v stood in the rain waiting for 2 hours and no word of thanks. I should have handed her over to social services.
Wow, if that was your career low point I might have to switch.
TBF poly, there probably wasn't any post-traumatic-stress counselling available either.
Oh look another teacher bashing thread, I'm sayin nothingk!
Oh look another teacher bashing thread, I'm sayin nothingk!
All the usual suspect too probbly. 🙁
Umm, who's bashing teachers?
Reception teachers must take home boot fulls - and why not - when you think about the place they currently occupy in your childs life!
Treasure the days your lil un wants to give a present to a teacher.
Ignore the school coven or commentators here without time in this particular theater - it's always the thought that counts. Homemade is great - but you can never have to much 'reasonable' wine (no 3.99 turning leaf/blue nun) , beer or fizz after all if your stuck? How many boxes of milk tray would you want.. A 30# would just increase the unwanted tat count.
£5ish/head for a class of thirty would nearly buy a Nexus7 for them to use next year.
If the thought doesn't occur don't worry 🙂
I'm in the WTF group. It's a job for which they are paid. End of.
Incidentally, my little'un hasn't mentioned getting a present for the teacher at all. If she was asked about it, I'm sure she'd much rather bake some cookies or draw a picture for them. It's the Mum's that are instigating the present thing.
wwaswas - reported for trolling.
Teacher here - don't do it.
As a secondary teacher I very rarely get a bottle of wine or similar and I feel embarrassed by every single one - despite the fact that it often comes from the parents of a child you've gone overboard for. I teach as a job that i love, not to get trinkets and tat. I would be mildly offended by a £30odd gift from a parent and refuse to take it.
My mother was a first school teacher. By my early teens she was getting more Christmas presents than me. Mostly wine chocolates and handmade tat. If you must give alcohol or something homemade.
Bonus points to the first teacher to take a glass in with them and start before lunch.
Card saying "thanks" and a £5 quid John Lewis voucher.. at the most.
Anything else is utterly daft.
Career low point. Staffing a day trip to France. Leave at 5:00 return at 20:00. One parent is 2 hours late picking up daughter. I'v stood in the rain waiting for 2 hours and no word of thanks. I should have handed her over to social services.
Wow, if that was your career low point I might have to switchOh careeer low point was a stupid thing to say. But Poly genuinley intereseted as to what you do and what other people equivalants to randomly standing outside in the dark in the rain for 2 hours at the end of a 15 hour day
I'm not sugesting that teachers need presents...
In the past couple of years we've got the teacher some craft christmas decorations and some other ornament - in each case chosen as something nice by our girl and costing less than £5. They were actually quite nice but I guess the teacher may get hundreds over the years and may well bin them regularly.
Our wee girl enjoys choosing and giving the teacher presents - and £5 or so feels about right. And that's not just because I'm a tight Aberdonian!
It does seem common in primaries not sure I approve. I have had the odd small gift but mostly from kids whose parents work in the school as lab techs or whatever. Had a few bottles of wine from sixth formers when they leave too. (I have also paid out a few lost bets with sixth formers over their grades).
Mrs Too is a Primary School teacher, nothing gives us more joy on Christmas Eve when we get back from the pub than to open the 30 or so parcels she recieves from her pupils,
Everything from useful (wine and chocolate) to completely inappropriate (crystal animals and expensive gift) as well as the usual tat (Mugs and cuddly "best teacher" toys.
Anything thats not drunk / eaten by the time we're back at work goes to charity.
So to the OP, really not worth wasting your money, the teachers don't appreciate it, unless its wine or chocolate!
As ever I enjoyed reading some of the responses - genuine insights!
But a selection of the curmudgeon like vitriol surprises me. It's fascinating to read.
Blah -
These people are paid. I don't get anything why should they
Blah. Meh.
I even pay tax to fund this teacher - but what do I get - not even a txt - let alone a Xmas card or present to thank me for my contribution and effort.
What is this isle coming to!
other people equivalants to randomly standing outside in the dark in the rain for 2 hours at the end of a 15 hour day
15hr days outside in the rain?
Driving home on Christmas eve from a site in the middle of nowhere knowing your going past home to drop the van back at the office before heading home
Working Christmas Day, Boxing day etc on a farm
plenty more - not saying teaching is easy or well paid, but there are lots worse off
Become a teacher then? If you've a degree its very easy to get into....
15hr days outside in the rain?
Driving home on Christmas eve from a site in the middle of nowhere knowing your going past home to drop the van back at the office before heading home
Working Christmas Day, Boxing day etc on a farm
plenty more - not saying teaching is easy or well paid, but there are lots worse off
Thats genuinley rubbish. I wasn't claiming it all fun for every one else. Just intrested in what other get upto...
My current job in a college, is tiring, but otherwise a really nice way to earn a living. Even if its not so great for christams presents 😉
My OH is a primary teacher, and the presents she treasures are the ones the kids make at home.
She invests a lot of time in "her" kids over a year, and understandably she forms a bond with them over that time, and its really nice when they show appreciation for that by making something for her to say thankyou.
She has had the more "blingy" presents from some parents, but they aren't the ones she cares about.
Some teachers do the job because they love it, and they love the chance it gives them to spend time helping kids to learn and grow.
Not because of the holidays and the pension blah blah blah.
Had an hour progress meeting today with our little uns teacher, in all fairness she has been fantastic, she has progressed more in one term than she did all last year (different school), we'll give her a nice bottle of bubbly at Christmas and why not, I think shes worth it?
I'm not trying to have a "competition" to see who's had the worst time. I've had similar experiences to yours in a 'voluntary' capacity. But career low points would include making people redundant (especially when they are friends who are genuinely good at their job), or having to recall the very first batch of a new product you had just launched all over Europe. 15hr days, 4am starts, trudges in the rain, and days that suddenly become much longer than planned with a load of stress at the end are not uncommon for people who travel on business regularly - be grateful you only do it once a year! However what actually surprised me was that out of all the shit days you could have as a teacher this was your worst. My teacher friends would claim many days each term are terrible with agressive pupils, pushy parents who don't believe their children could be anything but perfect, or 'managers' who have no idea about management.ampthill - Oh careeer low point was a stupid thing to say. But Poly genuinley intereseted as to what you do and what other people equivalants to randomly standing outside in the dark in the rain for 2 hours at the end of a 15 hour day
mini-aracer's reception teacher got handmade biscuits at the end of the year - he got a handwritten thank you note from her. Despite being a very nice middle class school, it's not really all about one-upmanship round here - it's a village school and everybody is friendly with everybody else. Hence AFAIK there's none of the silly expensive present giving, and I wasn't even aware of any presents getting given at Xmas.
I have had the odd small gift but mostly from kids whose parents work in the school as lab techs or whatever
...but I do IT support in the school, hence I'm on first name terms with the teachers and get on very well with some of them - which includes mini-aracer's current class teacher with whom I somehow manage a complete disconnect between being a parent and being the bloke who fixes the computers. This thread has been making me think we maybe do need to send something in to her this Xmas!
Our eldest started school this year and i have to admit that giving the teacher a present is a new one on me.
As kid I was just glad to get away from the witch for a couple of weeks.
That said, I know my kids drive me insane so anyone who can get mini-me to pay attention & do what he's told is a bloody hero and will need booze.
I fundamentally object to giving them vouchers/cash/jewellery though. It's alcohol or chocolate. And as I'm a tight fisted northerner, the kids can make the gift. And my home brew kit is busy....
Went to pick my little girl with the wife yday afternoon. The wife and her little group had the kids doing a vsimple finger painting on a A4 sized canvas... little pink splodge from the girls and blue from the boys... Turns out who ever thought that up is actually going to get the finger print/splodge from every child in the class.
From reading the above that sounds perfect.... cheap, inclusive and hopefully liked by the teacher
Career low points-don't even go there, that will become a career-bashing thread. How about having a 7yr old asking you why daddy shot mummy and why mummy has a hole in her head and won't get up. Got 10 years worth of stories like that, I'm sure plenty of coppers/nurses/firefighters/armed forces have far worse than me.
I wouldnt be allowed to keep a £30 trinket, but I have kept the letter I got from the parents of a woman I stopped from jumping under a train. Like I said its the personal stuff and thought that counts.
Poly
yes no intrest in a competition on who had the worst job and I thin it does me good to see what othrs have to put up with.
I shouldn't have said career low pint. What I was really trying to say was that I'm sometimes surprised a few more parents don't say thank you. Not for doing your job, but for the extra stuff.
Supply job in rough area. Walk into class room. 12 year old boy says "Whats your name". "Mr Clinch I reply". "Well Mr Clinch the way it works is we run round the room you leave. Don't tell me its not true we've done it to the last 8 teachers"
the really hard part was the next morning. Sat outside, in the car, deciding if i could even walk into the building......
But all smal beer compared to my mate who is a copper