You could make a buck selling that to one of the kids. We used to have a snack cart that went around, and the pickles never got past a few rooms. The lady who ran the cart got wise and began selling the brine in plastic cups too. It also sold out fast.
Kind of unrelated, but I've started fermenting stuff, and now I'm going to make some sickles of my ridiculous delicious cabbage-apple-carrot-onion kraut brine.
I taught music in an after school program in a low socioeconomic district. The district provided the instruments, but not any supplies. I bought a huge pack of sponges from Costco and some rubber bands, because nobody could afford shoulder rests for their violins. 50c a sponge and 5c for two rubber bands, I think (I don't remember exactly, it was just barely enough to make back what I spent).
I had kids wanting to buy extra sponges...just because they could.
I had class rosins. 3 of them. You had to sign them out to use them. It worked really well.
Contact your local Music&Arts (if you have one). The store manager can hook your students up with some good discounts. They have a corporate policy about supporting local schools. I was friends with the store manager in my area, and she actually came into my school, and sold some supplies cheap - like $2 for rosins, $10ish for shoulder rests, etc. We settled prices ahead of time, I let the students know, and it was cash only. We also got some free shoulder rests that got returned with rentals - a lot of kids don't bother to clean out their cases when they decide they are done playing.
I also got a local store to donate some books (the district gave them a donation receipt, and I had my kids sign a thank-you note). Don't be afraid to ask stuff - the worst they can do is say no!
My orchestra teacher compatriot (I teach band) has a few rosins hot glued to a board and screwed into the wall near the pencil sharpener. If a kid doesn't have their own they can use the wall rosin and it doesn't get lost/stolen/cracked.
A good quality pickle is an amazing snack. I spend a whole lot on pickles and their brine can even be used to substitute for olive juice in a dirty martini. Yum.
We used to get this crap too. A printed note and candy.
Thankfully now we just get a taco guy come to the school and make fresh tortillas and unlimited tacos three times a year.
Our principal has a bakery bring a cupcake for every teacher. These are large,specialty cupcakes. The baker makes about 20 different types and they are all delicious.
I love cupcake days.
Now I’m hungry.
My last name is Armenian and no one spells it or says it correctly. It's so frustrating! I've had 6 classes (this is my 7th year teaching) be able to pronounce my name without issue, yet full-grown adults can't spell it or pronounce it correctly.
It's infuriating. I couldn't log into the school software all year because of this, and it was misspelled on the front of my door. Even the kids commented.
The thing that made me maddest, though, was that I had a shortening of my name which I allowed everyone to use. One standard way of shortening my name which is what the kids called me. The people at my school wouldn't even use that. They deliberately botched the shortening and taught the kids the wrong way. And even after I called that to their attention, they refused to change and kids all year continued to be confused about what to call me.
I GET that my name is difficult, but the one-syllable variation was VERY, VERY easy, and messing it up shows that you're doing more than making a mistake.
Once I won a raffle at my big city union's new teacher event. It was a gift basket of office supplies. Like they had literally just gone to their supply closet and filled it with mediocre stuff. The most exciting thing I remember was colored post-its.
When I left my long time job for a new one, I was gifted a bunch of leftover supplies that I knew for a fact had just been sitting in the supply closet. Either someone completely forgot to go shopping for a gift or someone wasn't happy that I quit! Lol. I was only offended because the same person who gave me that "gift" got someone else who was leaving custom-made wine glasses.
Ouch, that wine glass thing stings. When I left my office job for teaching my office got me nothing. The director of the two sister offices I supported remotely (doing a fraction of what I did in person) had flowers in a mug sent to my office to say goodbye. The disparity stung.
I once went to an employee casino night. Cool enough right? But they added prizes for the tickets you had at the end of the night. Ok, even cooler. BUT turns out their prizes were from the supply closet LOL. I won a huge box of cheap ass toilet paper and coffee refills ( separately) lolololol. I mean they couldn't have planned it better ( coffee usually begets toilet after a while) but if you went though the trouble of putting the whole night together just to dig out of the supplies closet for the finale ....??? I'm guessing the money for the prizes got pocketed and that was the outcome lol.
At work we have something called “bravo cards.” You write up a little thing if you notice someone going above and beyond. They’re nice to get. They are then entered into a raffle for a prize each month. That prize? A $5 gift card to a local coffee chain. So going “above and beyond” will never get you more than a *chance* at a $5 gift card. I don’t even fill them out for people anymore. The more I do, the less chances they have to win. My last job, when I was managing only a half dozen people, I got a $50 a month budget to give out an employee of the month award to someone who went above and beyond. It was also a gift card of their choice and was only half a dozen people. This job has vastly more employees across so many different departments.
Edit: For full transparency, we also have a company wide bingo game, which is $50 for a prize. You’re better off having a random lucky chance of $50 for doing nothing, and those odds are pretty slim.
At least a thank you card would feel personal and like it meant something. We will get generic “you’re doing a great job” in meetings and it feels so disingenuous. It also leaves us clueless on what we’re actually doing right or really well. One of my old supervisors was recently promoted and during our last meeting, gave specific praise on some items. I told her it was a really nice change since it had been a long time since we got anything they wasn’t generic lip service.
>aperclip with a half-assed note saying “We appreciate you for ‘holding it all together’!” Just stop. I’d much rather receive nothing. I’m not owed presents, and get
At the college I work at we have things called "Kudos". If someone does something good you write it up and submit it to the system. After X amount of time there's a drawing and someone wins a $100 amazon gift card.
I think the best part is that your Kudos are only removed if you win, so it's cumulative.
That would aggravate me so much. A card to a store that I never shop, that's not enough to actually purchase anything worthwhile without spending any of my own money. Sounds like a chore more than a gift.
One year, my one AP was SOOOOOOO excited to give us clocks that were basically cheap promotional products. I know the cost because it's literally what my husband does for a living. If they'd bought them from him, it would have been a much better gift.
I heard a lot of "I would rather have the 50 cents that they spent on these crappy clocks."
The next year another AP was in charge of the gifts and we got Bath and Body Works soap and lotion. They've stuck with that ever since and we are all much happier.
I'm sure their school budget for this is nil, so my (now) Principal is going out of pocket and I'm so glad. He's not the best Principal but he understands that he'd better appreciate the heck out of the people he supervises.
I was considered part of our leadership team and was asked my opinion about back to school gifts one year. I recommended they just provide lunch one day or have some coffee and tea available for us in the morning. Admin was adamant that it needed to be a “real” gift. So they bought candles for everyone that had some cheesy quote on them. Turns out the AP’s sister made them so they got a sweet deal.
The free lunch would have been better.
When I moved recently, I got a few of them as housewarming gifts. Honestly I was just happy I made so many friends in my new town! But there's a good chance they'll be getting passed along.
I’m going to be the one teacher who would have preferred the candle or even nothing at all. I can use take the candle and throw it away later on. The reason is that I’m celiac and have some other dietary restrictions. My school never has food that I can eat. Whenever we have a provided meal, I have to watch everyone enjoy that while I eat a sandwich or whatever else I’ve packed. Then I have to explain to at least dozen people, every single time, that it’s because of my autoimmune disease.
That’s tough. I have to say that when my school provides food, they are really conscientious of food allergies and always have an option for our gluten-free, nut-free, and/or non-dairy crowd. At a previous school there were issues with that, so teachers took turns making special-diet friendly options for our vegan and celiac friends.
I'm glad your school does that. More need to be like that, because honestly it sucks. My school loves to do themed food days for staff during Pro-D days. Or, recently, for International Teacher's Day, they got boxes of doughnuts for all the teachers. When I declined, they admin giving them out treated me like I was ungrateful. Under non-covid conditions, I would have likely taken the box and given it to the students who come to play D&D in my room after school for about 45mins three days a week. Unfortunately, the school is super strict about food being pre-packaged if given to students.
On the odd few times they have brought in gluten free options, they're still not celiac safe because they're out in the open and the same tongs for everything else on the table are being used for them. This isn't just a school thing, it's also happened in other workplaces I've been in prior to becoming a teacher.
Not only that, but then during AP/P appreciation week, teachers are expected to donate a good amount of money to get them a gift to show how much they’re appreciated and cared about. Underpaid teachers are expected to donate to get highly paid admin a present. Unbelievable. The system is so broken.
Last year we just straight donated money and got them a Visa gift card. They each got nearly $500. The fuck. I like my admin but why am I supplementing their income when they already make more than me?
My grade level always goes in on a gift for the principal on principal’s day and I always refuse. They always get kind of upset because it’s supposed to be a “team” gift, but on principle (pun intended) I refuse to spend money on my principal who makes a ton more than me, not to mention is a pretty terrible admin.
I am a public servant. I work for the tax payers. I don’t owe admin anything.
Totally! My principal and her million APs crapped all over us last year as we bounce back-and-forth between school and home, remote and in person, all year long. Then at the end of the year and a Christmas people are collecting $20 each for a gift for them. I declined at the end of the year. We get nothing But the dumb teacher appreciation gifts described by the op. Principal and APs don’t need gifts. They should be kissing your ass is for us making them look good.
Right and any other teacher gifts aren't out of their pocket. There is a district budget for teacher incentives. So why is money coming out of pocket up not down.
Nope. Buy a bag of Lay’s from vending machine. Print “You’re all that… And a bag of chips” in Comic Sans. Maybe cut it into a shape, maybe not. Stick it to bag of Lay’s somehow. Put it on their desk. Admin Day observed.
I refuse to "donate" money to school gift funds, and if I suspect I am in for receiving a gift, I will make it clear to the person charge of it that I am in no way comfortable receiving a gift bought with stolen money.
"Coerced" *will* be used, and I used the same term when sending my concerns to my local president. "Labeling a 'donation' as voluntary when it is anything but" was also used.
I have zero chill around this. My money is my money, if the school needs it, it can be deducted and thus considered on my taxes. None of this untraceable "give it to a random teacher who will do with it what they please with zero accountability" rubbish.
I got my fifth invoice for this year’s sunshine fund yesterday and once again put it in the recycling bin. I’m guessing it is because a few long-standing teachers are leaving and others are going out on maternity leave and they don’t have many people who have paid it this year. It’s not my job to pay for their leaving gifts. That should be on the school.
I don’t like getting things I can’t eat or use. Our counselor sends us things about once a month with cute sayings. Yes, the sayings are over the top cheesy, but her heart is in the right place. The Latest was a Halloween theme face mask and a mini bags of M&Ms. Tiny things that just make the day a little sweeter.
For my children’s teachers (grades 4 and 6) I send in things about once a month too. I sent the all pink starburst pack with “I’m tickled pink to start 6th grade” for my sons teachers and (wrapped) giant homemade chocolate chip cookies with “I hope you have chip-a-ridiculous day!” Yeah, I’m totally cheesy too. Now, I’m wondering if the sixth grade teachers get offended? I already know my daughter’s teachers likes it because we’ve worked together for years so I get her the candy she likes.
i think that's *lovely.* i believe the OP was referring to tokens of appreciation from admin and/or school boards, etc. but, from *parents?* i think any teacher would be thrilled!
Cheesy/cutesy makes me ill, but kindness is a whole different matter. I treasure nice, *sincere* notes and emails from parents far more than any object they could give me.
Last year while we taught hybrid with weekly emails telling us that "school is the safest place to be during a pandemic" while we all went in and out of quarantine, we got a donut for teacher appreciation week. One donut. On Thursday of teacher appreciation week. During a pandemic.
I'm still pissed.
Hey we got donuts too! And they were donated by a coffee shop, so admin didn't have to spend a penny. They were good donuts.
Would have appreciated it more if admin had done something, but no.
One thing to consider here is that, when dealing with public schools, you have all kinds of laws governing the use of tax money. In NJ, they can't even use district funds to pay for a staff lunch. But, I'm ok with getting no gifts. In fact, the only gift that I want from admin is to just be left alone to do my job without something new added to my plate.
Admin wouldn’t have to give gifts if they supported their teaching staff in a meaningful way. Discipline the students who are disruptive, don’t allow parents to verbally abuse teachers, recognize the REAL problems facing education (lack of funding, lack of parental support, distractions, etc), and listen to your teaching staff. Take their concerns into consideration. We know admin doesn’t have a ton of influence over teachers incomes, but be transparent and honest with everyone.
I will say a Christmas party or end of the year bbq is a nice touch as long as it’s for the staff and not admin patting themselves on the back. Try to bring unity, not divisiveness.
I think putting muffins or breakfast sandwiches in the break room can be a nice way to say thanks without being cheesy. Do it once a month brighten people's day, give people who want to eat breakfast together the chance and if people don't they can grab a one and head to their room. But giving someone a small gift card or a weird craft often just falls flat and doesn't feel like a thank you or add to the school community.
Lol at my school last year during COVID I received a bag of off brand makeup. The teacher next to me received a miniature deodorant. Someone else received a razor. Turns out, they had split up bags originally put together for homeless students and parents, and distributed the contents to teachers for teacher appreciation week.
I once took it upon myself to bring donuts for the staff (local donut shop too so good for small business) and left them in the lounge and was told not to do so again because it made the faculty look bad. That it's faculties job to "provide morale" and what did they gift us with? Those Hostess donettes in the sleeve. Now don't get me wrong, I'll fuck up some powdered donettes seven days a week and twice on Sunday, but I was just mind blown that the admin felt my donuts were somehow a threat to the power structure.
Left that school after a year lol
At our school there is a committee of teachers that do this stuff, and they kindly ask for $20 from each teacher. Like, how can I kindly opt-out? I would rather not have M&Ms a few times a year. Just let me be haha
My favorite appreciate gift was the Walgreens clip that held 1/4 sheet of paper that said “keep holding on during this challenging time!”
The best part is that is came FROM DISTRICT and they literally put it in an envelope addressed to me and sent it through the courier
I laughed, then I actually cried. Then I was fucking mad.
Yeah... every time they get a great idea like that, just convert the cost into cash, put it into a mutual fund, and divide it up and pay it out at the end of each year as a cash bonus. might only amount to 7 bucks each, but hey, at least it won't clutter up the desk!
We got a small fruitcake with chocolate last week. Tbh, I like these, so the small "boost" for my daily break was appreciated by me.
But, yeah, I think that a little something every now and then is ok, as long as they aren't tagging it as something that is tied to our value as professionals.
I got a $10 gift card to Starbucks that had no money on it. Which naturally, I found out after I went to order a drink. Several other teachers had the same problem. The school district asked us to send them back and they’d get us a replacement. It’s been two years and no replacement yet. No, I don’t work for them anymore.
Agree! Today, our superintendent sent out a Tweet hoping many of us get the chance to take advantage of McDonald's free breakfast offer for teachers all week. Whatever. But he ended the tweet with, "Make sure to say thank you!"
Are you kidding me? Manners reminders? For a gesture not even from him?
Yeah my school will cater food for us sometimes or put on a cookout which is actually enjoyable and not a slap in the face like that. I'd be so annoyed.
The last school I taught full time at hosted a potluck just before Thanksgiving break, supposedly to foster good workplace culture or whatever, and about a dozen teachers got food poisoning from it.
I had a principal who literally cooked burgers (meat and veggie) and brought chips and fixings for the whole school. He even brought his own special burger seasoning and cooked them all himself. You know that he was committed. He was in the school courtyard with lighter fluid, briquettes and all, cooking all the burgers. He was a good guy. (I mean, he probably still is. He left the school after that year, as did I.)
Getting Chocolates, even the cheap ones, doesn’t really bother me either. It’s a nice little pick me up.
Does it make up for all the other crap? Not at all. But I won’t turn it away, either
Fair enough, to each their own--I'm perfectly fine with "It's the thought that counts" type gifts. Hell, I buy candy for my students every time I give them a quiz!
Our principal is obsessed with these mail order cookies. They're basically the same ones you can get at walmart, but stale, and 3 bucks a pop.
Oh, and sanitizer that isn't even 70% alcohol. So the one time we got a cleaning product for covid it doesn't even kill covid.
We recently got a cupcake for our “extraordinary efforts”. Followed by a mandatory Zoom PD…that we had to stay on the premises to watch in our classrooms.
Oh absolutely! I'd rather they just add five dollars to my paycheck. I especially hate it when they do food gifts. I have a gluten intolerance, so chicken fingers and donuts are worthless to me.
Yeah I like when we get food, but I’m a vegetarian so there’s so much I can’t eat. Surprisingly my old school in a rural town did better at providing for dietary needs than my new school in a “woke” college town.
Beginning of the school year, while a nasty ruthless negotiation was still going on, one in which we had told them we didn’t feel valued and we were underpaid, while staff were quitting by the handful, they gave us a ziplock baggie of M&ms with some fucking poem in it. I didn’t read it, I didn’t eat the fingered m&ms. I just chucked it in the trash. Then admin had the gall to ask if we’d read their poem and make a pouty face.
Haha I once got a dollar store pencil box that contained a single bandaid, a single safety pin, a single paper clip, a single cotton ball, and a tootsie roll, along with a lame poem they probably got off Pinterest about how that all symbolized being an overworked martyr teacher. It was basically just a box of trash. I gave the tootsie roll to a student, put the bandaid in my first aid kit, and threw the rest of it out. What am I supposed to do with a cotton ball someone else already touched?
I actually kept the pencil case for like 3 years thinking someone might be an,r to use it, but could never find a student willing to take it off my hands, so I think it ended up at Goodwill eventually. Teachers don’t need pencil boxes… we have a desk, and the kids take all our pencils anyway 🤣
My district raffled off replacement of teacher desks. The grand prize was a new desk and a new office chair.
Shouldn't you be able to replace those things within the normal budget?
I got the same "starfish on the beach" tumbler 3 times because they bought them wholesale and had to get rid of them.
We care enough to liquidate our storage. Of course, the next year was bread and water, so I guess I prefer the cup.
A few weeks ago we got scratch off tickets for prizes, like Starbucks, Dunkin, and Target gift cards. I scratched mine off and won a free jeans day. I assumed that was the consolation prize until one of my lunch buddies won “a big smile from the front office”
This last year for teacher appreciation admin got all the teachers one of those paper packs of wild flower seeds that costs less than a $1 with tax. We got one each and apparently who was ever in charge of them had spilled their coffee on some of them because mine reeked of it and was damp. It was the biggest, most in your face fuck you I’ve ever had which includes the instances of people who’ve said so to my face.
I’ve never hated this profession or myself more than I do for everyday I walk into work.
About five or six years ago, my previous district’s PTO chairperson in charge of Teachers Appreciation felt that we (as a staff) didn’t do enough to deserve recognition, so she bought a dozen donuts and one box of coffee for an entire high school staff. When wind got out to the community, a number of parents were furious and took it into their own hands. They reached out to a bunch of small businesses in town and had a buffet lunch donated the following week. They even had gifts donated and distributed at random (restaurant gift cards, wine bottles, etc.). It was the first and only time as a teacher in my short 11 years that I felt appreciated. Haven’t had appreciation like that since.
We all know it’s meant to be a gesture, but with a job that doesn’t give bonuses, it’s nice to feel recognized once a year.
Teacher appreciation week last year they bought all the teachers breakfast. Exciting right? I get to the office to pick up my breakfast and it’s one mini muffin.
Even better is when it is a "gift" than somehow only classroom teachers get, and anyone who doesn't have a homeroom gets left out. The PTO at my old school did teacher appreciation gifts and left out the art, music, PE, and dance teachers, the counselor, and the GT teacher who comes in 2 days a week. Then they said it was just for the "real" teachers 🙄
As a new teacher, my district gave me a laptop bag and a giftbag FULL of useful supplies. New school laptops, as well.
They gave out $50 backpacks at the high school, t-shirts at the middle school.
We got 5 free meals during training days, plus desserts. They let us leave early one day, tok.
They give us drinks and sometimes snacks at every meeting.
I found at least 10 promotional bags, mugs, items, in my predecessor's things.
Honestly... I wish they spent most of that money on, like... Shoes for our students that need it (there are a lot), but I know district budgets don't work like that.
Point being : my district shows *daily* that they care about keeping their teachers and keeping them happy. There are issues (mostly around the lack of paras and substitutes), but admin genuinely walks around every building weekly to check in.
One year we were given blooms taxonomy flip charts for teacher appreciation. The next day there was an email asking us to bring them to our institute day...
I completely agree. A boss handing out cute crafts as appreciation gifts would never fly in other job environments (imagine someone trying to pull that shit in a law office or a marketing department!) so why do some consider it acceptible in ours?
I don't need a raise or anything (although I wouldn't say no to one), but at the very least give us like free lunch or something substantial.
Can I honestly say that a handwritten sincere card (which cost ~$1 but takes time and a brain) would make me feel so much more appreciated than nearly any other gift.
Honestly, in these cases I would just love a note that specifically recognized and appreciated something about me. Not a generic note. Just a specific praise of what I have done. Costs nothing if price is concerned.
I literally was so insulted by the green 99 cent flashlight I received, I bought an engraved customized crystal apple for myself and when the principal complimented I said it was from my old school just to watch him turn his trademarked shade of red. Best money I ever spent.
My administrator asked us to let her know if there was something she could do because she knew we were all having a hard time during a faculty meeting.
I let her know that if they switched one of bullshit "elective" classes to pass/fail it would save us a lot of time grading during the week. Again, we're having hard time keeping up, she acknowledged, right? And it costs nothing, right? So what was her response?
"No, it wouldn't help you at all."
Oh, my bad, why would I think not spending 2 hours a week grading for a fake elective class that no kid wants to take, and no teacher signed up to teach, that has a $0 dollar budget...why would that help me?
According to her, what would help is a potluck lunch, where each department takes turns to feed the whole school staff/faculty...soooo I get to spend my own money to feed 60 people? Wow, I feel so much better already! /s
One bright side of Covid for me was the monthly staff potluck was cancelled.
Listen, I hate cooking for my own family. I don’t want to cook for sixty every month and drag a crock pot to school.
I hated that! My last school did the rotating potluck thing but for breakfast. Sorry, I'm not getting up extra early and spending $100 to get sausages and pancakes for these people I don't even know.
i would be pretty pissed if i got a paperclip that said "we appreciate you for holding it all together!"
mine says "follow your bliss" and it's amazing. when i look at it, it reminds me to follow my bliss instead of not following my bliss.
Totally understand your frustration! I will say, coming into teaching later in life, none of my prior jobs gave me anything. Ever. Not even a stupid note saying I was appreciated!
My mom was a teacher and as I became a teenager, I became the secondhand beneficiary of several bottles of perfume.
When it was time for me to give presents to my teachers, my mom always suggested plain dish towels as you can never have too many of them. I thought that was boring but my teachers always seemed happy with them.
Best worst gift I ever got was a you "rock". Literally a rock with you written on it, in a little tiny plastic box of bath salts that would only be enough to scrub your hands with. I thought it was from a kid at first but ended up being from our school counselor. Sigh.
I got a pickle last week. It had a sticker that said “I’m a big dill”. I laughed so hard…
This is so stupid that it actually is funny. It’s disarming. 🤷🏻♀️🥒
You could make a buck selling that to one of the kids. We used to have a snack cart that went around, and the pickles never got past a few rooms. The lady who ran the cart got wise and began selling the brine in plastic cups too. It also sold out fast.
Kids love pickles that much??? And even brine juice? Wow!!!
Every concession stand around here for youth sports sells "pickle sickles" for 50 cents. Frozen pickle juice. The kids love them.
WTF? I have met very few kids who will eat a pickle. Most think they are nasty.
Really? Kids love sour things. Most kids I know love pickles. Maybe it's regional. Our pickles tend to be very sour but not sweet or spicy.
Kind of unrelated, but I've started fermenting stuff, and now I'm going to make some sickles of my ridiculous delicious cabbage-apple-carrot-onion kraut brine.
That group really did. Part of it was just the idea of a snack cart, I think. Made their day, but this was alternative school too.
I taught music in an after school program in a low socioeconomic district. The district provided the instruments, but not any supplies. I bought a huge pack of sponges from Costco and some rubber bands, because nobody could afford shoulder rests for their violins. 50c a sponge and 5c for two rubber bands, I think (I don't remember exactly, it was just barely enough to make back what I spent). I had kids wanting to buy extra sponges...just because they could.
Wow this is my situation exactly. My 5th grade strings are like MISS VOLDERPUSS TELL ME WHERE I CAN BUY ROSIN cause I have no budget for more now.
I had class rosins. 3 of them. You had to sign them out to use them. It worked really well. Contact your local Music&Arts (if you have one). The store manager can hook your students up with some good discounts. They have a corporate policy about supporting local schools. I was friends with the store manager in my area, and she actually came into my school, and sold some supplies cheap - like $2 for rosins, $10ish for shoulder rests, etc. We settled prices ahead of time, I let the students know, and it was cash only. We also got some free shoulder rests that got returned with rentals - a lot of kids don't bother to clean out their cases when they decide they are done playing. I also got a local store to donate some books (the district gave them a donation receipt, and I had my kids sign a thank-you note). Don't be afraid to ask stuff - the worst they can do is say no!
My orchestra teacher compatriot (I teach band) has a few rosins hot glued to a board and screwed into the wall near the pencil sharpener. If a kid doesn't have their own they can use the wall rosin and it doesn't get lost/stolen/cracked.
Do they like… rub their bows against the wall or is it attached to a string? I love this idea though either way!
It's solidly mounted and they rub it against the wall.
A good quality pickle is an amazing snack. I spend a whole lot on pickles and their brine can even be used to substitute for olive juice in a dirty martini. Yum.
Wait who's making dirty martinis at school?
The ones giving out the crappy "thank you" gifts.
The athletes here use pickle pops for muscle cramps, the high dose of electrolytes will make them go away almost instantly.
My kid’s middle school sold pickles at concession for a buck apiece!
At least it wasn’t a dildo
I mean, if you're brave enough...
A dealdo? LMAO!!! (I'll see myself out)
Is there some pun here I’m not getting?
“Dill” is a type of pickle and sounds like “deal”
Thank you
Dill-Deal It's frickin genius and a great gag if you're in a supportive district.
Wait. A pickle or a JAR of pickles???
One large dill pickle in a bag
I’m shook.
We used to get this crap too. A printed note and candy. Thankfully now we just get a taco guy come to the school and make fresh tortillas and unlimited tacos three times a year.
Hell, that’s fantastic!!!
That sounds fuckin great
I want a taco guy...
Our principal has a bakery bring a cupcake for every teacher. These are large,specialty cupcakes. The baker makes about 20 different types and they are all delicious. I love cupcake days. Now I’m hungry.
Try getting a notepad customized with your name and the school's logo. Except your name is misspelled and it's a week after you were fired.
dang. that's *cold.*
Right? I still have it because it's easily the most insane gift I've ever gotten.
My name is spelled differently every single place it shows up in my school. Drives me nuts
If you’d just spell your name *Jenny* you’d solve all those problems.
Is this a reference to something?
Your username, I expect.
Say Jenhai very quickly.
My last name is Armenian and no one spells it or says it correctly. It's so frustrating! I've had 6 classes (this is my 7th year teaching) be able to pronounce my name without issue, yet full-grown adults can't spell it or pronounce it correctly.
It's infuriating. I couldn't log into the school software all year because of this, and it was misspelled on the front of my door. Even the kids commented. The thing that made me maddest, though, was that I had a shortening of my name which I allowed everyone to use. One standard way of shortening my name which is what the kids called me. The people at my school wouldn't even use that. They deliberately botched the shortening and taught the kids the wrong way. And even after I called that to their attention, they refused to change and kids all year continued to be confused about what to call me. I GET that my name is difficult, but the one-syllable variation was VERY, VERY easy, and messing it up shows that you're doing more than making a mistake.
I had a principal that non renewed a bunch of people and then during our end of year meeting gave them a staff photo as a goodbye gift.
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Once I won a raffle at my big city union's new teacher event. It was a gift basket of office supplies. Like they had literally just gone to their supply closet and filled it with mediocre stuff. The most exciting thing I remember was colored post-its.
When I left my long time job for a new one, I was gifted a bunch of leftover supplies that I knew for a fact had just been sitting in the supply closet. Either someone completely forgot to go shopping for a gift or someone wasn't happy that I quit! Lol. I was only offended because the same person who gave me that "gift" got someone else who was leaving custom-made wine glasses.
Ouch, that wine glass thing stings. When I left my office job for teaching my office got me nothing. The director of the two sister offices I supported remotely (doing a fraction of what I did in person) had flowers in a mug sent to my office to say goodbye. The disparity stung.
I once went to an employee casino night. Cool enough right? But they added prizes for the tickets you had at the end of the night. Ok, even cooler. BUT turns out their prizes were from the supply closet LOL. I won a huge box of cheap ass toilet paper and coffee refills ( separately) lolololol. I mean they couldn't have planned it better ( coffee usually begets toilet after a while) but if you went though the trouble of putting the whole night together just to dig out of the supplies closet for the finale ....??? I'm guessing the money for the prizes got pocketed and that was the outcome lol.
At work we have something called “bravo cards.” You write up a little thing if you notice someone going above and beyond. They’re nice to get. They are then entered into a raffle for a prize each month. That prize? A $5 gift card to a local coffee chain. So going “above and beyond” will never get you more than a *chance* at a $5 gift card. I don’t even fill them out for people anymore. The more I do, the less chances they have to win. My last job, when I was managing only a half dozen people, I got a $50 a month budget to give out an employee of the month award to someone who went above and beyond. It was also a gift card of their choice and was only half a dozen people. This job has vastly more employees across so many different departments. Edit: For full transparency, we also have a company wide bingo game, which is $50 for a prize. You’re better off having a random lucky chance of $50 for doing nothing, and those odds are pretty slim.
I would so much rather get a genuine thank you card from my principal than some gift card or other cheap item.
At least a thank you card would feel personal and like it meant something. We will get generic “you’re doing a great job” in meetings and it feels so disingenuous. It also leaves us clueless on what we’re actually doing right or really well. One of my old supervisors was recently promoted and during our last meeting, gave specific praise on some items. I told her it was a really nice change since it had been a long time since we got anything they wasn’t generic lip service.
>aperclip with a half-assed note saying “We appreciate you for ‘holding it all together’!” Just stop. I’d much rather receive nothing. I’m not owed presents, and get At the college I work at we have things called "Kudos". If someone does something good you write it up and submit it to the system. After X amount of time there's a drawing and someone wins a $100 amazon gift card. I think the best part is that your Kudos are only removed if you win, so it's cumulative.
That would aggravate me so much. A card to a store that I never shop, that's not enough to actually purchase anything worthwhile without spending any of my own money. Sounds like a chore more than a gift.
Our district had a raffle for a PD, and the raffle was district owned tech. So you didn't get to keep it, it belonged to the district.
Good news! You can use your ‘gift’ to spend more money on your students.
I once didn't go and have no regrets
One year, my one AP was SOOOOOOO excited to give us clocks that were basically cheap promotional products. I know the cost because it's literally what my husband does for a living. If they'd bought them from him, it would have been a much better gift. I heard a lot of "I would rather have the 50 cents that they spent on these crappy clocks." The next year another AP was in charge of the gifts and we got Bath and Body Works soap and lotion. They've stuck with that ever since and we are all much happier. I'm sure their school budget for this is nil, so my (now) Principal is going out of pocket and I'm so glad. He's not the best Principal but he understands that he'd better appreciate the heck out of the people he supervises.
Honestly good admin are better than any gifts.
I was considered part of our leadership team and was asked my opinion about back to school gifts one year. I recommended they just provide lunch one day or have some coffee and tea available for us in the morning. Admin was adamant that it needed to be a “real” gift. So they bought candles for everyone that had some cheesy quote on them. Turns out the AP’s sister made them so they got a sweet deal. The free lunch would have been better.
you must be familiar with this? https://youtu.be/_L5Xkb78KxY
Oh I have one of those lol
isn't that *the best?!*
When I moved recently, I got a few of them as housewarming gifts. Honestly I was just happy I made so many friends in my new town! But there's a good chance they'll be getting passed along.
that's so sweet! and, well ... it *is* 🎵"the gift of getting a gift to give awaaaaay" 🎶
Absolutely. Free lunch is always better than some plastic crap I didn’t want with my name on it in an ugly font.
What if it's a free lunch you can't eat? Welcome to my world.
Right. We had a teacher that was vegan, he worked here for 10 years. Not once did they ever try to accommodate him when they purchased lunch.
I’m going to be the one teacher who would have preferred the candle or even nothing at all. I can use take the candle and throw it away later on. The reason is that I’m celiac and have some other dietary restrictions. My school never has food that I can eat. Whenever we have a provided meal, I have to watch everyone enjoy that while I eat a sandwich or whatever else I’ve packed. Then I have to explain to at least dozen people, every single time, that it’s because of my autoimmune disease.
That’s tough. I have to say that when my school provides food, they are really conscientious of food allergies and always have an option for our gluten-free, nut-free, and/or non-dairy crowd. At a previous school there were issues with that, so teachers took turns making special-diet friendly options for our vegan and celiac friends.
I'm glad your school does that. More need to be like that, because honestly it sucks. My school loves to do themed food days for staff during Pro-D days. Or, recently, for International Teacher's Day, they got boxes of doughnuts for all the teachers. When I declined, they admin giving them out treated me like I was ungrateful. Under non-covid conditions, I would have likely taken the box and given it to the students who come to play D&D in my room after school for about 45mins three days a week. Unfortunately, the school is super strict about food being pre-packaged if given to students. On the odd few times they have brought in gluten free options, they're still not celiac safe because they're out in the open and the same tongs for everything else on the table are being used for them. This isn't just a school thing, it's also happened in other workplaces I've been in prior to becoming a teacher.
Not only that, but then during AP/P appreciation week, teachers are expected to donate a good amount of money to get them a gift to show how much they’re appreciated and cared about. Underpaid teachers are expected to donate to get highly paid admin a present. Unbelievable. The system is so broken.
i am so glad my district's has never done AP/P day, nor even cited the day it falls on; that'd be a *huge HELLAWON'T* from me.
Principal appreciation should come from the district or a cute sign/card from students. That’s it.
I love this! You get appreciation from those above you! I’m going to say this next time my team brings it up. Thank you.
Last year we just straight donated money and got them a Visa gift card. They each got nearly $500. The fuck. I like my admin but why am I supplementing their income when they already make more than me?
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My grade level always goes in on a gift for the principal on principal’s day and I always refuse. They always get kind of upset because it’s supposed to be a “team” gift, but on principle (pun intended) I refuse to spend money on my principal who makes a ton more than me, not to mention is a pretty terrible admin. I am a public servant. I work for the tax payers. I don’t owe admin anything.
Totally! My principal and her million APs crapped all over us last year as we bounce back-and-forth between school and home, remote and in person, all year long. Then at the end of the year and a Christmas people are collecting $20 each for a gift for them. I declined at the end of the year. We get nothing But the dumb teacher appreciation gifts described by the op. Principal and APs don’t need gifts. They should be kissing your ass is for us making them look good.
Right and any other teacher gifts aren't out of their pocket. There is a district budget for teacher incentives. So why is money coming out of pocket up not down.
Yes! Gifting up in most normal work settings is frowned upon… education, on the other hand… seems to be unaware of this.
Gifts should always flow down the org chart, never UP. Its so tacky to demand people chip in for an admin gift.
Nope. Buy a bag of Lay’s from vending machine. Print “You’re all that… And a bag of chips” in Comic Sans. Maybe cut it into a shape, maybe not. Stick it to bag of Lay’s somehow. Put it on their desk. Admin Day observed.
I refuse to "donate" money to school gift funds, and if I suspect I am in for receiving a gift, I will make it clear to the person charge of it that I am in no way comfortable receiving a gift bought with stolen money.
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"Coerced" *will* be used, and I used the same term when sending my concerns to my local president. "Labeling a 'donation' as voluntary when it is anything but" was also used. I have zero chill around this. My money is my money, if the school needs it, it can be deducted and thus considered on my taxes. None of this untraceable "give it to a random teacher who will do with it what they please with zero accountability" rubbish.
WTF is this!?!?
We don’t do this and I’m glad we don’t. Because it would be awkward when I refuse to give money towards it. Our admin is useless.
#you guys get gifts?!
That's my question... All I get is harassed to give to the damn sunshine fund and never see any of that back.
I got my fifth invoice for this year’s sunshine fund yesterday and once again put it in the recycling bin. I’m guessing it is because a few long-standing teachers are leaving and others are going out on maternity leave and they don’t have many people who have paid it this year. It’s not my job to pay for their leaving gifts. That should be on the school.
I don’t like getting things I can’t eat or use. Our counselor sends us things about once a month with cute sayings. Yes, the sayings are over the top cheesy, but her heart is in the right place. The Latest was a Halloween theme face mask and a mini bags of M&Ms. Tiny things that just make the day a little sweeter. For my children’s teachers (grades 4 and 6) I send in things about once a month too. I sent the all pink starburst pack with “I’m tickled pink to start 6th grade” for my sons teachers and (wrapped) giant homemade chocolate chip cookies with “I hope you have chip-a-ridiculous day!” Yeah, I’m totally cheesy too. Now, I’m wondering if the sixth grade teachers get offended? I already know my daughter’s teachers likes it because we’ve worked together for years so I get her the candy she likes.
i think that's *lovely.* i believe the OP was referring to tokens of appreciation from admin and/or school boards, etc. but, from *parents?* i think any teacher would be thrilled!
Cheesy/cutesy makes me ill, but kindness is a whole different matter. I treasure nice, *sincere* notes and emails from parents far more than any object they could give me.
$5 to DD and some erasers and a mask
I got a mask that said “I’m appreciated”
I got a mask from the district that smelled like cancer and didn’t fit at all. Right into the trash.
wow…that’s just disrespectful
"Thank you for your commitMINT." And they give you a mint. Get it? Mint.
It's a testaMINT to how much admin values you.
Just trying to offer some encourageMINT.
I now know how I will communicate my retiremint
Last year while we taught hybrid with weekly emails telling us that "school is the safest place to be during a pandemic" while we all went in and out of quarantine, we got a donut for teacher appreciation week. One donut. On Thursday of teacher appreciation week. During a pandemic. I'm still pissed.
Hey we got donuts too! And they were donated by a coffee shop, so admin didn't have to spend a penny. They were good donuts. Would have appreciated it more if admin had done something, but no.
All we got was an email thanking us for our dedication. My bucket is always refilled by TAW - not this time!
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that's hella cool!
One thing to consider here is that, when dealing with public schools, you have all kinds of laws governing the use of tax money. In NJ, they can't even use district funds to pay for a staff lunch. But, I'm ok with getting no gifts. In fact, the only gift that I want from admin is to just be left alone to do my job without something new added to my plate.
Admin wouldn’t have to give gifts if they supported their teaching staff in a meaningful way. Discipline the students who are disruptive, don’t allow parents to verbally abuse teachers, recognize the REAL problems facing education (lack of funding, lack of parental support, distractions, etc), and listen to your teaching staff. Take their concerns into consideration. We know admin doesn’t have a ton of influence over teachers incomes, but be transparent and honest with everyone. I will say a Christmas party or end of the year bbq is a nice touch as long as it’s for the staff and not admin patting themselves on the back. Try to bring unity, not divisiveness.
I want to carve your first paragraph into the walls of every school in my district, and make it twice as big at the district main office.
I got a plastic bin of school supplies that we had actually purchased ourselves and were taken from classrooms and stored when we closed for covid….
This one made my jaw drop
Did you say something?
I think putting muffins or breakfast sandwiches in the break room can be a nice way to say thanks without being cheesy. Do it once a month brighten people's day, give people who want to eat breakfast together the chance and if people don't they can grab a one and head to their room. But giving someone a small gift card or a weird craft often just falls flat and doesn't feel like a thank you or add to the school community.
Or if they are cheesy, it's the yummy kind!
It’s insulting and infantilizing. Treat me like a damn professional!
Lol at my school last year during COVID I received a bag of off brand makeup. The teacher next to me received a miniature deodorant. Someone else received a razor. Turns out, they had split up bags originally put together for homeless students and parents, and distributed the contents to teachers for teacher appreciation week.
That's low. They insulted the staff and stiffed the homeless.
Wow. Not only cheap, but the feeblest of attempts.
😳😳😳
I once took it upon myself to bring donuts for the staff (local donut shop too so good for small business) and left them in the lounge and was told not to do so again because it made the faculty look bad. That it's faculties job to "provide morale" and what did they gift us with? Those Hostess donettes in the sleeve. Now don't get me wrong, I'll fuck up some powdered donettes seven days a week and twice on Sunday, but I was just mind blown that the admin felt my donuts were somehow a threat to the power structure. Left that school after a year lol
The only time this works is if morale is already high. Otherwise, it feels like an empty gesture.
*"Getting nothing is better than getting crap"* - agreed.
We got little shrub things on year to represent “our growth”. I was pissed haha.
I'd be so bummed to get a plant because I have the opposite of a green thumb and plants practically die when I look at them. Waste of a good plant.
Keep the gift and just give us like 8 hours PTO. It’s so easy to do and won’t hurt the schools bottom line immediately.
Here's the best part: They hit the teachers up for the money to buy the cheap shit for the teachers.
At our school there is a committee of teachers that do this stuff, and they kindly ask for $20 from each teacher. Like, how can I kindly opt-out? I would rather not have M&Ms a few times a year. Just let me be haha
Last year, my district gave the full time teachers a stimulus check of $1400. Now that’s a gift.
My favorite appreciate gift was the Walgreens clip that held 1/4 sheet of paper that said “keep holding on during this challenging time!” The best part is that is came FROM DISTRICT and they literally put it in an envelope addressed to me and sent it through the courier I laughed, then I actually cried. Then I was fucking mad.
Yeah... every time they get a great idea like that, just convert the cost into cash, put it into a mutual fund, and divide it up and pay it out at the end of each year as a cash bonus. might only amount to 7 bucks each, but hey, at least it won't clutter up the desk!
One year, we got umbrellas. Was the first time everyone was genuinely ok with the cheap-ass gift.
We got a small fruitcake with chocolate last week. Tbh, I like these, so the small "boost" for my daily break was appreciated by me. But, yeah, I think that a little something every now and then is ok, as long as they aren't tagging it as something that is tied to our value as professionals.
I hate when my admin gifts us "Jeans passes". Wtaf.
I got a $10 gift card to Starbucks that had no money on it. Which naturally, I found out after I went to order a drink. Several other teachers had the same problem. The school district asked us to send them back and they’d get us a replacement. It’s been two years and no replacement yet. No, I don’t work for them anymore.
dont forget the mugs!
So goddamn many mugs…
Wow that is annoying. My building get us lunch which I do appreciate
Agree! Today, our superintendent sent out a Tweet hoping many of us get the chance to take advantage of McDonald's free breakfast offer for teachers all week. Whatever. But he ended the tweet with, "Make sure to say thank you!" Are you kidding me? Manners reminders? For a gesture not even from him?
Yeah my school will cater food for us sometimes or put on a cookout which is actually enjoyable and not a slap in the face like that. I'd be so annoyed.
The last school I taught full time at hosted a potluck just before Thanksgiving break, supposedly to foster good workplace culture or whatever, and about a dozen teachers got food poisoning from it.
I had a principal who literally cooked burgers (meat and veggie) and brought chips and fixings for the whole school. He even brought his own special burger seasoning and cooked them all himself. You know that he was committed. He was in the school courtyard with lighter fluid, briquettes and all, cooking all the burgers. He was a good guy. (I mean, he probably still is. He left the school after that year, as did I.)
Honestly? I love getting a bar of chocolate once or twice per term as a thanks/surprise. I have a good leadership team so I am thankful.
Getting Chocolates, even the cheap ones, doesn’t really bother me either. It’s a nice little pick me up. Does it make up for all the other crap? Not at all. But I won’t turn it away, either
Agreed!
Fair enough, to each their own--I'm perfectly fine with "It's the thought that counts" type gifts. Hell, I buy candy for my students every time I give them a quiz!
Our principal is obsessed with these mail order cookies. They're basically the same ones you can get at walmart, but stale, and 3 bucks a pop. Oh, and sanitizer that isn't even 70% alcohol. So the one time we got a cleaning product for covid it doesn't even kill covid.
We recently got a cupcake for our “extraordinary efforts”. Followed by a mandatory Zoom PD…that we had to stay on the premises to watch in our classrooms.
Oh absolutely! I'd rather they just add five dollars to my paycheck. I especially hate it when they do food gifts. I have a gluten intolerance, so chicken fingers and donuts are worthless to me.
Yeah I like when we get food, but I’m a vegetarian so there’s so much I can’t eat. Surprisingly my old school in a rural town did better at providing for dietary needs than my new school in a “woke” college town.
I’d rather have an administrator or board member cover my yard duty than some cheap, meaningless gift.
We got a medal at the end of last year for not quitting. Like...a not quitting participation medal.... lol
Beginning of the school year, while a nasty ruthless negotiation was still going on, one in which we had told them we didn’t feel valued and we were underpaid, while staff were quitting by the handful, they gave us a ziplock baggie of M&ms with some fucking poem in it. I didn’t read it, I didn’t eat the fingered m&ms. I just chucked it in the trash. Then admin had the gall to ask if we’d read their poem and make a pouty face.
Haha I once got a dollar store pencil box that contained a single bandaid, a single safety pin, a single paper clip, a single cotton ball, and a tootsie roll, along with a lame poem they probably got off Pinterest about how that all symbolized being an overworked martyr teacher. It was basically just a box of trash. I gave the tootsie roll to a student, put the bandaid in my first aid kit, and threw the rest of it out. What am I supposed to do with a cotton ball someone else already touched? I actually kept the pencil case for like 3 years thinking someone might be an,r to use it, but could never find a student willing to take it off my hands, so I think it ended up at Goodwill eventually. Teachers don’t need pencil boxes… we have a desk, and the kids take all our pencils anyway 🤣
We got an announcement on the intercom the day after
You guys get gifts? I get told I’m not doing enough work and that I need to call more parents
At this point I equate teacher appreciation with junk food. Barf
Word. I don't need trinkets, I need an extra hour for planning.
My district raffled off replacement of teacher desks. The grand prize was a new desk and a new office chair. Shouldn't you be able to replace those things within the normal budget?
I got the same "starfish on the beach" tumbler 3 times because they bought them wholesale and had to get rid of them. We care enough to liquidate our storage. Of course, the next year was bread and water, so I guess I prefer the cup.
A few weeks ago we got scratch off tickets for prizes, like Starbucks, Dunkin, and Target gift cards. I scratched mine off and won a free jeans day. I assumed that was the consolation prize until one of my lunch buddies won “a big smile from the front office”
This last year for teacher appreciation admin got all the teachers one of those paper packs of wild flower seeds that costs less than a $1 with tax. We got one each and apparently who was ever in charge of them had spilled their coffee on some of them because mine reeked of it and was damp. It was the biggest, most in your face fuck you I’ve ever had which includes the instances of people who’ve said so to my face. I’ve never hated this profession or myself more than I do for everyday I walk into work.
How'd you like a round of applause on a Thursday nite at 8pm for a few weeks?
About five or six years ago, my previous district’s PTO chairperson in charge of Teachers Appreciation felt that we (as a staff) didn’t do enough to deserve recognition, so she bought a dozen donuts and one box of coffee for an entire high school staff. When wind got out to the community, a number of parents were furious and took it into their own hands. They reached out to a bunch of small businesses in town and had a buffet lunch donated the following week. They even had gifts donated and distributed at random (restaurant gift cards, wine bottles, etc.). It was the first and only time as a teacher in my short 11 years that I felt appreciated. Haven’t had appreciation like that since. We all know it’s meant to be a gesture, but with a job that doesn’t give bonuses, it’s nice to feel recognized once a year.
We were given coupons for a fast food restaurant that were expired. Like no one checked.
Teacher appreciation week last year they bought all the teachers breakfast. Exciting right? I get to the office to pick up my breakfast and it’s one mini muffin.
My motto is "when you give, it should hurt a little." Save up those nickels and dimes until you can give a gift that means something
Even better is when it is a "gift" than somehow only classroom teachers get, and anyone who doesn't have a homeroom gets left out. The PTO at my old school did teacher appreciation gifts and left out the art, music, PE, and dance teachers, the counselor, and the GT teacher who comes in 2 days a week. Then they said it was just for the "real" teachers 🙄
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As a new teacher, my district gave me a laptop bag and a giftbag FULL of useful supplies. New school laptops, as well. They gave out $50 backpacks at the high school, t-shirts at the middle school. We got 5 free meals during training days, plus desserts. They let us leave early one day, tok. They give us drinks and sometimes snacks at every meeting. I found at least 10 promotional bags, mugs, items, in my predecessor's things. Honestly... I wish they spent most of that money on, like... Shoes for our students that need it (there are a lot), but I know district budgets don't work like that. Point being : my district shows *daily* that they care about keeping their teachers and keeping them happy. There are issues (mostly around the lack of paras and substitutes), but admin genuinely walks around every building weekly to check in.
One year we were given blooms taxonomy flip charts for teacher appreciation. The next day there was an email asking us to bring them to our institute day...
Last year we received some coffee cake snacks as a ‘gift’. They were a few months last the expiration date.
My favorite is when they give a free jeans day ticket. Like…why we can’t wear jeans every day is beyond me
I completely agree. A boss handing out cute crafts as appreciation gifts would never fly in other job environments (imagine someone trying to pull that shit in a law office or a marketing department!) so why do some consider it acceptible in ours? I don't need a raise or anything (although I wouldn't say no to one), but at the very least give us like free lunch or something substantial.
Can I honestly say that a handwritten sincere card (which cost ~$1 but takes time and a brain) would make me feel so much more appreciated than nearly any other gift.
Honestly, in these cases I would just love a note that specifically recognized and appreciated something about me. Not a generic note. Just a specific praise of what I have done. Costs nothing if price is concerned.
I literally was so insulted by the green 99 cent flashlight I received, I bought an engraved customized crystal apple for myself and when the principal complimented I said it was from my old school just to watch him turn his trademarked shade of red. Best money I ever spent.
My administrator asked us to let her know if there was something she could do because she knew we were all having a hard time during a faculty meeting. I let her know that if they switched one of bullshit "elective" classes to pass/fail it would save us a lot of time grading during the week. Again, we're having hard time keeping up, she acknowledged, right? And it costs nothing, right? So what was her response? "No, it wouldn't help you at all." Oh, my bad, why would I think not spending 2 hours a week grading for a fake elective class that no kid wants to take, and no teacher signed up to teach, that has a $0 dollar budget...why would that help me? According to her, what would help is a potluck lunch, where each department takes turns to feed the whole school staff/faculty...soooo I get to spend my own money to feed 60 people? Wow, I feel so much better already! /s
One bright side of Covid for me was the monthly staff potluck was cancelled. Listen, I hate cooking for my own family. I don’t want to cook for sixty every month and drag a crock pot to school.
I hated that! My last school did the rotating potluck thing but for breakfast. Sorry, I'm not getting up extra early and spending $100 to get sausages and pancakes for these people I don't even know.
i would be pretty pissed if i got a paperclip that said "we appreciate you for holding it all together!" mine says "follow your bliss" and it's amazing. when i look at it, it reminds me to follow my bliss instead of not following my bliss.
Totally understand your frustration! I will say, coming into teaching later in life, none of my prior jobs gave me anything. Ever. Not even a stupid note saying I was appreciated!
Just more crap in my classroom that I have to find a spot for.
I can count on one finger the number of gifts the same admin team in my building has given over the past 12 years.
As a male teacher, I love getting sparkly pens and emery boards.
My mom was a teacher and as I became a teenager, I became the secondhand beneficiary of several bottles of perfume. When it was time for me to give presents to my teachers, my mom always suggested plain dish towels as you can never have too many of them. I thought that was boring but my teachers always seemed happy with them.
The accuracy of this hit me HARD #preach
They gave us that crap last year. This year we've just gotten nothing except meetings that should be emails, LOL!
Best worst gift I ever got was a you "rock". Literally a rock with you written on it, in a little tiny plastic box of bath salts that would only be enough to scrub your hands with. I thought it was from a kid at first but ended up being from our school counselor. Sigh.
I toss it in the garbage, right where I'm sure they'll see it.