School’s almost out for summer but there’s one more gifting occasion for busy parents to think about ‘thank you teacher.’
This is a relatively recent retail promotion that now sees all major retailers selling ‘thank you teacher’ cards and a growing number of high street retailers also selling ‘thank you teacher’ gifts. Specific thank you teacher gifts include teddy bears, mugs, photo frames, shopping bags and stationery. If you search online then retailers such as Not on the High Street, Funky Pigeon, Card Factory and Amazon are also all promoting personalised thank you teacher gifts.
While it’s great commercially for the gifts and stationery industries to have another ‘occasion’ I spoke to a number of parents and teachers to find out their thoughts about the promotion.
What parents think about the promotion:
Parents I spoke to said there is a high amount of pressure to buy teachers and teaching assistants a gift but the pressure mainly comes from other mums. Some parents will contribute to a collection, while others will opt out and do their own thing. The emphasis seemed to be on finding an unusual or handmade gift.
My favourite quote from a friend whose child is privately educated was, “Some of the hardcore Mumzillas walk from their Range Rovers with towers of gifts!” You can just imagine it!
What teachers think about the promotion:
The teachers I spoke to work in state primary schools in relatively poor areas. They really appreciated the gifts they had received in the past, which included bouquets of flowers, chocolates, jewellery, candles, watches, scarves and even a crystal vase one year! However, they were worried about the expectation put on parents and children from poorer backgrounds to buy a gift for their teacher. They said the best presents were something home made, that the child had made themselves because it was personal. Or something practical they could use at school the following year such as a mug. However really they felt a card and thank you in person would suffice. “Teacher cards never make it home, but home made cards and gifts do. I’d rather a parent came and said thank you, when that is said and meant, it is better than any gift.”
Giving back into the community
One teacher friend said she really didn’t want a gift, she works in education and would much prefer that something was invested back into education. Some of the ideas she suggested were donating a book to the school library, paying for a school trip for kids who can’t afford to go or having a stationery box for the following school year for children who couldn’t afford to start the school year with their own pencil case, notepad or maths set for example. “I would love for children to understand that the words thank you are good enough for a teacher and would love them to understand the moral value of giving back into a community that has given to them.”
Of course there will always be teachers who enjoy getting a gift and parents who really want to give a gift, to show their appreciation and so in my view as a promotion and gifting occasion ‘thank you teacher’ will definitely continue to grow.
For those parents, children and teachers who would prefer the money to be spent in a different way, I wonder what could be done by the trade to facilitate this?…
