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I’m a teacher and have never gotten a back to school gift. That seems excessive.

I'm not a teacher, but it's not a thing where I live! At back-to-school night, they request you bring in certain supplies that'll be needed during the year (glue, kleenex, crayons, etc.) but I haven't heard of gifts for the teacher.

I have heard of them and know a few people who give them, but we will not. I do take in a variety of classroom supplies the first week of school and then again the first week back in January. I pick 5ish things from the suggested donation list. We give individual gifts to the teachers at other times of the year though.

Good grief. I don’t get the point of it. The end of year gifts are a thank you, what would this be? Thank you in advance?

I’ve never heard of this and it seems excessive

@bhbee: I have never received a "Back to School" gift from students OR parents ... Not at the upper elementary level, nor at the collegiate level. (🤔 I need to move to your district if they do this! 🤣) The closest I have ever come to receiving gifts for a returning school year has been getting back to school packages (pens, pencils, schedule books, coffee and assorted snacks) as a 'welcome back' from the administration. I would never expect to receive a gift from students or parents as there are so many other opportunities to gift and show appreciation during the year that I feel giving gifts at the start of the year seems a bit excessive and undue. Besides, it is an extra expense ... As a parent, I spend an inordinate amount on back-to-school supplies (pencils, glue, highlighters, crayons/markers, notebooks and folders, hand sanitizer, tissues, paper towels ... you get the idea) mandated by the county's schools, not to mention, a school wardrobe and items such as new backpacks and lunch storage. It just doesn't make financial sense to add on gifts especially since my daughter is in middle school and sees 5 different educators a day not counting her specials. My DS is in class part-time (3x a week) pre-K for social skills acquisition and his SLP -- 🤔 I still couldn't see purchasing his 3 teachers a gift "just because" it is a new year. 🤦‍♀️

All that stated - I used to gift my students (at the upper elementary level and most who I would have or have had for the 3 years I would see them in the program I taught) a "welcome back" gift bag which included a "Back to School" personalized pencil, a cool eraser, a fruit snack, and a chocolate.

I do holiday gifts (usually GC for main teacher and a treat/coffee/tea for assistants) and a smaller item for the end of the school year. That’s it.

@bhbee: I have never heard of back to school gifts. Our supply list was not long, so I got all of the suggested but not required supplies like tissues and clorox wipes. But it would never occur to me to buy a gift. I'm a teacher and I've never received a gift at back to school, unless it was from the PTA.

I actually thought of this a few days ago and winced bc I hadn't planned to do anything and I was hoping I wasn't going to be the only one!!

I am glad to read that I am not alone..

I did come up with an idea I was going to have DD do but then reading @Mommy Finger: response I don't want to feed into this. So I won't have DD do it. (I was going to have DD make a card and just say something like "I look forward to getting to know you Miss xyz. I am DD's name and I like.... " and have DD draw some things she likes... probably flowers/babies/butterflies....

I know that some people do this - I don't know, it's a bit much...

That being said, when my older child entered is last year at his preschool, I did get the teachers this little cookie set that a local cookie decorator was selling, I couldn't resist, and she wrote their names on the notebook cookies:

@bhbee: I did a small back to school gift last year. I’m also a teacher/school librarian and it was VERY small, and more of a solidarity gesture, like here we go again, another school year.

It was a mug with a funny teacher saying on it that was in the Target 1 spot with all the back to school stuff, with some sticky tabs and colorful paper clips inside. I probably spent $5 total.

We do Christmas and end of year gifts at daycare (and they are just cash contributions to a group fund).

I can see the perspective that teachers are underpaid/under-appreciated, but I also feel like at some grade level an up front gift becomes inappropriate in most circumstances, like, almost feels like trying to bribe/excessively gain favor of the teacher. (not trying to make a blanket statement and obviously it will depend on the context....) Like, a gift should be given at the end as a pure sign of appreciation when you're not expecting something in return, as opposed to at the very beginning when you may be expecting things.