Teacher gifts at the end of the year can be complicated. Photo: Element5 Digital
One of the most thoughtful yet bizarre gifts Shirley Serban received from a student during her teaching career was a basket containing a can of Sprite, dog food and a banana.
"She was so proud to give it to me and her mum said she thought very carefully about each item she chose to go in it.
"I did have a dog, but no idea where the Sprite and banana ideas came from - I don't drink fizzy drink and not a big fan of bananas either."
It's that time of year when some parents fret over an appropriate gift for their child's teacher, and the desk drawers of educators fill up with a mix of helpful, weird and unwanted objects from well-meaning students.
Most teachers insist that a personal card or letter from an appreciative student reigns supreme over chocolate, wine, gift cards and mugs (definitely don't buy your teacher a mug).
"I would say for families who want to appreciate their children's teachers but have to spend carefully - make a card or anything handmade. It means more," Serban, who has taught on and off since 1990, says.
Serban has taught all years, but mostly years three to four, and was the principal of a small private school.
"For some cultures, gifting is the norm," Dr Pennie Togiatama, a senior lecturer in primary education at Manukau Institute of Technology, says. When her own children were at school, she used it as an opportunity to show them how good it felt to give.
Togiatama spent 30 years teaching in schools. The typical gift was small, a token of appreciation like homemade baking, chocolates, body butter and cards of gratitude.
"I was always grateful for that but there was never an expectation to receive that.
"It is not a competition. [Students] shouldn't have to feel they have to get something better than the other kids."
Bridget, a secondary school teacher, says that handwritten cards from students are a treasure.
"I've kept them all from 25 years of teaching."
One student thanked Bridget for believing in her. Another student who was difficult to teach that year wrote that Bridget had made a difference in her life and was "put on this to earth to teach".
"Don't underestimate the challenge [of being a teacher.] I put my heart and soul into particular classes this year. One kid said 'Thank you'.
"You never get told you are making a difference."
Bridget says gifts and cards are more infrequent for secondary teachers, who often teach more than 100 students a week. In primary or intermediate schools, students have one or two teachers for the whole year so students and parents get to know them well.
Cards were often mentioned on a Reddit thread asking New Zealand teachers to weigh in on gift ideas. Gift cards were often mentioned as a welcome idea (but only if a family can afford it). Helping a teacher stock up on markers or other teaching tools for the next year was another common theme.
One teacher we know says the best gift she ever received was Elizabeth Arden face cream. On the opposite end of the spectrum, one teacher received some used soap with hair stuck on it.
Cash gifts to a teacher are inappropriate, according to the Ministry of Education's Financial Information for Schools handbook.
"This sort of gift could lead to a feeling of obligation to the giver, or even to allegations of bribery," the handbook states.
The ministry leaves a more in-depth gift-giving policy is left up to the school. For example, some schools like Epsom Normal Primary School in Auckland allow staff to keep gifts if they are under the value of $50, according to the school's policy documents.
The Warehouse, like other stores, curates a list of teacher gift ideas. There has been a 255 percent increase in people browsing the section this year compared to 2023, according to a statement from the megastore's general manager for online experience Hannah Russell.
Sarah, a Wellington mother of a seven- and 10-year-old, is undecided on what to get their teachers this year.
In other years, she has bought chocolate (her child said the teacher talked about it a lot) or made snacks like spiced nuts. This year she is toying with the idea of socks.
But Sarah reiterated a theme from the teachers interviewed for this story and the Reddit thread: gifts are unnecessary.
"I think people worry that it is expected but it is not."
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