No gifts for teachers in Alabama

[Alesia]

No Starbucks Coffee Drinks...way too extravagant. Sounds like this regulation was written a long time ago.

Not necessarily. At my daughter's school, 97% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch. For a lot of those kids, a starbucks gift card would be too extravagant. I've had more than one teacher tell me that it's hard for them to receive gifts from students in front of the kids who can't afford to buy anything. As much as they stress that it's the thought that counts, and that a homemade card or note is just as nice as a store bought gift, the kids who can't afford anything still feel bad.

 

[Mrs.Malone]

To say this is a new law that prohibits Christmas gifts to teachers is somewhat misleading. This is an update to an existing law that covers all public employees, of which teachers are included.

According to the law, gifts of de minimus value are still acceptable. So homemade cards and goodies, ornaments, boxes of chocolates, mugs, candles, Dollar Tree store items etc are all still acceptable. IMO, it is inappropriate to give a teacher more than that for a gift anyway, so I think the change in this law is reasonable. When I worked as a paraprofessional, I would have felt very uncomfortable, but appreciative, to receive a gift of significant monetary value.

It is very important for public employees to treat all the citizens for whom they work equally. A person paying $20,000 a year in property taxes should receive the same services as a person who pays no property taxes. Perception is reality. While a teacher may not take a gift as a bribe, it can cause problems if someone perceives that a child is getting special treatment because the teacher has received valuable gifts from that child.

The schools should have already informed the parents of what is acceptable for teachers’ gifts in order to avoid any awkwardness in the classroom. Hopefully the schools can come up with a reasonable policy of how teachers are to handle inappropriate gifts, such as turning any such gifts over to the principal who will then contact and return the gift to the parents.

I agree with this 100%. However I said something similar on another thread and was called "pathetic."

I confess that before my first child started school, I didn't realize that giving Christmas gifts to teachers was common at all. The first I learned of it was at my oldest child's class holiday party, when the teacher called all the children into a circle and opened her gifts from them (mostly gift cards) one by one. My son was one of the only children who didn't have a gift to give. He and I both felt so bad.

 

[torinsmom]

Not necessarily. At my daughter's school, 97% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch. For a lot of those kids, a starbucks gift card would be too extravagant. I've had more than one teacher tell me that it's hard for them to receive gifts from students in front of the kids who can't afford to buy anything. As much as they stress that it's the thought that counts, and that a homemade card or note is just as nice as a store bought gift, the kids who can't afford anything still feel bad.

Not to sound petty, but a lot of the kids at my school who qualify for free and reduced lunch wear clothes better than any I could afford for my own son, and have 2-3 pairs of name brand sneakers. When I meet with the parents, I notice the fancy phones and designer handbags. Just saying that the fact that someone qualifies for free or reduced lunch does not mean they are necessarily living on ramen noodles and drinking koolaid.

In any case, I don't open gifts in front of kids. If a child who doesn't have a gift sees someone give me one, I tell them I would really love a picture to hang on my fridge and off they go, smiling from ear to ear.

 

[RitaE]

I really like this idea. In one of the schools around here, one of the teachers was given a Coach purse that one of the mothers sent letters out to collect for. Really? The children just LOVED getting together and giving that one purse out. This was a first grade class.... I think the gifts of nominal value is a great idea especially for the kids who may not be able to donate to buy a teacher a Coach purse. They wanted like 20 bucks from each kid to pay for the purse and the cost of the party. The moms went crazy buying stuff for the party. Everything had to be perfect.

One of the best gifts my son ever gave was to his teacher that I think he secretly had a bit of a crush on. This was in third grade. For the month of December, every time we went somewhere and he saw a pig item he wanted to pick it up for her. She had told the class one time that she loved pigs haha. Was a lot of it silly junk? Yep. However, his teacher gave him the biggest hug and was cracking up when she saw me the next day. (I was an aide in the resource room at the time) She loved that gift because it showed her that he listened to her. Also, he was SO happy!! I am grateful that at that moment he was excited to give and NOT just to receive.

I can tell you the year teacher gift giving came to a halt at my kids school - and not it didn't involve me, I have sons.

The Mothers of the Cheerleading squad got together and did a whole "spa day" with the Teacher who coached Cheerleaders. I'm talking Limo, Champagne - the works. It blew up into a real fuss with lots of accusations running around about favoritism and who would be on the squad the next year. drama drama drama

Boom. Nobody is doing Teacher gifts anymore. They send a letter out right before Thanksgiving explaining the school tradition of raising money for charity, adopting Nursing homes to visit etc.

I'm sure nobody here has ever meant for their Teacher gifts to ever be more than anything than a gift. I'm sure that the number of parents who have no sense of appropriateness and go overboard is minimal in the grand scheme of things. I'm sure that there are very few parents who do bribe, BUT - it does happen. Unfortunately our youth environment especially just teeters out of control sometimes with parents who just can't limit themselves.

From what I can see, in Alabama, your children can still give boxes of chocolate and a cheap mug filled with candy and I can pretty well guarantee you can make a donation to the school in honor of the teacher. I really don't see that this law is all that big of a deal.

 

[kmcford]

My problem is this. It is another law taking away my rights. If I want to say thank you to my child's teacher by giving them a gift card to go out to eat one night than I should be allowed to. It isn't a bribe it is a gift. Teachers are highly educated, overworked, and underpaid saying thank you with a small gift is the least I can do.


Should there be pressure to give a gift absolutly not but if your child does nothing for their teacher you should be ashamed. I don't care what income level you are at they can do something. A note, a drawing, a picked flower on the way to school, whatever it is you think of. Did you know on average a teacher spends more hours a day with your child than you do?

 

[HsvTeacher]

I'm a teacher in Alabama, and today we were told by our superintendent that we couldn't accept gifts valued at more than $20.

If a room parent wanted to take up money from each child to give a combined gift, we could accept that as well as long as the total amount is not more than $20 per child.

Of course, I haven't seen this policy in writing, and I'll think twice about accepting any gift until I do. It's not worth losing my job and paying a hefty fine.

 

[buckirj1]

Is gift-giving to teachers a new(ish) thing? I attended public schools from approximately 1961 to 1974 and it never occurred to anyone to give a gift to a teacher. When did this practice begin?

 

[LMC]

Fox 6 news had a quy, evidently from the ethics committe, talk about this sometime in the last two weeks. If you look at their website you might find the info. He said they have not put a $$ limit on it yet but anything under $12 (his words) would not be a problem. I would think a group gift would be find as long as it stays under $12 per child for a total of xxxxx. I plan on getting gifts for whichever teachers my kids choose to give gifts to.

 

[Alesia]

My problem is this. It is another law taking away my rights. If I want to say thank you to my child's teacher by giving them a gift card to go out to eat one night than I should be allowed to. It isn't a bribe it is a gift. Teachers are highly educated, overworked, and underpaid saying thank you with a small gift is the least I can do.


Should there be pressure to give a gift absolutly not but if your child does nothing for their teacher you should be ashamed. I don't care what income level you are at they can do something. A note, a drawing, a picked flower on the way to school, whatever it is you think of. Did you know on average a teacher spends more hours a day with your child than you do?

They can still do that. The law in Alabama still allows inexpensive gifts. That really isn't unreasonable. This thread is mostly a result of people reacting without having the facts.

 

[rentayenta]

I can see why there could be a cap on the amount spent per child. I only buy for elementary teachers.

 

[torinsmom]

I can see why there could be a cap on the amount spent per child. I only buy for elementary teachers.

I feel bad for those who teach the older kids. They work hard and most of the kids are not appreciative at that age. They hear from parents when there is a problem or concern. Even though my son is in high school, I plan on taking in small gift cards to the office for his teachers, just a little something to let them know that I am aware of and appreciate how hard they work.

 

[cats mom]

Teachers aren't being singled out, the law applies to all public employees. Many, if not most, private companies restrict accepting of gifts as well.

I see posts from teachers all the time saying a small trinket a child picked out on his/her own, or especially a heartfelt note, mean just as much or more as an expensive gift. Those are still allowed.

Gift giving has gotten way out of hand in my area.

Last year the room mom for DD's class requested $75 from each child at the beginning of the year. $25 to help fund classroom parties, $25 for the teachers Christmas gift, and $25 for the teachers B-day gift.
Oh, and when said teacher announced her pregnancy, we got another note requesting $25 for a baby gift.
The notes did say you could contribute whatever you were comfortable with, but $25 per was the suggested amount.
There were 34 kids in the class, so if everyone donated the requested amount, that's over $2,500 for the teacher. All pooled money was spent on gift cards.
The room mom also mentioned that everyone should also feel free to bring in their own personal gifts... and many did. We're not talking inexpensive lotions or scented candles either.

I'd love to see something like this in my area. My apologies to those who think it's an awful law.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

That is just unreasonable expecting that much for a single teacher. I don't think a $10-$15 box of chocolates per student is that much for Christmas, if the parents/child want to. I think to say it's not allowed is wrong, because it's taking the law too far. A teacher shouldn't be allowed to receive a $100 gift from a student/parent but a $5 box of chocolates?

Teachers aren't being singled out, the law applies to all public employees. Many, if not most, private companies restrict accepting of gifts as well.

I see posts from teachers all the time saying a small trinket a child picked out on his/her own, or especially a heartfelt note, mean just as much or more as an expensive gift. Those are still allowed.

Gift giving has gotten way out of hand in my area.

Last year the room mom for DD's class requested $75 from each child at the beginning of the year. $25 to help fund classroom parties, $25 for the teachers Christmas gift, and $25 for the teachers B-day gift.
Oh, and when said teacher announced her pregnancy, we got another note requesting $25 for a baby gift.
The notes did say you could contribute whatever you were comfortable with, but $25 per was the suggested amount.
There were 34 kids in the class, so if everyone donated the requested amount, that's over $2,500 for the teacher. All pooled money was spent on gift cards.
The room mom also mentioned that everyone should also feel free to bring in their own personal gifts... and many did. We're not talking inexpensive lotions or scented candles either.

I'd love to see something like this in my area. My apologies to those who think it's an awful law.

 

[kiddo76]

They can still do that. The law in Alabama still allows inexpensive gifts. That really isn't unreasonable. This thread is mostly a result of people reacting without having the facts.

So all this uproar and a principal has set the limit at $20? That's more than reasonable. I would have set it at $10. IMO, a child's gift to her teacher should be about the child and not the parent. Most kids are perfectly happy giving their teacher a $5 trinket that they picked out rather than a $20 gift card to Starbucks. Common sense should tell parents that modest gifts are appropriate so as not to alienate children who can not afford to give gifts.

There are many ways to show teachers your appreciation that don't require expensive gifts. I love the idea about book donations someone else posted about, which is something a teacher should value more than a gift card.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

That seems fair enough. I'm not against a $20 limit, I'm against a no gift policy

So all this uproar and a principal has set the limit at $20? That's more than reasonable. I would have set it at $10. IMO, a child's gift to her teacher should be about the child and not the parent. Most kids are perfectly happy giving their teacher a $5 trinket that they picked out rather than a $20 gift card to Starbucks. Common sense should tell parents that modest gifts are appropriate so as not to alienate children who can not afford to give gifts.

There are many ways to show teachers your appreciation that don't require expensive gifts. I love the idea about book donations someone else posted about, which is something a teacher should value more than a gift card.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I think it's reasonable. I have always loved the idea of classroom gifts over teacher gifts.

I don't have a child in elementary school anymore and was looking forward to no teacher gifts but the group of room Mom's who just moved to the 6th grade are starting up teacher gifts at Middle school which has never been the case.
Each child in Middle school has 6 teachers. That's alot of gifts.

I will happily give supplies to the classroom but I am tired of giving teacher gifts since I don't really know what the teacher wants so supplies to the classroom it will be. I send those things in regularly anyway - kleenex, hand sanitizer, lysol wipes, dry erase markers.

I just sent some in with my teenage son today for one of his teachers that is asking for kleenex and hand sanitizer since the classroom is out.

 

[kmcford]

So when you tip mousekeepers do you leave them windex and cleaner? How about your hairdresser? Do you give them clippers and combs? That is the same thing as giving a teaher something they will use in the classroom for YOUR kid. I find it funny how so many parents say oh I could never be a teacher but the level of respect for them is so low. People don't blink an eye to spend $25 or more to go see a movie but find it innapropriate to give a $25 gift to a teacher. It is not about what other kids think. Teachers don't stand up in front of the class and announce so and so just gave me a $25 gift certificate.

The reason you are ok with the limiting of the gifts is because then you don't have to feel guilty. Not because you don't think it is right. A parent should have the right to gift the teacher anything they feel is right for them. This should not be another right taken away.

Do you really think a teacher sits there and thinks well so and so gave me a nice Christmas present so they get to sit in the front of the room and well that kid over there didn't give me anything so I will discipline them harder or not teach them as much?

 

[scrapquitler]

Teachers aren't being singled out, the law applies to all public employees. Many, if not most, private companies restrict accepting of gifts as well.

I see posts from teachers all the time saying a small trinket a child picked out on his/her own, or especially a heartfelt note, mean just as much or more as an expensive gift. Those are still allowed.

Gift giving has gotten way out of hand in my area.

Last year the room mom for DD's class requested $75 from each child at the beginning of the year. $25 to help fund classroom parties, $25 for the teachers Christmas gift, and $25 for the teachers B-day gift.
Oh, and when said teacher announced her pregnancy, we got another note requesting $25 for a baby gift.
The notes did say you could contribute whatever you were comfortable with, but $25 per was the suggested amount.
There were 34 kids in the class, so if everyone donated the requested amount, that's over $2,500 for the teacher. All pooled money was spent on gift cards.
The room mom also mentioned that everyone should also feel free to bring in their own personal gifts... and many did. We're not talking inexpensive lotions or scented candles either.

I'd love to see something like this in my area. My apologies to those who think it's an awful law.

Yeah, that's WAY out of hand I wonder how many people actually sent in the suggested amount??

I'd also be about 34 kids in a class!!!

 

[RitaE]

So when you tip mousekeepers do you leave them windex and cleaner? How about your hairdresser? Do you give them clippers and combs? That is the same thing as giving a teaher something they will use in the classroom for YOUR kid. I find it funny how so many parents say oh I could never be a teacher but the level of respect for them is so low. People don't blink an eye to spend $25 or more to go see a movie but find it innapropriate to give a $25 gift to a teacher. It is not about what other kids think. Teachers don't stand up in front of the class and announce so and so just gave me a $25 gift certificate.

The reason you are ok with the limiting of the gifts is because then you don't have to feel guilty. Not because you don't think it is right. A parent should have the right to gift the teacher anything they feel is right for them. This should not be another right taken away.

Do you really think a teacher sits there and thinks well so and so gave me a nice Christmas present so they get to sit in the front of the room and well that kid over there didn't give me anything so I will discipline them harder or not teach them as much?

I don't tip teachers. Ever.

 

[kiddo76]

So when you tip mousekeepers do you leave them windex and cleaner? How about your hairdresser? Do you give them clippers and combs? That is the same thing as giving a teaher something they will use in the classroom for YOUR kid. I find it funny how so many parents say oh I could never be a teacher but the level of respect for them is so low. People don't blink an eye to spend $25 or more to go see a movie but find it innapropriate to give a $25 gift to a teacher. It is not about what other kids think. Teachers don't stand up in front of the class and announce so and so just gave me a $25 gift certificate.

The reason you are ok with the limiting of the gifts is because then you don't have to feel guilty. Not because you don't think it is right. A parent should have the right to gift the teacher anything they feel is right for them. This should not be another right taken away.

Do you really think a teacher sits there and thinks well so and so gave me a nice Christmas present so they get to sit in the front of the room and well that kid over there didn't give me anything so I will discipline them harder or not teach them as much?

Hairdressers and housekeepers are service professions, whereas teachers are not, so that’s not a fair comparison. Students and parents are not clients.

I have no children, so I’m not coming from a place of guilt. I come from a large family with many teachers and I understand and actively support the issues that are important to them and gift giving isn’t part of that. They would rather have books in their libraries than trinkets on their desks or purses on their arms. I have worked as a paraprofessional and a municipal employee and understand how important it is to avoid the appearance of impropriety, which is largely what this and any Ethics Law is about. I have also seen children embarrassed because they had no gift to give.

There are many ways to show support for teachers that do not involve the giving of valuable gifts.