The teacher should "just say no thank you", right?

[declansdad]

You seem awfully worried about it since you don't think it has an effect on your daughter.

 

[jeepgirl30]

You asked the child? Why? It sounds like you are very jealous.

My husband gets tickets to sporting events from his job a lot. We give tickets away sometimes just because. It is his business who he gives them to or if he asks for the money. Some tickets are free some are not. We have season tickets we buy and sometimes he gives them away and sometimes he'll ask for face value. Even I don't get involved because it is his thing!

 

[declansdad]

She is 6, it is first grade.... do grades really count in 1st grade, come on. I have a first grader!! I think it is great that the teacher is getting some perks. For all the put up with all year thru, the little they get paid, the amount they spend on stuff for their class out of pocket.... I think it is nice of them to offer to her. I have to agree you should just MYOB.

I guess the dad is trying to make sure that his daughter get the coveted "plays well with others" comment on the grade one report card.

 

[Papa Deuce]

She is 6, it is first grade.... do grades really count in 1st grade, come on. I have a first grader!! I think it is great that the teacher is getting some perks. For all the put up with all year thru, the little they get paid, the amount they spend on stuff for their class out of pocket.... I think it is nice of them to offer to her. I have to agree you should just MYOB.

Nope. The girl is 9. The teacher's daughter is 6.

BTW, I love the way so many people think I planned to do something when I SPECIFICALLY said, I have no interest in turning the teacher in. I do, think it is inappropriate to accept them, though...

 

[tzolkin]

Well, I'll go against the grain here and say that I think it's really rude.

Most schools have some kind of a dollar limit on gifts for teachers, whether it's a holiday present or end of the year present, so I don't see why it wouldn't apply to non-holiday gifts as well. When I was in school, teachers actually couldn't accept ANY gifts at any time - just to avoid any possible conflicts down the road.

OP - I agree with you - I think I would be bothered by the implication that costly show tickets are being exchanged for good grades or to curry favor with the teacher. While it is possible it is an innocent gift and does not cloud the teachers evaluation or grading of the student - if I was the teacher I would want to avoid any situation that hinted at impropriety. Because the acceptance of costly show tickets could be assumed to be improper - I would decline them.

I also think it's inappropriate. If the teacher was close friends with the parents and they wanted to give her tickets that would be one thing, and then there would also not be a need for the child to bring the tickets to school and give them to the teacher in front of the class.

Others have said that it's okay as long as the school doesn't have a policy against it. If there are many schools that explicitly have a policy against such gifts, there must be valid reasons why such gifts are inappropriate. Perhaps there's no policy because the school assumes that parents would not give such gifts or that the teacher would see it was inappropriate to accept them.

 

[kellyg403]

I will have to agree with others, there could be the issue the teacher does not want to offend, never uses the tickets or could have paid for the tickets.

So, this is one of those times where the child answered correctly..she gave the teacher the tickets. BUTTTTTT...there are so many UNANSWERED questions I would not even let it bother me.

Kelly

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Nope. The girl is 9. The teacher's daughter is 6.

BTW, I love the way so many people think I planned to do something when I SPECIFICALLY said, I have no interest in turning the teacher in. I do, think it is inappropriate to accept them, though...

Well clearly it bothers you enough to post about it and question the kid.

 

[manning]

The message to the teacher should be that this does not look good and concerns are starting to rise.

Also bring it up with school officials.

If my child was being short changed because of this I would be in his face (in a nice way).

 

[sbell111]

Our school system has a maximum value that teachers can accept for gifts from students. This would certainly exceed that maximum value.

That depends on how you calculate the value of an item.

If I bake a cake for the teacher, is the value of that cake however much it cost me to cook the cake or what it would cost to buy a similar cake? If the former is correct, then free tickets would not violate any 'maximum value' policy.

To the topic: I could care less if some other kid's parents give my princess' teacher some free tickets.

 

[debster812]

Nope. The girl is 9. The teacher's daughter is 6.

BTW, I love the way so many people think I planned to do something when I SPECIFICALLY said, I have no interest in turning the teacher in. I do, think it is inappropriate to accept them, though...

Italics are mine.

Along these same lines, you think it's inappropriate for the teacher to accept these gifts. I think it was inappropriate for you to question a 9 year old child about something her FATHER is doing. If this were my child, that would not sit well with me.

 

[NMAmy]

Stop drinking the haterade.

I love that.

I don't see the issue. There are a lot of possibilities as to what could be going on. And I would figure that none of those possibilities were really any of my business.

 

[dismom2]

The problem with giving valuable gifts to your childs teacher (especailly repeatedly throughout the year) is that it *might* be considered a form of bribery. Why do you think some businesses and politicians have rules against 'gifts' and large 'donations'? It's also a matter of ethics.

While I'm not sure how this would make me feel at this moment, I can see both sides. I'm wondering how this affects the child/teacher relationship. If the girl was on the brink of a not-so-good grade, would the teacher lean towards the better grade? Should gifts be given all year round? Why not give them outside of school? I can also see how the kids might think it's a form of bribery---kids that young are not clueless. And as far as the age of the children---I'd bet this practice will continue onto the older grades.

I remember a Christmas gift thread from last year where some people were concerned about the kids who could not afford to give gifts, or only dollar-store gifts. It can affect the other children.

I noticed that at least one PP who was 'all for it' is a teacher. That could be looked at as her being biased.

Also, if this continues when the child is in higher grades, there's a chance the other children will grow to resent or question the motives behind the gifts.

It can be seen as a nice gesture, but also a form of bribery.

 

[ckay87]

I don't know why everyone is jumping on him...I think it's a valid question. If he's questioning it, you can be absolutely certain that others would question it as well, and probably in a not-so-nice way. Not that I think it's wrong for the teacher to accept, but I do think it's a valid question. In a nutshell, if it isn't against school policy, then whatever. I guess the real question is, should there be a policy?

 

[turkeymama]

I don't know why everyone is jumping on him...I think it's a valid question. If he's questioning it, you can be absolutely certain that others would question it as well, and probably in a not-so-nice way. Not that I think it's wrong for the teacher to accept, but I do think it's a valid question. In a nutshell, if it isn't against school policy, then whatever. I guess the real question is, should there be a policy?

I think there are policies in many places. It seems to be different depending on where you live. Louisiana has some pretty strict guidelines apparently, more strict than I was of aware of which surprised me, all things considered. And I agree, it is a valid question.

 

[okeydokey]

I think you should not be concerned about what some other family does and I think you stop questioning a child about it. If you are so concerned, why don't you ask the parent directly?

 

[mjkacmom]

If there are many schools that explicitly have a policy against such gifts, there must be valid reasons why such gifts are inappropriate. Perhaps there's no policy because the school assumes that parents would not give such gifts or that the teacher would see it was inappropriate to accept them.

I've never heard of such a policy before the DIS - I know plenty of people who give teachers $100 gc's as gifts. I don't give that much, but to each, his own. If this dad gets free tickets he's not going to use, I think it's a nice gesture to give them to someone who spends so much time with his dd. The OP said she's a good student, so I doubt he would need to bribe the teacher.

 

[Tink_Or_Belle]

my husband works at a venue we have gotten tickets to events for teachers, cooks, the secretary, the superintendant. (and lots of non school people that we know such as neighbors, my co-workers, the UPS guy ) They call and ask about tickets to an event, give him their credit card number he gets them when they go onsale. There are also smaller level events that do not sell out and they start handing out tickets to people. If that is the case we usually send out an email see if anyone is interested DH turns in a request and if they still have the free tickets. My daughter hs taken the tickets to school with her. There are teachers I would get tickets for if I COULD get them for free. I think they are under paid for the amazing things they does for the kids.

 

[LukenDC]

I don't think that it is wise for any public servant to accept gifts of significant monetary value from the public. While it is likely that the girl and her family are not receiving any special treatment, the gifts can result in the allusion of favoritism or a conflict of interest.

Sometimes vendors send me gifts, such as gift cards and consumer products. I always acknowledge the gifts with a thank you note and then pass them on to the volunteer services division (I work for a nonprofit) so that they can be used for volunteer appreciation activities. I have never accepted a gift from a vendor because I do not ever want to have a conflict of interest, real or perceived.

 

[nutterbutter2010]

Personally, I don't thing its right. Especially if the child is giving the tickets infront of the rest of the class. I'm suprised someone hasn't reported it yet if thats the case.

By the way - Stop drinking the haterade..... Seriously??? Stop drinking the haterade. Thats a new one for me. Sounds like something Tiger Woods will soon be saying... Oops, he lost that contract!!!!!

 

[leighe]

Um, I would spend about 2 seconds worried about all of this. Sounds like you are dealing with the green eyed monster to me.