# what gift should I give to a teacher that I really respect and admire?



## FlightlessBird (Dec 10, 2014)

I'm in my last year of high school and this woman has been my teacher for 4 years. She is amazing and the best teacher I've had and one of the bests that I'll have, Im sure! I like almost all my teachers and I'll probably give a little gift to each one of them, but I want to do something special for her. What do you recommend me to do? 
:kitteh:

I'd like to hear what the teachers from PerC think


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## Cheveyo (Nov 19, 2010)

I'm no teacher, but I imagine a heart felt letter would do the trick if you don't feel like saying it all to her in person.


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## Kevin De Smet (Nov 26, 2013)

Yeah a letter seems good, something along the lines of "Teach, even though you likely couldn't hack it in the real world, you didn't let that bring you down and tried your best to teach our ass." Haha


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## Maidelane (Sep 21, 2014)

A book and a letter.


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## Dynamitetalks (Sep 21, 2012)

Just get an education, that is the gift a teacher wants, She's a grown ass woman she can buy what ever she needs wheres you're a poor student. Show respect by applying what she has taught you


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## TurtleQueen (Nov 8, 2014)

@FlightlessBird

As somebody who tried to be a teacher, I knew that my students wouldn't always appreciate the work that I did for them (since it also made them have to do a certain amount of work that would help them learn). A nice letter or someone thanking me in person would have meant a lot to me. If you feel like buying something, consider getting her something small that you think she might like. Things that any teacher could enjoy include a small gift card to a coffee or tea store (or a cute mug), a gift card to an office supply store (or something like a cute stapler), or anything related to their subject (as an English teacher, I would have loved someone giving me a book). Some teachers decorate their room in a certain way that might reveal things about their personal taste or mention things about their personal lives in relation to their class. Somebody giving me a knick knack that had a cat or reptile as a part of its design would have been pretty swell. Don't worry too much about what you want to get her because a good teacher will be gratified that they helped a student in a meaningful way and not get too hung up on the specifics of a particular gift.

ETA: For ideas about your teacher's personal taste, look around her desk. That's where teachers decide to be a little more "personal" in how they decorate instead of making sure something is related to a particular subject. You don't have to make that kind of effort since no reasonable teacher would get fussy about anything a student or parent gave them.


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## TurtleQueen (Nov 8, 2014)

I'm going to provide you a list of items any secondary teacher could use to get through the day. Some of this stuff is going to be more expensive, but you should be able to get something for about $20 on this list if you look around enough. I tried to include stuff that can be more personal if you want to make your gift feel less utilitarian.

Posters, hangable items, or small items (figurines, stuffed animals, books, or magazines) that can be put on shelves to decorate a classroom
A decorative frame for some photo she might put on her desk or display on a wall
Desk calendars, planners, timers, or clocks (especially analog) to help your teacher keep track of time 
Coffee, tea, soda, or snacks to keep up energy during the day. A little gift card to a store that sells this stuff is nice if you're not sure what your teacher might like and since your teacher may have some kind of dietary restrictions she wouldn't share with all of her students.
Mugs for coffee, tea, or water (especially travel mugs)
Throat lozenges (can be flavored to taste better) or water (flavored water or water in a cute bottle is really nice)
Tic-tacs, gum, or breath mints (to have nice breath after drinking coffee or eating lunch)
Bandages (some have cute designs) or Neosporin for paper-cuts
Regular folders and filing folders (including hanging kinds or something to put in a crate or box)
Binders (the bigger and sturdier, the better)
Small pouches to store pens and pencils or other small supplies
Note cards or card stock paper
Stress relief items such as a personal journal, CD with music on it for meditation or relaxation, cheap DVD designed for relaxation or meditation, nice candles, bath stuff, a stress ball, or some kind of lotion (especially for hands or feet since teachers can have to type a lot or get sore feet from standing up and walking around during the day). Get an unscented or lightly scented item if you want to go that route in case your teacher could be more allergic to certain scents and not be able to use your thoughtful gift for that reason.
A magnet or something magnetized (especially if you can write on it or stick some kind of note on it)
Flash drives
Small lamps that could fit on a desk or one of those lamps you can clip on a shelf. This is a more permanent item that your teacher is likely to already have, but she could still use a desk lamp at home or on her desk if it's really small.
Pencil sharpener (including a personal one that isn't electric)
Pencils and pens (all colors are needed for pens to be able to grade things)
Stationery of any kind (full sheets of paper, memo pads, and post-its of any kind)
Small sticky labels or a label maker if she doesn't already have one 
Dry-erase markers or a little dry erase board that can be easily displayed (magnetized helps)
Paper clips and filing clips
Tape dispensers or tape
Sturdy staplers and staples
Erasers or Wite Out correction tape (or a dispenser for such tape)
Spiral notebooks
Things that can be used for storage (including little cups or bowls)
Tissue paper (I have bad allergies and so do many students)
Anything students used in your class frequently since teachers often have to pay for this kind of stuff with their own personal funds
Gift cards for office supply stores, tech stores (keep in mind schools often make teachers use Windows for their job so a generic store is safer unless you know your teacher likes to use Apple products at home), and general entertainment stores (Target, Walmart, gift card to a movie theater, Best Buy, gift card to a book store). It's safer to buy a gift card for your teacher at a more generic store instead of getting a gift card for a smaller or more specialized store that only sells a few kinds of things, but your teacher will appreciate anything you give her.


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## ForestPaix (Aug 30, 2014)

Some thing you made yourself


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## FourLeafCloafer (Aug 5, 2014)

I'm not a teacher, but...

I'd bake her a cake. Or cookies Not something permanent (that might get awkward if more people do it - I have been in the homes of people that kept getting presents from people that they had helped by doing their job, they were very full.)

I dunno. What kind of teacher is she? You could do something nice with shapes and flavours. A chemistry teacher would get some cookies with chocolate atoms, for example, or you could write a poem on a cake for an English teacher.


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## TurtleQueen (Nov 8, 2014)

The advice to give something that can be easily consumed does mirror what I have heard some teachers say on the Internet. When I was a teacher, I always needed some small things more than some big things and did often run out of things like pencils, pens, or paper for notes to remind myself of things that I needed to accomplish that day. I think badly of teachers who complain about more permanent stuff they keep getting like figurines that can't be used or tons of coffee mugs. Teaching can be a thankless and stressful job, and I would appreciate anything a student or parent decided to give me even if it didn't match my personal taste in terms of what I might like to pick out for the thought that went into thinking of me enough to get me any kind of present. Secondary teachers usually don't get as much from students, so it would be less of a problem for them to get tons of the same kinds of stuff from people. If you want her to know how much you appreciate her, it would be nice to say something to her or write a short note to her when you deliver any kind of present.

If you really respect and admire this teacher in particular, she is probably the kind of person who wouldn't feel unhappy with anything a student gave her. Good teachers show that they actually care about their students, and anyone who cares about their students isn't going to be unhappy with any appreciation a student might show them.


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## TurtleQueen (Nov 8, 2014)

Also, feel free to ask your teacher if she likes a certain brand or style of something in particular. I like a lot of Vera Bradley things, and they do sell stuff that is cheaper and useful for teachers. I usually walked into school every day with some kind of Vera Bradley purse when I was a student teacher, and some of my female students noticed that I clearly liked that particular brand. I generally like stuff that's in a bright color (purple, orange, and green in particular) and stuff that has a floral design, cool geometric pattern, or some cute picture of an animal on it. I do like French-themed stuff even though I wasn't going to be a French teacher, stuff that has some kind of Texas theme to it even though I'm not a Texas history teacher, and stuff related to U.T. Austin or U.T. Dallas (where I went to school). If I had a room, I would probably decorate it in a way that matched my personal taste and still seemed like an "English" room, so it makes sense to look around at her room and see if you notice anything in particular.

If you don't know much about your teacher's personal taste, giving her something related to her subject is always a good idea since all good teachers enjoy their subjects. Even if it is a less consumable item, she's probably going to be able to use it in the classroom or in her personal life. I would probably try to find a way to display little stuffed animals or little figurines on shelves in a glass case before I thought about re-gifting a little stuffed animal or a figurine that a student or parent bought me as a gift. Before you give your teacher something she might eat, it would probably be a good idea to figure out if she's allergic to something or see if you've seen her eating something in particular. A teacher might feel bad if she couldn't eat an entire cake a student made because she was allergic to chocolate or had any kind of dietary restriction where she wouldn't want to eat a particular food or eat too much of it, but she would share it in the teacher's lounge for other teachers to enjoy and talk about how she appreciated that her student gave it to her. Go for something fairly cheap or free since I wouldn't want any student to spend more money than they can afford on something for me. If you enjoy some kind of baking, crafting, or art, go ahead and make something if it won't take a lot of time or effort to do so. If you enjoy baking, it's reasonable to make a batch of cookies for yourself or your family and save one or two cookies for your teacher. If you really need to save your money, write a short personal letter about how much you admire and respect your teacher or just have a short conversation with her right after school or before school starts.


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## bigstupidgrin (Sep 26, 2014)

Any form of communication that says "thank you for being my teacher" is best. Just paying attention during class is the best appreciation we expect to receive. Enjoying an assignment or activity is a step higher, and finally a honest thank you is out of the ordinary.


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## Gossip Goat (Nov 19, 2013)

I think some baked goods along with a little letter or something personal she'd appreciate.


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