Gifts for Teacher wtf??

Laisurg · 30-06-2011 01:19PM

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Teachers should be forced to work over summer.

Maybe they could all go to Africa and do some work for Bono or something.

As far as i know a lot of teachers do work during the summer, they don't get paid for those months off.
And the gift thing is more a secondary school kind of thing and even then it's rare, at the end of 6th year everyone who was on the rugby team pitched in to get a jersey for the geography teacher/coach since he set the team up that year and put in extra time he wasn't payed for, we bought it out of our own money though so tbh if i were you i'd just say no.

Rocksteadykk · 30-06-2011 01:19PM

SlimCi wrote: »

We haven't given the teacher a present from this house since my son started school (he's had the same teacher for the past two years) and its only particularly because I feel she doesn't deserve it, she's not very nice, sits eating sweets and drinking coke in front of the children in class, and is overall a fairly useless teacher who shouts at the children all the time etc etc etc...I could go on forever.

I do think if I had not such an objection to her though that I would be shamed into it seeing all the other OTT gifts coming in on the last day. I don't see them giving any of them back though......

Do you give presents back? No? Because its a bit rude isnt it.

mike65 · 30-06-2011 01:19PM

Forest Master wrote: »

No - be a teacher, if it's such a "handy number".

I suggest you go back and read my first post, I said no such thing. I said getting presents was a handy number.

Forest Master · 30-06-2011 01:19PM

Rocksteadykk wrote: »

How does every forum that even mentions a teacher turn into a ridiculous debate about their holidays, pay etc? Its such a joke. If you wanted those kind of holidays you should have done teaching. I'm a trainee teacher doing a postgraduate degree in primary teaching. I spent 4 years studying law only to realise that it wasn't for me. Now I'm not in a great position to be getting any sort of permanent job anytime soon an even when I do actually get a job the money isn't great. It's enough to live off and that's pretty much it. I would have been on an awful lot more if I had stayed with the law firm that I was with. But I didn't....and I'm not bitching and moaning about it either. I will be happy with whatever it is I get. It was my decision. The same way it was your decision to do something besides teaching. So stop whining about the holidays that they get or the pay that they get because as far as I can see teaching the children is the easy bit. It's the parents like the OP who are a massive pain in the arse. It's a tough job...but somebody has to do it. So why don't you? Instead of coming on here and whinging about something that you didn't even have to do. The teacher didn't ask you to buy her anything....so grow a pair...and don't buy her anything!

Absolutely bang on.

Laisurg · 30-06-2011 01:21PM

Forest Master wrote: »

Eh, it was your wife who asked you, so why are you getting uppity with the teacher?

And how are teachers lazy & spoilt? And what makes you think they have "inflated salaries"? Pretty ignorant thing to say, IMO. And no, I'm not a teacher - but I consider it a noble profession to deal with that many kids all day & pass on knowledge. And they probably have to deal with hotheaded ignorant parents too...

Except a lot of teachers are absolute gash who couldn't teach a cat, for teachers starting off i don't think the salaries are high at all but i think the older ones get paid quite a bit, still not sure of the numbers though.

Forest Master · 30-06-2011 01:23PM

mike65 wrote: »

I suggest you go back and read my first post, I said no such thing. I said getting presents was a handy number.

No - you said "retiring for the summer and then spend a couple of months slumped in a chair quaffing cheap wine and chocolates" was a handy number. That also strongly implies the holidays are handy - not just the chocolates, as you claim. And "slumped" in a chair implies laziness.

Forest Master · 30-06-2011 01:24PM

Laisurg wrote: »

for teachers starting off i don't think the salaries are high at all but i think the older ones get paid quite a bit, still not sure of the numbers though.

Yeah, that's some hard evidence there. Defo not hearsay.

SlimCi · 30-06-2011 01:29PM

Rocksteadykk wrote: »

Do you give presents back? No? Because its a bit rude isnt it.

Yes it might be a bit rude alright, but the right thing to do if the gifts are over the top or putting pressure on other parents who cannot afford it and embarassing for the children who don't have the equivalent gifts. Its not about me being bitchy its about doing the right thing, especially in the current economic climate

runawaybishop · 30-06-2011 01:30PM

Rocksteadykk wrote: »

How does every forum that even mentions a teacher turn into a ridiculous debate about their holidays, pay etc?

Because, it seems, many people have anecdotal evidence about a (usually older) teacher that is useless, uses punishments like pulling kids hair, seems to be completely out of touch with kids and generally gives the rest a bad name. The fact that this teacher gets paid for doing bugger all, and doing it badly with increments for years of service where they do less and less each year - then gets paid holidays seems to generate ire in people. Go figure.

Rocksteadykk · 30-06-2011 01:31PM

New teachers will start out on about 28k...and until they are made permanent will not be paid for the summer. So they will have to find something else to work at. In fairness a lot of the older teachers are on very good money. They're the ones that voted on all of the new cuts to newly qualified teachers. It makes sense to try and get rid of them asap...ie the ones with a few years until retirement. They're the ones that are costing the most money. Replacing them with NQT's will save a lot of taxpayers money over the next 10-15 years. Think about it...they're on nearly twice what I would be on starting off!

Wantobe · 30-06-2011 01:35PM

Sent my two children into school today with a bottle of nice wine and a homemade card for their teachers. Think they deserve this and more. Their teachers are fantastic- they are warm, intelligent and do a brilliant job. I know I couldn't handle 30 primary school children, never mind try to teach them something new everyday!

runawaybishop · 30-06-2011 01:37PM

Wantobe wrote: »

I know I couldn't handle 30 primary school children, never mind try to teach them something new everyday!

Neither could I - thats why i am not a teacher. Is it too much to expect people to do their jobs these days?

Rocksteadykk · 30-06-2011 01:37PM

runawaybishop wrote: »

Because, it seems, many people have anecdotal evidence about a (usually older) teacher that is useless, uses punishments like pulling kids hair, seems to be completely out of touch with kids and generally gives the rest a bad name. The fact that this teacher gets paid for doing bugger all, and doing it badly with increments for years of service where they do less and less each year - then gets paid holidays seems to generate ire in people. Go figure.

I've seen some of these teachers first hand...not the pulling hair though lets be realistic here! It is a bit of a joke that teachers who are bad at their job can't really be fired...but tarnishing all teachers because of a few who let us down isn't really fair. It's the same as any other job...I know people in jobs who are useless...but still get away with it. I know you might say the difference is that they can still be fired and I agree...but it's still nearly the same as any other profession out there. Some are good, and some are bad but I think the majority of them do their very best for YOUR children. SO give them a break....stop bitching about them they get a hard time on these forums!

monkeynuz · 30-06-2011 01:39PM

karma_ wrote: »

to all those saying this is madness, just stop and realise that these souls have to put up with your brats for 5 days a week and they deserve a bottle of wine at the end of this ordeal.

I am afraid that most of the teachers I have known over the years do enough drinking throughout termtime that you would think they should take a break from drinking for the summer holidays!

Wantobe · 30-06-2011 01:40PM

runawaybishop wrote: »

Neither could I - thats why i am not a teacher. Is it too much to expect people to do their jobs these days?

I had teachers in school who 'did their job'. I also had teachers that went beyond job description and made school interesting and a place I was happy to be in. I don't think it's too much to ask for teachers to do their job, but I also think it's nice to show a bit of appreciation for a job well done.

Greentopia · 30-06-2011 01:41PM

karma_ wrote: »

to all those saying this is madness, just stop and realise that these souls have to put up with your brats for 5 days a week and they deserve a bottle of wine at the end of this ordeal.

Deserve?? No, what they 'deserve' is to be thankful they still have a job that pays well, earns them a good pension and have more holidays than practically any other profession.

It's that over-inflated sense of entitlement that so many people have nowadays that pisses me off and is turning so many of our young people into pampered undisciplined brats. :mad:
When I was in school some of us made cards for our teachers, that's it!
It's unfair to expect financially strapped parents to cough up for bottles of wine and chocolates. And more fools those stupid parents who buy into this and try and out-do other parents with expensive gifts.

The so-called celtic tiger has a lot to answer for :rolleyes:

Laisurg · 30-06-2011 01:41PM

Forest Master wrote: »

Yeah, that's some hard evidence there. Defo not hearsay.

I was told this by a teacher, what proof do you have that the older ones don't get paid a lot?
Or do you have none Mr Sarcastic?

Paparazzo · 30-06-2011 01:42PM

Rocksteadykk wrote: »

How does every forum that even mentions a teacher turn into a ridiculous debate about their holidays, pay etc? Its such a joke. If you wanted those kind of holidays you should have done teaching. I'm a trainee teacher doing a postgraduate degree in primary teaching. I spent 4 years studying law only to realise that it wasn't for me. Now I'm not in a great position to be getting any sort of permanent job anytime soon an even when I do actually get a job the money isn't great. It's enough to live off and that's pretty much it. I would have been on an awful lot more if I had stayed with the law firm that I was with. But I didn't....and I'm not bitching and moaning about it either. I will be happy with whatever it is I get. It was my decision. The same way it was your decision to do something besides teaching. So stop whining about the holidays that they get or the pay that they get because as far as I can see teaching the children is the easy bit. It's the parents like the OP who are a massive pain in the arse. It's a tough job...but somebody has to do it. So why don't you? Instead of coming on here and whinging about something that you didn't even have to do. The teacher didn't ask you to buy her anything....so grow a pair...and don't buy her anything!

Sounds to me that you are bitching and moaning.

Forest Master · 30-06-2011 01:44PM

Laisurg wrote: »

I was told this by a teacher, what proof do you have that the older ones don't get paid a lot?
Or do you have none Mr Sarcastic?

LOL - you were told what though? Your post wasn't specific about anything. That's my point - you didn't even have ballpark figures for anything you stated - your whole post consisted of "i think maybe", and "not sure though" and "I don't know"... you added nothing to the discussion except a bunch of "dunnos".

Fratton Fred · 30-06-2011 01:48PM

o1s1n wrote: »

Wow OP, talk about scabby. That person just spent the last year looking after and teaching your child every day. The least you can do is buy them a bottle of wine to say thanks.

No they didn't, during the last 44 weeks they spent 39 of them doing their job, for 30 hours a week.

They closed the school at the first sign of snow, they closed the school for a day so they could all attend the wedding of one of the teachers (who somehow couldn't manage to fit a wedding into her busy July and August schedule) and that's on top of closing the sachool early several times for staff meetings.

And in case it hadn't escaped your notice, educating young people is actually their job.

beegirl · 30-06-2011 01:49PM

mailforkev wrote: »

Mrs Me's brother is a primary teacher and you should see the swag he gets at the end of every year.

Enough drink to drop an elephant, DVDs etc. A good few hundred quids worth of bounty year in year out.

Sounds like a school for pirates! :P

Forest Master · 30-06-2011 01:49PM

Greentopia wrote: »

It's unfair to expect financially strapped parents to cough up for bottles of wine and chocolates.

It's not the teachers "expecting" it though - that's what this WHOLE topic is about - the teachers never asked for anything, and it's not a requirement by the school. In fact, it's people like THE OP'S WIFE that are to blame. She's the one who asked him to get wine & chocolates - not the teacher.
So why are you blaming the teachers for "feeling entitled" when they simply aren't?

People are really dumb. Why are the teachers getting blamed because PARENTS try to outdo each other and take it upon themselves to buy a gift voluntarily? It makes no sense blaming the teachers for this situation. Baffling.

Again - I'm not a teacher - but as a logical person who uses common sense, this misguided blame is frustrating to witness.

ColeTrain · 30-06-2011 01:49PM

Wantobe wrote: »

Sent my two children into school today with a bottle of nice wine and a homemade card for their teachers. Think they deserve this and more. Their teachers are fantastic- they are warm, intelligent and do a brilliant job. I know I couldn't handle 30 primary school children, never mind try to teach them something new everyday!

Next time you meet the teacher

Teacher: Your kids were great for making me the card.
You: Did you like the wine?
Teacher: What wine?!

Rocksteadykk · 30-06-2011 01:49PM

OP Just stand up for yourself...I can't even take you seriously if you're not able to stand up for what you "believe" in. Instead of coming on here bitching about it...pathetic

Tipp Man · 30-06-2011 01:49PM

If only we had pumped all that money into educational infrastructure rather than teachers pockets we might actually have a decent education system which gives pupils skills they might actually use in life

We poured money into the pockets of teachers (via their union power) rather than having first class facilities for the kids

And despite giving all of that money to teachers over the last decade our education standards are getting WORSE - unbelievable

Rocksteadykk · 30-06-2011 01:52PM

Tipp Man wrote: »

If only we had pumped all that money into educational infrastructure rather than teachers pockets we might actually have a decent education system which gives pupils skills they might actually use in life

We poured money into the pockets of teachers (via their union power) rather than having first class facilities for the kids

And despite giving all of that money to teachers over the last decade our education standards are getting WORSE - unbelievable

"All that money"???? You mean the wages...that they work for? That goes into their pockets!

Forest Master · 30-06-2011 01:53PM

Fratton Fred wrote: »

No they didn't, during the last 44 weeks they spent 39 of them doing their job, for 30 hours a week.

And at what stage did they ask you for a gift? Oh no, wait - it was your wife that told you to get something - not the teacher. Blame the teacher though, because that makes far much sense... :rolleyes:

Fozzie Bear · 30-06-2011 01:55PM

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I was told to bring home a decent bottle of wine and a box of chocolates yesterday, so my daughter could give them to her teacher.

I'm a bit miffed at this. I pay a **** load of tax and the USC so our teachers can earn their bloated salaries. Now that they have come to the end of their cushty 30 hours a week term, I have to buy them presents as they **** off on their eight week holiday. The teachers should be buying me a bloody present.

Are our schools run for the benefit of the children or the teachers?

So when your wife asked you to get a gift for the teacher, a completely voluntary gift at that. (You are not obliged do to it or anything you know). Instead of manning up and telling your wife about your objections to this voluntary gift you pussy out of it and come on here instead to b1tch and moan like some cuckolded gimp because you are too afraid of the wife!

STFU would ya. Just shut up. You are talking out of your arse about a subject you clearly know f@ck all about.

For the love of christ either buy the f@cking things or don't instead of coming on here and using it as an excuse to start yet another thread bashing "pampered" teachers. Go into an inner city Dublin, or Moyross or Newcastle Co Limerick or Westside Galway classroom for a day and see how pampered they are as they try to control and educate 20-30 dis-advantaged kids. Some of them are foreign and don't speak English, some are abused, or under fed, or crawling with lice, or just filthy dirty and un-washed. Some will have mental health issues, others no books or shoes. On top of that you have parents coming in and verbally abusing you because you are trying your best to steer their kid in a direction that does not lead to mugging Grannies when they leave school at 15 and most of their life in jail after that. And Mammy and Daddy don't like the fact that their little Jonny or Mary might have to do home work or behave in class or not physically abuse other kids or teachers.

Pampered teachers my big white hairy hole. Walk a mile in their shoes before you form an (incorrect) opinion about them and their job.

runawaybishop · 30-06-2011 01:55PM

Rocksteadykk wrote: »

I've seen some of these teachers first hand...not the pulling hair though lets be realistic here! It is a bit of a joke that teachers who are bad at their job can't really be fired...but tarnishing all teachers because of a few who let us down isn't really fair. It's the same as any other job...I know people in jobs who are useless...but still get away with it. I know you might say the difference is that they can still be fired and I agree...but it's still nearly the same as any other profession out there. Some are good, and some are bad but I think the majority of them do their very best for YOUR children. SO give them a break....stop bitching about them they get a hard time on these forums!

I can PM you the names and schools of 2 teachers that pulled hair - one was when i was a kid, the second was about 2 years ago - i found this out when my child told me that their hair was pulled to discipline them for talking in class.

It seems that teachers who completely fail at their jobs are allowed to coast along, get paid holidays and now can expect to get drunk off the back of parents.

No matter how honest or hardworking Mr/Ms New Teacher is, they will have to contend with this image created by others.

I think schools should ban gifts - it puts undue pressure on parents and encourages "oneupmanship". My kids current teacher (who seems to be leagues above his old one) has himself banned all gifts from students and, in a pleasant reversal, actually bought them all an easter egg.

Forest Master · 30-06-2011 01:56PM

Tipp Man wrote: »

If only we had pumped all that money into educational infrastructure rather than teachers pockets we might actually have a decent education system which gives pupils skills they might actually use in life

We poured money into the pockets of teachers (via their union power) rather than having first class facilities for the kids

And despite giving all of that money to teachers over the last decade our education standards are getting WORSE - unbelievable

Best to stick your head back into the sand. Giving us the insight of more of your opinions may lead to further embarrassment.

Gifts for Teacher wtf??

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