The Yorkshire Post says: A word of thanks. Teachers and end of year gifts
IT IS symptomatic of modern society that the end of the academic year is overshadowed by the now perennial debate about gifts for teachers '“ and how much should be spent. As columnist Christa Ackroyd points out in today's Life & Style supplement, one school felt the need to impose a cap of £50 to put a stop to the one-upmanship.
Yet, while it is welcome that families do recognise the role of teachers, some of the extravagances risk being insincere or, in the more extreme cases, vulgar. It shouldn’t be like this. There’s every likelihood that a home-made card, and cake, will have more resonance because they come from the heart than a more expensive gift purchased for the sake of keeping up with the Joneses (and appearances).
And why the special focus as the summer holiday begins? A note saying ‘thank you’ – the two most under-used words in the English language – will mean even more during term time when pressure on teachers is, inevitably, at its greatest.