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Health & Fitness

Blog Post: An Apple For Teacher at Christmas?

Should you give your child's teacher a gift at Christmas?

The state of Alabama has a State Ethics Commission that prohibits public employees from accepting gifts except with "de minimus" value. In other words, one must not give a gift of too high a value or the giver will be subjected to a year in jail and a $6,000 fine. The difficulty in interpretting this law is that Alabama doesn't offer a dollar amount as to what is too much or too little to give as a gift. So I guess the giver takes their chances.

As to what to give their teachers at Christmas, the Ethics Board has said that "hams, turkeys or gift cards with a specific monetary value are not permissible." Homemade cookies, coffee mugs and fruit baskets are okay.

I can understand that a state might have concerns about undue influence when it comes to some state employees like...oh, say, politicians. But when it comes to teachers, I say teachers deserve whatever they are given at Christmas time. In all my years of teaching I've never seen a teacher given anything that was excessive or unreasonable.

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If company CEO's and bank executives can receive bonuses of millions of dollars for essentially doing very little personally to increase company revenues, why shouldn't teachers, who influence and shape the minds of our children, not be allowed a small perk?

In general, gifts for teachers kind of fall by the wayside after elementary school anyway, so we're talking about a fairly small portion of teachers who get a gift. I did receive the occassional gift when I taught on the high school or middle school level, but it wasn't like a parent offered me a Lexus, LCD TV or even a Shuffle Ipod. I usually got cookies, candy, books, nice pens, more cookies and in one case, two kittens..which didn't thrill me a lot. But how can you deny a gift that is given from the heart?

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When I taught on the Private School level I did get offers to use family cabins at Arrowhead or a timeshare in Cabo, but I never accepted those offers. I really don't think many teachers would. So that Ethics Commission in Alabama might want to rethink their overall stategy here.

Personally, I think teachers deserve perks and gifts at Christmas. They provide a service that is invaluable in our society and they get paid very little for it (compared with others in society who don't have as much direct influence on others as teachers). I don't see that baked goods, candy, or even a small gift card to Barnes and Noble or Starbucks is hurting anything. If a teacher is doing a good job and even proving to go above and beyond expectations with their duties, then showing gratitude seems reasonable.

I appreciate parents who show gratitude towards their children's teachers at Christmas, even if it's just a card with a handwritten message that indicates how much the parent appreciates what the teacher has done for their child. Trust me, personal gifts don't have to be expensive. Teachers appreciate the thought and validation of their efforts. It's a good time of year to show that to teachers and any other non-family members who make a difference in your life that you care.

Oh, and I'm glad i don't live in Alabama (for many reasons)!

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