Battles broke out in parent chats over gifts for Teacher’s Day

A few days are left until Teacher’s Day, a professional holiday for teachers, when the vast majority of parent committees give gifts to the current Makarenkos and Sukhomlinskys. Previously, everything was simple and without discussion: a bouquet, a vase, a chocolate set. But then tastes became more refined with a rich consumer choice, and the value ceiling for a gift was limited to three thousand rubles.

Therefore, on the eve of each holiday, and doubly before Teacher’s Day, the class experiences drama: what to give, “how much” to chip in, how to bring the activists of the parent committee back to reality?..

Endless extortions – this can happen if the “maternity hospitals” are too active and filled with wealthy non-working mothers. Although “collecting for curtains” is now not accepted and may even be fraught, given the fight against corruption, there are still those who despise the limits of restrictions.

“We moved from another area and changed schools,” says Marina from Cheboksary. “And I was surprised to learn that giving a teacher a new laptop, a pendant with diamonds, or tickets for a cruise on a ship for the holidays is not at all the norm.

Moreover, we had an ordinary district and a very ordinary school. But even since kindergarten, the parent committee was ruled by a group of “glamorous mothers.” All of them did not work and really loved shopping in the shopping center, and the same principle was transferred to the purchase of gifts for school.

For every absolute holiday, we donated 2-7 thousand as a whole class, so that there would be “a good gift, and not some kind of bullshit.” And no one objected, everyone somehow got used to it, they were afraid to seem like rednecks or poor people. Now our school collects 5 thousand a year for various classroom needs. I don’t understand why I used to endure extortion from people who simply had nothing to do with themselves.

As parents admit, almost everywhere choosing a gift for Teacher’s Day turns into a battle. And these battles unfold with battles in chats, collecting about two hundred messages a day.

MK interviewed several parents of schoolchildren about what gifts they give to teachers from the class. What I heard was amazing. Among a dozen options: a hanging country swing, an orthopedic mattress, a set of massage oils, a box of gladiolus tubers, an automatic toothbrush, non-stick baking dishes – from the thrifty.

From the original category, the following items were offered in the chat: a certificate for a flight on a two-seater plane, binoculars, a gramophone, a samovar, a bouquet of dried nuts and fruits, a jewelry tablet case or an eyeglass case. But, perhaps, everyone got a set of winter tires, which was suggested by one dad, a car mechanic.

“In our school, any discussion of gifts is based on a scheme,” says Lyudmila from Balashikha, mother of 6th-grader Alexei. — First, the most active mother writes: “Girls (although there are also men in the chat), it’s time to collect money,” this is about a month before the event. Then these wild offers of gifts begin, with accompanying “graters”.

I especially liked the dialogue between the two dads, who were arguing: “You’re just like a woman. “The woman herself!” Offers to “go out and talk” are heard periodically. Ladies talk more about each other’s families and ages. As a rule, this daily show with hundreds or two messages ends with the same mother writing: “Okay, girls, we’ll give what we gave last year.” Usually this is a certificate for perfume or cosmetics or tickets to the theater – our teacher is a passionate theatergoer. And then the “second part of the ballet” begins: we chip in “for Maryivanna” for so much, hand over the money. And again: why so little, and why so much, I can after my salary, but I can’t, why, I’ll give it personally… Our main activist also finds it necessary to throw into the class chat lists of everyone who donated money under numbers, and with updates after each added…

If you listen to those who are directly celebrating the holiday – teachers, utilitarianism reigns among the wishes for gifts. Stationery and a box of printer paper are a welcome gift for all times.

They also want headphones, a mouse for the computer, speakers – these are also always needed, including in the classroom. Many people, especially in elementary and middle school, love hand-made “creatives” from students: drawings, homemade cards, painted mugs, and so on. But not everyone. And then you need to find out preferences, which, in principle, is not difficult at school.

Many teachers will be happy with good tea or coffee, luxury chocolate, books, a diary, tickets to an event and certificates equivalent to a certain amount. There are still teachers who love flowers. And there are those for whom the best gift would be a certificate for charity – it can be spent on helping children or, for example, on food at an animal shelter. And in their internal public pages, teachers admit that the best gift for them for Teacher’s Day would be an additional day off.