Technolandy

Day 69 (of 2025/26) Sigh… my bias on gifts for teachers…

On social medias, another trend I cringe a bit at has been the ‘push’ for gifts for teachers. I’ve seen a couple pundits pushing for “C’mon, give a $10 gift card”… but I have always been mindful of the communities I have lived in… not everyone has the resources to provide more than what they are already putting out there. And no gift does not mean not caring for the relationship between family and teacher. 

The hypocrisy is, as my family knows, I love gifts around my birthday (December) and the end of the calendar year. I have always greatly appreciated anything that my learning community opts to gift me with, but always gently encouraged that I never expect anything (that is what family is for..!) 

And sure, sometimes I do get jealous when other educators get some pretty neat (and sometimes expensive) gifts… I’ll admit that. And I’ll join in on the eye rolling when ‘another coffee mug’ gets presented…  but will always be legitimately thrilled that I was thought about and an item was seen and thought ‘yep – that’s for him!’. Kinda happened this week when I VERY unexpectedly had a package on my desk – a student had confirmed my address to send a card, but it was more than a card – two great bow ties and some new dice for our role playing adventures. Absolutely amazing – and this time, it is others who get to be a little jealous of me! It’s a really cool dice collection/organizer!

It is a conflicted point when it blends so easily… too easily… with the ‘tipping culture of north america’ – do you tip professionals? And with recent moves in the US, are teachers still going to be seen and referred to as professionals – even in another country, what happens in the US impacts us. It is why a while back, a friend of our was asking how much they should tip their teacher. My wife and I both kinda laughed, but she raised her point – I tip my hair dresser significantly, and I want to give a tip to the person who looks after my child’s learning journey.  Do we tip on every interaction? Just some? Some restaurants but not others… some service providers and not others? Oi, what a tangled web we weave when trying to figure out all of these twists and turns and financial considerations. 

Maybe that’s the lesson tucked into all this gift-season noise: communities thrive when gratitude is expressed in ways accessible to everyone. A card, a conversation, a shared laugh in the hallway — those can mean as much as anything bought in a store. And as educators, we don’t need tip prompts or trending posts to feel appreciated; we need trust, partnership, and the steady reminder that we’re in this together. So I’ll keep wearing the bow ties, rolling the dice, and appreciating every gesture — big or small — that says, “We see you.” Because in the messy overlap of schooling and society, that simple recognition is still the greatest gift. Relationships matter and continue to be the greatest accelerator to learning journeys – no token required!