Giving a teacher an apple on the first day of school is clearly an outdated practice.
While it’s unclear as to the origin of the tradition, the most common explanation is that farmers would pay or supplement their teachers with apples and potatoes. Or perhaps it’s that instructors usually teach that “A” is for apple.
Regardless, today, many teachers would probably rather receive an Apple computer on the first day of school. We asked teachers what they’d want students to give, for back-to-school or anytime a teacher gift comes up.
Personalized pencils. I would have pencils with “Ms. Ritchie’s Pencil Club” printed on them, suggested Becca Ritchie, computer teacher for a middle school in Renton, Wash. Ritchie usually orders about 500 pencils annually so that she can provide students with pencils whenever they forget their own. “That is no longer an excuse to not do work in my class,” Ritchie said. “One year, I had ‘Ms. Ritchie’s Magic Pencils’ printed on them and told my sixth-grade classes that they were indeed magic pencils. If you use them, magically, your homework and classwork gets done.”
Item finder. “My students and I have joked about me needing the Tile ($25 at thetileapp.com) which helps locate lost items,” said Gus Morales, an English teacher in Holyoke, Mass. “I lose my dry-erase markers constantly, and I also misplace my coffee mug all the time,” he said.
Coffee gift card. “I’d love to receive a gift card for Starbucks, or to a local coffee shop or to a local restaurant,” said Lu Howard, a seventh-grade math teacher in East Tennessee. “Something that allows us a bit of self-indulgence is nice at a time when we’re very busy, and we’re very tired from the long days required to prepare for the new year,” Howard said.
Office supply store gift card. While she always appreciated respect, cooperation and a positive attitude, Kate Hughes, a recently retired special education teacher in Long Island, N.Y., said practical gifts on her wish list would have included gift cards to her local office supply or teacher supply stores. “Teachers at all levels spend hundreds, if not thousands, from their own pockets to organize, equip and to decorate their classrooms,” Hughes said. “We almost always ran out of overhead films before the year was out, and no, not every room had Smart Boards, so we buy a lot of colored chalk or dry-erase markers.”
An array of treats. “I’d love a bouquet of flowers from the garden, a sweet treat to share with my teammates at lunchtime — not homemade, but something listing ingredients because of allergies — and a note of support and respect,” said Carrie Segall, a third-grade teacher in Massachusetts.
Quarters. “One quarter gets me an Aldi grocery cart,” said Beth Denton, a seventh-grade math teacher in Kokomo, Ind. “Two quarters is a cheerful chance to win a toy out of a claw machine. Four quarters is a soda from the soda machine. Twelve quarters is a load of laundry. Another handful of quarters is a (teaching tool) for a student learning to count money and to make change — much better than the plastic toy stuff,” Denton said.
More Top Picks Best Oled Tv
Get-to-know-you gift. “I would love something small that in some way represents who they are — the background or culture that they come from, or something that they would like me to know about them,” said Jeff Bigler, a physics teacher in Lynn, Mass. “It could be as simple as a postcard or a note — what it tells me about the student is far more important than what I might be able to do with it in the classroom.”
Tissues. “One can never have enough Kleenex,” said Anne Patrick, a kindergarten teacher in North Carolina.