End of year teach gifts - do you?

i just had this same talk with my kids teacher.. unfortunately.. she isnt the source of these semi-mandatory end of year appreciation gifts.. its the ptl, pta, whatever its called in yer area. while it is a nice thought to appreciate the teachers.. making it a group activity that all students have to either donate to.. or be singled out as "unappreciative" is just bad form. yer right, money is tight all over the place.. and the seemingly small amount of 5 dollars per child for this group class present isnt a SMALL amount to those parents struggling just to make sure their children have enough milk for the week. so the parents are left with the decision to see to it their children are provided for.. or worrying their kids are going to be in the spotlight for not participating. a better plan would be to have the classroom work on a project in art class or something.. MAKE the teachers a gift or cards showing their appreciations for the year instead. then all could participate.. no one would be left out and feel badly because their parents dont have the money to spare.. and the teacher would get more heartfelt tokens from their students rather than an impersonal basket full of pasta.

When my son was going through each school year, I never bought any gifts because he was just an ordinary kid. With my daughter I felt it was necessary because my daughter is autistic and the teacher has to do more work for my daughter. which meant I was in clsoe contact with her so I felt it is appropriate to do so. yet I cannot figure out what is the best gift yet. another mylot member mention a nice flowering plant.