Mum applauds teacher's clever idea to end pressure of buying Christmas gifts
A teacher has been praised after a letter home spared parents from having to go hunting for a perfect Christmas present for her.
Instead the teacher has requested that parents who would usually be picking up gifts for staff focus on doing something "heartwarming" - in a bid to ease the constant financial pressure during the festive season.
In 2019, Steff Ravenhall's daughter Harriet Warring, 7, came home with a letter from her teacher Mrs Gardner.
Likely anticipating the mountains of chocolates and red wine that would come her way, Harriet's teacher thanked parents for their "kind generosity" of Christmases gone by but asked that it be redirected this year, Chronicle Live reported.
The letter said: "I would like to reduce your stress a little and ask that you don't buy me a gift. I thoroughly enjoy teaching your children and my job is a pleasure to do."
Shop prices 'are yet to peak and will remain high' as inflation hits new heights
The deputy head and year two teacher urged parents at the St Patrick's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided School in Dipton, County Durham to send an anonymous donation of no more than £2 to help those in need as an alternative.
Mum shares teacher's brilliant idea to end pressure on parents to buy gifts for school staff. A teacher at St Patrick's School, in Dipton, said she 'thoroughly enjoys' being a teacher and doesn't need a Christmas present. (ChronicleLive/ WS)Mrs Gardner said at the time: "This half term we will be focusing on money in maths and the real meaning of Christmas in our RE lessons. With this in mind I would like the children to be involved in the social responsibility of giving and kindness and plan to support a local family."
Children were encouraged to bring in their donations in envelopes where possible and then they counted up the cash inside to use it to buy an item from the local shop.
Steff, 26, was so impressed by the idea she shared a photo of the letter on Facebook in the hope of encouraging other schools to follow suit. The mum said: "I just thought it was really heart-warming, and it obviously takes the pressure off, because you do worry about getting the teachers presents at this time of year.
"My daughter has been to a few different schools and it's always a topic of conversation for the parents, who is getting something, who is not going to bother, how much they're spending. Everyone just wants to get it right.
"The bit that got me the most was the fact that it was going to a local family. It's an important age, in year two, to be learning about the value of money, which is a really important lesson as well. And it teaches them that it's not just about receiving, it's about giving back.
"I've never seen another school do anything like this, lots of teachers will say to you 'oh, don't bother', but actually getting a letter saying 'here's what you can do instead' and there's a lesson kids are learning at the same time, that's what's really good about it."
Other teachers have been inspired by the idea, and the mum was flooded by messages online from teachers hoping to share the idea.
One woman commented: "This is an amazing idea and I wish other schools would do this!"
Another said: "This is a wonderful idea! Well done that teacher."
Banksy's artwork has been removed in cities all over the world - see which ones
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
