Give to Your Teacher: Show You Care by Helping Them Care

A teacher is the next best thing to a parent. They are such a big part of our growth, yet often undervalued. But it doesn’t take much to change that. Here is some advice for showing you care with the right kind of gift:

Know your teacher. Usually teacher’s go into education believing they can make a difference in people’s lives. For this reason, mugs and thank you cards don’t always reach right to the heart, though they are received politely and gratefully. You don’t want to do what everybody else has been doing, and what you can predict they will do again this year. Be unique. The starting point of that would be to know the teacher and what it is they are passionate about. After all, they started teaching to help others – how can you help them fulfill their mission?

While they receive their mounds of mugs and plants, give a gift that says you care about what they care about. Consider giving to charity in their name. ‘Charity’ can be local or international. For instance:
Children in need, even at the very school the teacher works at. Teacher’s struggle when their students struggle. Sometimes situations at home make life at school more difficult than the norm for a child. Take action and set up a fund (perhaps privately) for students in need at the school, all in the name of the teacher.

Underprivileged education. There are students all over the world. The brave and adventurous, who believe in education for all, may travel to new worlds to teach at an orphanage or community school. But that doesn’t mean our backup and support has no meaning at home. Not everyone can go, but anyone can give. Consider donating to a child’s education through an international organization, again in a teacher’s name.
If, on the other hand, you would rather give an actual object for them to remember you by, and still show you care about what they do, here are some other ideas:

Buy a garden for the school. Environmental education is a proactive solution to reducing the planet’s deterioration in the future. When kids learn at a young age, they can be equipped with the knowledge they need to improve our lives for the better by taking care of mother earth. Donating a few dozen plants to a teacher’s classroom will allow the chance for a lesson that will make a difference. Imagine going on a tree-planting field trip to help fight pollution…

Bake a healthy snack. With tests to mark and homework to check, teachers spend even their evenings doing work. Keeping up with nutrition can be a hefty task when there’s so much to do. By baking a healthy snack, or even preparing an oven-ready meal, you can contribute to a teacher’s well being!

Donate used toys to the classroom. This could work for furniture too. Why let those old puzzles and doll houses go to waste? Give them to the classroom! Teacher’s always have to stay well-stocked with things for their kids to play with. This is one case where your junk could become another’s treasure.

Make a slideshow. Going digital is a great way to reduce the amount of trees we cut down to make paper. Use a simple program like Power Point or iMovie to make a quick, yet fun, slideshow of photos you’ve taken throughout the school year. You’ll have to be a little sly with this one, but the end result will surely bring smiles to a teacher’s face for years to come. Include little effects (usually installed in the program) and captions to remind them of the fond memories. Write a thank you note at the end to let them know how appreciated they are. You can either deliver it electronically, or burn it onto a disk and make a custom-cover case for presenting.