InClass

From practical gift cards to splurges, we list teachers' top picks for holiday gifts.

How often do you see hand sanitizer and lottery tickets on the same list? When it’s a Christmas list for teachers, of course! The range of what we need and want, in terms of practicality for our classrooms, juxtaposed with the dream of enjoying oneself over the holiday season, is wide-ranging. So, when I posed the question "What do teachers want from their students for Christmas?" to various educators, their responses landed anywhere between Kleenex and a hug. Don’t you just love teachers?

Beginning on one side of the continuum are practical gifts. Tissue boxes and hand sanitizer is just about as practical as you can get. As we continue on the Christmas List for Teachers spectrum, we come across practical yet fun, such as grading pens and dry erase markers — not just in red and black ink, think outside the box with fun colors and styles. We move to the center with gifts, which do not require a lot of money, but instead a bit more thought. Teachers love homemade gifts because they know it took some time to put together. From pictures to cookies to poems, these can strike a chord with teachers’ hearts… Cue the warm, fuzzy feeling and the resounding gong of appreciation. Finally, on the other side of the continuum are gifts that help teachers have a little fun! We love, love, love those gift cards. Gift cards much appreciated, whether they are for office supply and craft stores (so we can buy tissues and markers), local restaurants, or the ever-popular Starbucks! Ultimately, it is the feeling of appreciation that is most evident in Christmas gifts! This can be in the form of a winning lottery ticket, but just as well as with a hug with a whispered Merry Christmas!

Give yourself the gift of a professional learning opportunity at the Arizona K12 Center. See our list of upcoming opportunities here.

Article Written by Elizabeth Rushton