Is a SWIRL gift card a good idea for teacher present?

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valhal

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I have collected 100 EUR for an end-of-year present for our teacher. I would usually go for a Dundrum gift card but with so many shops closed at the moment, I would prefer to get a gift card that she can use online.

I'm considering a SWIRL gift card. As far as I can tell, it will cost 2.99 EUR to load the card with the 100 EUR and that's the only fee. (If the teacher hasn't spent the money within a year, she will additionally lose 3.50 EUR from the value of the card)

Are there any downsides to providing a gift card like this to the teacher? It's not my money so I don't want to make a mistake with it plus I don't want to cause the teacher any headaches. (She's a fab teacher.)

Open to other suggestions. I don't seem to be able to order a Revolut card for someone else. I have used One4All gift vouchers in the past and found them a pain. I'd prefer not to order an Amazon voucher. (My first preference was to order a gift voucher for a portal where she could buy Irish products but I struggled to find one that both had a wide range of products and sold gift vouchers. I also looked at Irish eco sites but there wasn't a wide enough variety of products or access to gift vouchers.)

Note also that I do not have her personal email address.

Thanks for your help! :)
 
One4All seems to have gone downhill, Me2You I think are better now.

Have heard good things about SWIRL though from a colleague who got one - for online use it would be better than the above. Accepted anywhere that takes mastercard. I think you might need the a home address for it though, could be wrong on that.
 
I am outraged. Is this 2nd-level or a primary school? €100, from students in this day and age and the shameless teachers accept it? What ever happened to a thank you card signed by the class, a mass bouquet or a small donation to the teacher's favourite charity?

Children are being inculcated into our gombeen-man back-hander culture in schools now. Is the board of management aware of this or do they encourage it?
 
Thanks @oddyssey06 that's good to know.

Thanks to the large class numbers we have in Ireland @mathepac it's a voluntary and anonymous €5 each. The card is signed as from the kids in the class so it's inclusive of all children whether their parents are in a position to contribute or not. Or whether they wish to. About two-thirds contribute. Some choose to contribute more than is asked.

To my mind, this comes back to the value of teachers in our children's lives and in society as a whole. I have friends and relatives who are teachers and who regularly use their own money to buy materials and resources for their class because they can't get it from the School. This particular teacher is beyond wonderful. Not all are I know.

I'm reminded of this video about the 'value' of teachers:
Taylor Mali on the value of teachers
 
Teachers are also very well paid, get time off for conferences, union meetings, public & church holidays as well as having far longer holidays than most employees in the country, etc. Shame on them. New sign for the school notice boards: "GRATUITIES EXPECTED & ACCEPTED"
 
The phrase "I don't believe it" springs to mind here regarding a certain poster! If parents or children believe a teacher deserves a gift then good for them if they are able to organise something like this. Teachers should not in the least feel embarassed or ashamed in accepting such a gift - it is a clear indication that they are doing a good job and that it is appreciated.
 
I would think accepting this gift could put the teacher in an awkward position. What is the school policy around individual teachers accepting gifts? She could be breaking school policy rules around accepting gifts. Its sets a bad precedent in my opinion.
 
I agree that it might be a problem for a teacher to accept a large gift from one student but this is a collection of €5 gifts for a primary school teacher so I can't see any ethical implications there. I don't know if there's a policy - it's certainly the norm for parents and schools that I know.

It's a good question though in light of the changes in assessment happening in the secondary school system.
 
valhal said:
It's a good question though in light of the changes in assessment happening in the secondary school system
Click to expand...

You are right to start early with the false evidence lead though. "Look, I have done this every year - since that Kinder Mini in Babies. When you consider inflation.............":)
 
valhal said:
It's a good question though in light of the changes in assessment happening in the secondary school system.
Click to expand...
This was my first thought in reading the title of this post. It is a very dangerous precedent imo. I also think your teacher will feel awkward on receipt of it. I know your intentions are good but I would run this by either the head of the school or/and the management. How would you feel if she was disciplined because someone reported him/her later on ? Box of chocolates maybe but no vouchers.
 
elcato said:
This was my first thought in reading the title of this post. It is a very dangerous precedent imo. I also think your teacher will feel awkward on receipt of it. I know your intentions are good but I would run this by either the head of the school or/and the management. How would you feel if she was disciplined because someone reported him/her later on ? Box of chocolates maybe but no vouchers.
Click to expand...

I understand your point but, at the same time the situation is ridiculous. The poster indicated that it is a large class and at least 20 kids contributed while some didn't (or couldn't). The gift will be signed on behalf of the whole class -contributors or not. But to avoid any misperceptions the teacher will get 20 or so boxes of chocolates instead - probably not only unwanted but actively "diswanted". That is more frustrating for those who wish to show appreciation with a token than it is for the recipient.
 
I just think it is a bad idea...I would hate if this precedent was started in my children's school and would feel pressured into contributing. I have enough to be forking out all year to the school without another completely unnecessary amount.
 
Jeysus, talk about turning something small into a political issue!!!

You can buy a Dundrum voucher They print off the email and collect the card when they can.


Getting a primary school teacher a present has been going on as long as I can remember. I used to do it when I was a kid (I'm 44) but we used to get them individual presents, usually something crap. Now the class pools the money and gets a voucher so they can get something decent. If you don't want to contribute, you don't have to.

Teachers have done a tremendous job during the lock down and it has been much harder for them then normally teaching the class. They have tons of questions coming into them and more work to correct. I have already thanked my kid's teachers for the work they have done through this and have no hesitation in making a contribution to a voucher for them.

Secondary school teachers don't get presents so it will have no impact on future grading systems.
 
Thanks @SBarrett but I've decided not to go with Dundrum because there's so few outlets open at the moment. I've bought the SWIRL card now so that's it.

I didn't expect so many replies :oops: but thanks for your time everyone :)
 
So if primary school children (or their parents) giving money to their teacher is as innocuous as some claim, then the OP will have no difficulty posting here or PM'ing me the name of the school, the class concerned and I'll contact the principal and the board of management myself. Just to get their position on the matter as these are the only views that count. No? Then you know in your heart and soul that the €100 back-hander, under-the-counter payment to the teacher is wrong.

Why has no-one answered my question about a card, a thank you card signed by all the pupils? Is it possible that's because as it has no monetary value and will be binned as thanks only have value if there's a three figure euro number attached to quantify them? €50 = thanks, €100 = thank you, €200 = thank you very much, €400 = a lads I'm grateful, etc.

What value a card and a work of art produced and signed by all the class? Why not a little poem or short essay where the children express their gratitude to the teacher about what / how s/he helped throughout the year? Too old-fashioned, cringe-worthy and valueless to be discarded because none of them can be thrown over the bar with the other vouchers to subsidise a "right good auld tear" during the prolonged holidays.

I wonder how many parents of children in that class have had their hours cut or lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 virus? How many of them would love to be still doing "tremendous job during the lock down" and not subsidising unnecessary and unappreciated luxuries for a well-paid teacher in full time employment? What family necessities might that €5 have provided? Do the teachers know? Or do they care?

I wonder how many of the supporters of this ugly demeaning practice are teachers?

I suppose it's only fair that their fellow public servants should benefit from this new tradition. I'll ring the local tax office and see who has been looking after my files for the last few years and get the names of the tax-payers in the same tax district. We'll all lob a few quid into the kitty and buy a gift-card and a thank you card.
 
This is a joke, right?

Our kids give a €5. If someone can’t, they don’t, and the teacher gets one nice present (e.g. a Jo Malone candle plus flowers etc) rather than loads of rubbish. The card is marked as being from everyone even if someone didn’t contribute.

It’s as innocuous as one can get.

Kids don’t have one teacher at Secondary so it’s not relevant.

This has to be a joke!
 
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I thought it was too until I realised they were handing over cash to people in full employment. Does anyone want to be the kid who hasn't a fiver to hand over, the fiver that won't be missed and won't be mentioned by classmates ever? Do you want to be that child? Children don't bully and parents don't gossip, that of course is the other side of this appalling story.
 
I was in hospital once and I heard the nurses/night staff who were looking after me talking about getting a takeaway. I insisted on paying for it. I suppose you think that they should have been reported to the INMO and the HSE for accepting a Bombay Pantry chicken korma and naan bread from a patient?

Primary school teachers are underpaid in my view, they do really good work with our children, and they build quite strong relationships with them. A whip-round at the end of the year of €5 per child (i.e. 10c a week) to buy a token gift makes absolute sense and is completely proportionate. It makes far more sense than 30 kids each buying a gift for a fiver or wealthier people breaking rank and spending more.

Assuming this isn’t simply a wind-up, honestly, have people nothing better to be outraged about?
 
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