A survey has shown that while parents say they’re feeling more grateful about the word teachers do, the teachers are not necessarily feeling the appreciation.
While 53% of parents said they were more grateful, only 15% of teachers felt more appreciated.
One teacher told the survey that during the online period, parents were suddenly more appreciative than usual but now that school was back, appreciation levels were “back to normal”.
Another teacher felt parental anxiety and expectation had increased since the pandemic hit.
Some teachers however, had received emails from students and parents showing their appreciation.
“A few words of genuine appreciation makes all the hard work feel worthwhile,” a teacher said.
One parent said her child’s teachers “went above and beyond, dressing up as a mermaid and taking a video at the beach in the middle of Winter.”
Another teacher had a daily joke to keep the kids engaged and another teacher phoned parents to see how kids were doing mentally and physically rather than academically.
A Mum said that teachers ‘have the patience to deal with so many children, all with different personalities, at one time.”
Other parents said that they are in awe that ‘they manage a whole class of students to do the same activity’ and another parent quipped ‘they have to plan an online meeting with 4 year old kids.’
According to the survey, 77% of parents surveyed prefer to get their child’s teacher a gift card when it comes to end of year gifts. Of teachers, 82% said they preferred to receive a gift card rather than a tangible gift.
The survey was conducted by GroupTogether, an online site that helps groups collect money for gifts.
