I am always appreciative of any gift a student and family give me at the end of the year, but I am also a little uncomfortable with such gifts, too. My job is to teach. It’s my passion, too. Thank You’s are just fine with me. I don’t need gift cards or whatever to understand appreciation for our year of writing and reading together.
One student this year put paint brush to (recycled) cardboard and gave me her own painting of a saxophone. That’s my main musical instrument. Of all the tokens, this is my favorite, for it shows I shared myself with my students. (I also got a New York Giant mug and some New York Yankee pens).
I loved this saxophone so much, I put it through some photo filters to make a collage.
Peace (played soulful on the saxophones of the world),
Kevin