Do American school children really bring an apple as a gift to their teacher?

26 comments

1. I brought christmas presents of like puppy chow and a mug for my teachers. But that was about it.

2. As far as I know, it’s a relic from a time when teachers were paid very little or not at all, so appreciative parents of students would send their kids to school with produce from their farms to give to teachers to help supplement their income. I imagine some teachers still get gifts of apples these days, but only as a token of tradition.

   Teachers still get gifts from students, including snacks and food, but few apples. My mom is a teacher and every year after Teacher Appreciation Day she brings home more candy, coffee mugs, and Starbucks gift cards than she knows what to do with.

3. No, it’s not common.

   My school actually prohibited gifts from students to teachers, as a way to hopefully prevent favoritism.

4. A long time ago but not in recent decades

   It’s just a saying now, and an old fashioned stereotype

5. I remember in like 2nd grade someone did this and our teacher got excited, probably because it’s something we all saw in tv shows growing up.

   But no, it might have been a thing at one point in the past but it’s mostly just a tv trope today.

6. Apples, no. Candy and Starbucks gift cards yes. But usually just for birthdays or holidays.

7. It’s an old trope. I’ve been teaching for 25+ years and never gotten an apple from a student.

   It is pretty hilarious that the red apple is still used as a symbol for teaching and schools.

8. Teachers get all sorts of gifts from their students. Apples are not one that I’ve seen but I’m always surprised by the stuff my sister seems to get from them. Gift cards, candy, etc.

9. No.

10. Some kids bring gifts but I’ve never seen an apple. My kiddos teacher got gift cards to Starbucks, target and chocolate. Sometimes wine.

11. No not really, that’s a very old tradition that virtually nobody participates in these days. More common is kids bringing gift baskets from their parents before breaks or graduation.

12. Never received an apple but I have received many things with apples on them

13. A friend once got very nice, expensive underwear as a gift from a second grade boy. What were the parents thinking?

14. my mom, a kindergarten teacher, never received apples. teacher gifts were usually more like gift cards, pictures or cards the kids drew, candles, lotion… stuff like that.

    apples are still kinda associated with teaching, though. it’s common imagery to find on logos or things for a classroom. my mom had all sorts of notepads and pencils with fun patterns and shapes. apples are a common teacher themed thing, especially for younger grades.

15. Hannukha gelt actually comes from kids skimming off the top of gifts to teachers and tutors.

16. That was in the 1950s, today they prefer hollow-points.

17. It’s just a common trope.

18. Every teacher I had got an apple at least once.

    Except my 3rd/5th grade teacher (I got her twice) who collected art glass shoes. My mother dealt in antique glassware so I gave her glass shoes.

19. No, it’s a fictional trope from a Norman Rockwell painting. It’s something that would happen in an idealized world. I left joints for my fave teachers.

20. Potted plants, gift cards, and things like that are more common today.

21. I teach in the community college system. One of my students actually did bring me an apple last week.

    But no, it’s not common at all.

22. It isn’t common and is a very outdated idea, but it is still retained in symbolism: schools and businesses that cater to teachers will often use an apple as a symbol.

    I teach high school and I have received apples as gifts before, always from someone being deliberately cliche. Also, teaching in a highly agricultural area, I occasionally get a bag of fruit as a gift from a student or parent. Usually not apples, since they aren’t the major crop here: oranges and tangerines are probably the most common that I’ve received.

23. I never did

24. Not in this century.

25. Students bringing apples to teachers is a trope that comes from the early 20th century. Apples being printed or appliqued on every item marketed to teachers is still an irritating reality.

26. I used to bring a rose (from our rosebush) to my elementary school teacher every year.