Teachers Rate Sweets as Popular Gifts from Pupils
Kids who want to "apple-polish" their teachers might consider a gift of chocolate or candy. In a recent national survey, elementary school teachers gave top grades to sweets as gifts from their students, noting they would prefer receiving a box of chocolates 4-to-1 over receiving a traditional shiny red apple.
Teachers enjoy chocolate and other candy, and their pupils apparently have taken note. In their teaching careers, nearly all (97 percent) of teachers said they received chocolate or candy as a gift. Over the past year, 80 percent of teachers in grades Kindergarten through eighth grade have received chocolate as a gift from their students.
Both male and female teachers have equal appetites for chocolate-milk chocolate to be precise-reporting it to be a favorite gift. Chocolate was also equally popular among teachers of all ages in all regions of the United States.
When do teachers get sweets from their students? Valentine's Day and Christmas are the top two chocolate gift-giving occasions, followed by the last day of school. Holidays are also a time for sharing chocolate and other candy in the classroom, with 81 percent of teachers reporting that they hand out these goodies at those times.
Teachers apparently enjoy their sweet gifts. Sixty-two percent of elementary school teachers said they eat chocolate at least once a week, and nearly 57 percent reported eating candy other than chocolate at least once a week.
While most teachers reported receiving chocolate or candy as a gift from students during their teaching careers, the following items round out the top 10 gifts received from pupils:
- Chocolate and candy (97 percent)
- Coffee mugs/cups (55 percent)
- Flowers/plants (54 percent)
- Christmas ornaments (44 percent)
- Gift certificate (43 percent)
- Jewelry (36.5 percent)
- Baked goods/fruit (30.4 percent)
- Clothing (30.4 percent)
- Knickknacks (28 percent)
- Bath/body products (25 percent)
The survey, conducted by the National Confectioners Association, polled 720 teachers across the United States.