Local mom advocates for teachers to be gifted cash during National Teacher Appreciation Week

MINT HILL, N.C. – “For whatever reason this year, it’s really, really touched a nerve,” says Mint Hill resident Meredith Carpenter. She is a local mom. A former teacher. And an advocate for gifting teachers cold, hard cash. She says, “It’s actually quite encouraging to see people respond with such enthusiasm.”

Carpenter wrote on Facebook in part, “Bless your heart if you are still gifting a vessel for liquids. Fill it to the brim with singles. Money. In every gift. Always.”

Her post got hundreds of “likes,” and lots of positive feedback.

“It’s something I feel really strongly about,” she explains. Carpenter was a public schools teacher for 11 years. She points out: teachers are no different than any other professional in how they want to be appreciated. “In fact, I would be really flummoxed if my boss gave me a mug, a mouse pad, a laptop carrier, special notepads with my name on it, as a way to appreciate me for what I’ve done,” she says.

According to the NC Association of Educators, North Carolina ranks 38th in the country for teacher pay. NC’s average teacher salary is $13,000 below the national average. And NC’s starting teacher salary ranks 42nd in the nation.

In Carpenter’s popular post that she’s shared every spring for the past few years she also writes, “Don’t you dare buy them something for their classroom. Don’t do it. Shame of all shames.” She says, “Teachers are, all the time, coming out of pocket, and I really believe for Teacher Appreciation Week that it should be a gift for the teacher, not for the teacher to use in their classroom.” Carpenter adds, “Don’t give them stuff for their classroom right now. Fund them for some enjoyment.”

Carpenter says gift cards are okay, but only if you know for sure the teacher truly loves Starbucks, or Target or whatever. Otherwise, she says stick to cash. And don’t forget school bus drivers, either.