What Pen To Get For My Teacher?

[Rimdeker]

I hope I won't seem like a giant douche but first of all, I want to get a ballpoint pen not a fountain pen. *gasp*

 

So yeah, I wanna get my biology teacher who was very caring to me and is a very dear person to me a gift and I was thinking of buying a nice ballpoint pen. The first thing that came into my mind was a Montblanc Meisterstück pen but a) I am not sure if he would like it and b ) they're pretty expensive. So I thought I might ask you guys for some alternatives.

A few facts about my teacher:

 

He is a male teacher. I think he is religious, though very open minded and liberal. Nobody would notice his religious side if he wouldn't occasionally say something like "God be with you" or "Go but go with God". He is in his 50's. He's got good humor. Cares a lot for his pupils and often vouches for them. Takes the grades and efforts of his pupils very personal and says he has uneasy nights when another exam is near and he believes that some of his pupils lack the knowledge (mostly due to their own fault). Not a very big person. Teaches biology and geography. He really likes gothic architecture or gothic art in general (doesn't Caran d'Ache have some that look really gothic-ish? He likes art in general very much. He is a big fan of Thomas Hunt Morgan and Gregor Mendel. I think he prefers silver to gold.

 

I hope you can help me out folks, would really appreciate it. He did great things for me, helped me out in situations all the other teachers would let me fall, through. He was my safety net more than once and I really wanna show him my appreciation so contrary to what I wrote above, please pick a pen you believe he might enjoy and nevermind the price.

 

Thank you very much.

[bitterwonder]

I would get him a nice card. We are not allowed to accept gifts at our school, even though a ball point pen is a traditional teacher gift.

 

I'd vote for a card.

[Yuki Onitsura]

Sounds like an amazing man. If money's no object, maybe something from Mont Blanc's patron of the arts series?

 

Yuki

[MidnightBlue]

Being a teacher, I would gratefully accept a Krone Edgar Allan Poe. Thanks very much........after all, I was only doing my job.

[JefferyS]

Anything you get will be fine, and the less expensive the better.  I think that a card is the best idea.  Words endure forever in the memory.

Edited June 21, 2011 by Jeffery Smith

[Rimdeker]

I would get him a nice card. We are not allowed to accept gifts at our school, even though a ball point pen is a traditional teacher gift.

 

I'd vote for a card.

 

Yes, he is not allowed to accept any gifts from any pupils. I once bought him a big package of Merci (praline-like chocolate) and he said that he mustn't accept it, after I insisted he said that he will put the package on his office desk so pupils who enter his office can take one and such. Anyhow, I graduated this year thus I am officially not his pupil, anymore.

[GOB Bluth]

I am a teacher, and there is nothing that says I cannot get a gift. I get gift cards all the time. So, that is one way to go and it would ensure that he gets what he wants. The other way to go is to get something not too expensive. If I were getting a pen as a gift from a student, I would feel awkward (I think...unless it was really awesome) getting something expensive. What if I lose it? So, what about something like a Fisher Space Pen? Looks like a science teacher would be all over it. I saw them on fountainpenhospital.com for under $30. That, to me, would be an awesome gift.

 

http://www.fountainpenhospital.com/images/fisher_images/CH4.jpg

 

[Rimdeker]

Being a teacher, I would gratefully accept a Krone Edgar Allan Poe. Thanks very much........after all, I was only doing my job.

 

As mentioned in the original post, he did way more than most teachers would. He did not see it only as his job but like a personal mission to raise a successful generation after another. He is a great teacher, the kind you barely meet nowadays. The kind of teacher you wanna put an apple on his desk.

[Rimdeker]

I am a teacher, and there is nothing that says I cannot get a gift. I get gift cards all the time. So, that is one way to go and it would ensure that he gets what he wants. The other way to go is to get something not too expensive. If I were getting a pen as a gift from a student, I would feel awkward (I think...unless it was really awesome) getting something expensive. What if I lose it? So, what about something like a Fisher Space Pen? Looks like a science teacher would be all over it. I saw them on fountainpenhospital.com for under $30. That, to me, would be an awesome gift.

 

http://www.fountainpenhospital.com/images/fisher_images/CH4.jpg

 

 

It's not allowed, because it's considered bribing.

[JefferyS]

If I were given a MB pen, I would not accept it, even if it wasn't breaking the law. If a professor anywhere I have taught or taken classes accepted such a gift and it became known, it would likely end his/her career. Do whatever you do, but be aware that it can have devastating consequences.

Edited June 21, 2011 by Jeffery Smith

[Rimdeker]

If I were given a MB pen, I would not accept it, even if it wasn't breaking the law. If a professor anywhere I have taught or taken classes accepted such a gift and it became known, it would likely end his/her career. Do whatever you do, but be aware that it can have devastating consequenses.

 

Oh wow, that would be terrible... :/

[Yuki Onitsura]

Another non-pen suggestion: why don't you take him somewhere nice for dinner? That way you can talk about how much he's done for you and reminisce about the good ol' days.

 

Yuki

[orfew]

If I were given a MB pen, I would not accept it, even if it wasn't breaking the law. If a professor anywhere I have taught or taken classes accepted such a gift and it became known, it would likely end his/her career. Do whatever you do, but be aware that it can have devastating consequenses.

 

Oh wow, that would be terrible... :/

As another teacher I have to agree with the above comments from Jeffery. Some of my most treasured possessions are the thank you cards I have received from students. I have a file for them and every once in a while, when I want to get inspired, I read them. I am glad your former teacher has inspired you. Remember that teachers need inspiration as well.

 

My advice, take the time to buy a card on nice stock, think about why this person was important, and hand write a nice long note. Think of this as another way to 'pay it forward'.

[Octo]

First. A written letter or card of thanks to your teacher would be very appropriate. If you wonder what to tell him, just re-read your posts in this thread.

 

Second. A similar letter to the principal telling what a good job your teacher does and requesting that your letter be placed in the teacher's personnel file IF you think it will help rather than hinder.

 

Third. Wait five or ten years and send your teacher another letter telling how what he taught you made your life or career better. That letter will be the gift of a lifetime, but shouldn't replace the one you write now.

[MidnightBlue]

Give him an apple.Thanks

[corniche]

Greetings Rimdeker,

 

I must go along with the "letter" crowd on this one myself; I've had a couple of fine teachers that I tried to give gifts to through my academic period- both times I was warmly and cordially rejected with the same response. If they accepted the gift they would be in violation of their contract and if discovered... would lose their position, (neither was tenured ).

 

I think a sincere and heart-felt letter would probably make a more memorable impression on him that any manufactured product ever could. You say he is a religious man; I would think a couple of relevant quotes from the Bible or the Quran* within the context of the letter would be most welcomed and appreciated by him.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

*: Being German/Turkish yourself; I'm assuming your professor is either Christian or Muslim.

Edited June 21, 2011 by S. P. Colfer

[Rimdeker]

Greetings Rimdeker,

 

I must go along with the "letter" crowd on this one myself; I've had a couple of fine teachers that I tried to give gifts to through my academic period- both times I was warmly and cordially rejected with the same response. If they accepted the gift they would be in violation of their contract and if discovered... would lose their position, (neither was tenured ).

 

I think a sincere and heart-felt letter would probably make a more memorable impression on him that any manufactured product ever could. You say he is a religious man; I would think a couple of relevant quotes from the Bible or the Quran* within the context of the letter would be most welcomed and appreciated by him.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

*: Being German/Turkish yourself; I'm assuming your professor is either Christian or Muslim.

 

Yes, I guess a letter it will be then. I am certain the Bible has many relevant quotes. Thank you all for your suggestions. Come to think of it, a letter is even more difficult than getting the money to buy a Montblanc pen lol and still so little compared to what he deserves...

 

Third. Wait five or ten years and send your teacher another letter telling how what he taught you made your life or career better. That letter will be the gift of a lifetime, but shouldn't replace the one you write now.

 

Haha, that's a good idea. He is, contrary to what most people would expect due to his religious side, a very dedicated scientist and a defender of science. I remember how he once asked our class what we would study and if any of us would study something science related and I was the only one who raised his hand as I was going to study particle physics. Anyhow, it made him really happy. Maybe I'll add a copy of my diploma to my second letter.

[Shangas]

Is writing a letter and leaving the pen in the envelope a practical alternative?

[Koyote]

If I were given a MB pen, I would not accept it, even if it wasn't breaking the law. If a professor anywhere I have taught or taken classes accepted such a gift and it became known, it would likely end his/her career. Do whatever you do, but be aware that it can have devastating consequences.

 

You are almost certainly incorrect, at least here in the US. I have been a college professor for a long time, have worked at four different colleges/universities, and have never heard of a rule prohibiting the receipt of gifts from former students. In fact, gifts from current students are even pretty common, though they tend to be of a token nature.

 

The OP apparently is in Germany or Turkey, and I have (in past) received lovely gifts from Turkish and German students - so I would guess that, in those countries, such gift-giving is acceptable.

 

I'm not suggesting the the OP should buy a fancy pen for the teacher; I am just stating the Jeffery Smith's post is questionable.

Edited June 21, 2011 by Koyote

[bassopotamus]

If I were given a MB pen, I would not accept it, even if it wasn't breaking the law. If a professor anywhere I have taught or taken classes accepted such a gift and it became known, it would likely end his/her career. Do whatever you do, but be aware that it can have devastating consequences.

 

You are almost certainly incorrect, at least here in the US. I have been a college professor for a long time, have worked at four different colleges/universities, and have never heard of a rule prohibiting the receipt of gifts from former students. In fact, gifts from current students are even pretty common, though they tend to be of a token nature.

 

The OP apparently is in Germany or Turkey, and I have (in past) received lovely gifts from Turkish and German students - so I would guess that, in those countries, such gift-giving is acceptable.

 

I'm not suggesting the the OP should buy a fancy pen for the teacher; I am just stating the Jeffery Smith's post is questionable.

My University specifically has a rule against accepting gifts from students, to avoid undue influence. Even if we didn't, I would feel very uncomfortable if someone gave me anything of value.