Teacher Appreciation Week

Elementary teacher with three students reading

"Often, when I am reading a good book, I stop and thank my teacher."

— Anonymous

One great teacher can make all the difference. Teachers may not always see the impact of their work on kids and families, but the testimonies we received from parents, teachers, and students themselves are proof that good teaching is a powerful thing. Get inspired by the voices of appreciation here — and send an e-card to a teacher who has made a difference in your life.

Find ways to celebrate your teachers:

Authors and illustrators celebrate their teachers

Stories from the heart

Building Bridges to the Future

Originally from China, Xiao-lin Yin-Croft learned English as an adult and now helps young Chinese students in the U.S. bridge the cultural and language gap that they face from an early age. Xiao-lin shares her experiences coming of age as a student in China's Cultural Revolution, describes the strategies she uses to help her students develop the language and reading skills they need, and discusses the factors she believes are contributing to her students' success.

Drawing Inspiration from Her "Heroes and Sheroes"

Inès Millin Mevs is an ELL teacher at Boca Raton Community High School in Florida. She has just published an ELL student writing workbook entitled Think Write Book: A Sentence Combining Workbook for ELL Students, which offers language development exercises designed to improve ELLs' writing skills. Ms. Mevs discusses the book, her motivation for writing it, and the many ways in which her students — her "heroes and sheroes" — inspire her each day.

Teaching ELLs How to Succeed

A naturalized U.S. citizen, Felix A. Herrera is a native of El Salvador with a master's degree in conflict analysis and resolution. He has served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the U.S. Army Reserves. The pull of the classroom, however, has kept him coming back to teach. Mr. Herrera offers some of his insights about the problems that ELL students face, as well as the steps that ELL teachers can take to support them.

The Support Students Need

A native of Colombia, Claudia Navarro has lived in the U.S. for more than 27 years and now provides academic support in content areas to ELL students at her high school. The mother of sons who are enrolled at Dartmouth College and Harvard University, Claudia is currently going back to school to earn her bachelor's degree in Special Education. Claudia describes what makes her work as a paraprofessional unique, how teachers and paraprofessionals can best work together, and the support she offers to her students to help them succeed.

Read more From the Heart stories on our sister site, Colorín Colorado.

First person essays

A Letter to My Grandmother

A teacher helps a child improve her handwriting through writing poetry.

My First Day in Adult Special Education

A man describes a compassionate adult education teacher who helps him overcome his fears.

The Story of My Son

A mother describes a positive educational experience her son received, thanks to many good teachers.

Catherine Cat Kelly and the Holiday Kids

A teacher uses the dramatic arts to improve children's creativity and academic skills.

Read more First Person Essays on our sister site, LD Online.

Voices of appreciation

A good teacher gives kids two invaluable gifts: the tools they need to learn, and the drive to want to learn. Discover how great teachers around the country have put these gifts into action.

From teachers, remembering those who inspired them

I remember the night my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Borsavage, called my house to tell my parents how hard I was working to learn my multiplication tables. As she talked to my mom, my dad had me at the kitchen table waiting to scold me for what I must have done wrong. I remember him telling me that teachers only call when you do something wrong – not Mrs. Borsavage. My dad was so proud when my mom hung up the phone and told him all of the positive things my teacher had to say about me. As a teacher, I try to be the Mrs. Borsavage to each of my students.

– Dawn

Notes from parents

Miss Ishimaru makes learning fun by incorporating a lot of rhyming and singing when teaching the children their letters and sounds. She plays games with them to teach them math and science. She has taken my son from being a non-reader to someone who is now reading, and truly enjoying it!

She is also very accommodating to parents. If ever I drop in to ask how my son is doing she never makes me feel as though I am being a bother. She is always patient with me and will often take out his work to show me his progress.

– Erica

Mrs. May recognized my daughter's challenges and was always reassuring in her message and tone. She kept the expectations high for my daughter, and has shown her different paths she can take to reach the goals established.

Above all and most significant is that Mrs. May has instilled in my daughter a real love of learning. She's always the first one up on school days, and at pick-up, she jumps happily from topic to topic about what she did during her school day. This does not happen to all children who are learning challenged – although it can and should.

– Judy