Teachers change millions of lives every day. Even with in-person classes shut down across the country, they continue to educate and support children and their parents in countless ways. This Teacher Appreciation Week, here are some special ways to show your appreciation to a teacher in your life, or your child’s life:

Record their Stories

Thank a teacher using StoryCorps Connect, our new remote interview platform. StoryCorps Connect interviews allow you to spark meaningful conversations and preserve them at the Library of Congress through video conference technology. You can learn more and get the conversation started today at StoryCorpsConnect.org.

Honor an Educator Using StoryCorps Connect

Here is a clip from a StoryCorps Connect conversation between a teacher and the man who inspired him.

Pay tribute to a teacher who helped you become who you are today. Not sure where to start your conversation? Here are some Great Questions to ask a teacher:

Image Text: When and why did you decide to become a teacher?
 
Image Text: Tell me about your first day.
 
Image Text: Tell me about a time when teaching made you feel hopeful.
 
Image Text: How would you like your students to remember you?
 
Image Text: Looking back, what advice would you give to yourself in your first year of teaching?
 

Thank a Hero

Our partner Share My Lesson is asking you to say “thank you!” to teachers, nurses, and public employees, and to support local businesses at the same time. Learn more here.

Share Stories Celebrating Teachers

Listen and share from our selection of stories from teachers of all backgrounds, and the many lives they have touched:

Lessons Learned

From the first roll call of the 1964 school year, Dr. William Lynn Weaver was targeted and harassed by the faculty of his previously all-white high school. Then a former teacher stepped in and saved his life.
Read the full transcript here.

Making It

Noe Rueda tells his high school teacher Alex Fernandez about how as a child, he used his entrepreneurial talents to help his family make ends meet.
Read the full transcript here.

 

story
"I didn't think I would ever tell a teacher..."
2:47
Listener Survey Support
"I didn't think I would ever tell a teacher..."
0:00 / 0:00

When a Student Tells You He’s Homeless

Celeste Davis-Carr, a high school teacher, learned that one of her students was homeless through a StoryCorps recording he made in his English class. One year later, they discuss how his life has changed.
Read the full transcript here.

story
"He said, 'You make sure you call that teacher.'"
1:51
Listener Survey Support
"He said, 'You make sure you call that teacher.'"
0:00 / 0:00

Finding Passion and Saving Lives

Teachers can save lives, sometimes in unexpected ways. One day, middle school science teacher Al Siedlecki received an unexpected phone call from a neurosurgeon — one of his former students.
Read the full transcript here.

story
"At the time, I was tutoring at an after-school program..."
2:14
Listener Survey Support
"At the time, I was tutoring at an after-school program..."
0:00 / 0:00

Learning and Healing in the Classroom

After a personal tragedy, Ayodeji Ogunniyi turned to the classroom as a place to foster healing.
Read the full transcript here.

Want even more stories? Sign up for our Story of the Week newsletter to discover a new voice every week.