Thread by @SenDuckworth

I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for my teachers. This #TeacherAppreciationDay, I want to share a story about one public school teacher (and yearbook advisor) who made a difference in my life

When I was in high school, my dad lost his job & my family had to rely on food stamps. I still remember going to the grocery store and counting out the last five brown $1 food stamps to get some baloney & white bread, praying it would last through the week

It didn’t always though. Luckily for me, sometimes my English teacher would keep a bunch of us after school—then after a while he’d reach into his own pocketbook and say something like:

“Aw, kids, I’m so sorry that I kept you here so late for extra work. Here’s $10, go to Taco Bell, it’s 2 for 99 cents—get something to eat before you go home.” As 16-yr-olds who thought we knew everything, we loved him but thought he was incompetent because he always kept us late

I didn’t understand then why he made us stay after school redoing work so many times each week, but I do now. The kids he kept late were all poor kids like me. He was feeding us—and doing it with his public school teacher’s salary

He changed this student’s life, and acts of selfless kindness like that are repeated in classrooms all across this country every single day. I hope you take time today to thank the teachers in your life who have encouraged you, mentored you and had a positive impact on your life