When a former student sends you a kind email years after he has left your classroom and graduated,

When you receive wedding invitations from former students,

When you are sent a Christmas Card from the family of a former student,

When a former student walks into your classroom just to watch how you still teach,

When you have mementos strewn across the classroom from students of long ago,

When former students send Facebook posts and friend requests after they have grown up,

When a current student who is a younger sibling of a former student says that the family still talks about your class,

When a family asks you to say a few words at a funeral for a former student,

When a former student emails you to ask about what books are on your reading lists,

When a former student ask your advice on a life matter,

When a former student sees you in a grocery store and still addresses you as Mr. XXXX,

When a current student sits in your room to do work because it is a safe place,

When a current student asks you to write a recommendation on their behalf because your words mean something,

When a current student takes another one of your classes,

When your current students have t-shirts made with your face on them to wear on the day of their AP Test,

When a former student sends you a gorilla mask because she still remembers and laughs at the story you told about a gorilla from college,

When current students tell you about plays or concerts they are performing in,

When students want to have their picture taken with you,

When a student and her family see you in a public place they approach and introduce themselves,

When nearly 200 students volunteer for a service project because you asked for help,

When former students send copies of their papers they wrote in college complete with the stellar grade from the professor,

When former students send bound copies of their theses from graduate school,

When you get a “Thank You” note from a former student years after they graduate,

When former students introduce you to their own children,

Then you have been paid the greatest compliment that a teacher can get.