DON’T thank a teacher, at least not necessarily. Literacy ain’t what the “edumacationists” say it is, and, for the most part, is NOT what schools foster. (Yes, there are exceptions, but the system we now have militates against literacy. The exceptions swim against the tide. Let’s remain grateful for them.)
The Literacy Crisis in American Schools
Sidebar: teachers in schools were entirely incidental to whatever literacy I attained while in school and get no credit whatsoever for whatever literacy I have managed to acquire outside school. Seriously.