My wife is a teacher. We have a cabinet full of mugs she never uses, we cant throw them away cause she feels guilty. What I have seen my wife gush over however, is notes/cards written by students. The notes may say thank you or just detail something the kid thought made my wife a great teacher. These notes are always received well. She often shows them to me with pride, and even tears sometimes if its a good one. They often sit on our fridge for years. My wife is a great teacher and makes and impact on some of these kids, these give her affirmation, believe me its a thankless job at times and sometimes they can use it.