Today, October 5th, is World Teachers’ Day, so take a moment and thank a teacher today!
World Teachers’ Day has been held annually on 5 October since 1994. The day commemorates the anniversary of the 1966 signing in the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers. The purpose of the day is to celebrate the vital role that teachers play in providing quality education at every level.
More than 100 different countries around the globe acknowledge and celebrate World Teachers’ Day, which has grown annually since its inception on October 5, 1994. The global union federation of education professionals worldwide known as Education International has been a strong proponent of making World Teachers’ day a globally recognized and celebrated day.
Teachers are the core of education and it is oftentimes a teacher that gives one not only the education to succeed, but the faith and support, that carries one through. Few professions in this world that will have as profound an impact on our future than teachers, so it is important that their achievements and contributions be recognized. Showing your support to educators and teachers on World Teachers’ Day can be as simple as offering a smile and a thank you.
Besides celebrating and giving thanks to educators, World Teachers’ Day also aims to ensure that the education needs of future generations of students are successfully met by teachers and to offer support to teachers in disaster relief or major crisis areas. This years them is appropriately, “Recovery Begins with Teachers”, and is dedicated to give special appreciation and thanks to those teachers who are affected by a major crisis, such as armed conflict or natural disasters, as their role is vital to ‘social, economic, and intellectual rebuilding’ in those communities and beyond.
The day’s events included presentations of the latest statistics on teachers; initiatives to promote excellence in teaching; developments from the Task Force on Teachers for Education For All; teacher education activities of the UN Relief and Works Agency and how new technologies can accelerate teacher development.
Other ways to celebrate the day include sending an e-card to your teacher, printing and displaying World Teachers’ Day posters and sharing positive World Teachers’ Day photos online, all of which can be done for free on the World Teachers’ Day website.
To learn more about World Teachers’ Day and how you can get involved, visit the World Teachers’ Day official website or follow WTD on Twitter.
Virtual exhibition ‘Tribute to Teachers’
Education International: Posters, Postcards and more
UNESCO calling for stories about heroic teachers
Teachers and learners in emergencies and reconstruction (IIEP)
Latest figures on teachers from UNESCO’s Institute Statistics
