Celebrating our educators
Teacher Day is a day to acknowledge the sacrifices of teachers and their role in nation building.
TEACHERS Day in Malaysia is celebrated on May 16. Different countries celebrate Teachers Day on different days.
May 16 is the day in the Razak Report; the framework of our Education System and the schooling system that was endorsed and accepted in 1956.
The Teacher Appreciation Day is a day to recognise and honour the contribution of teachers. It is a day to acknowledge the sacrifices of teachers and their role in nation building.
Teachers play a crucial role in educating and shaping the heart and mind of our children. We entrust our children with the teachers and they affect their lives on a daily basis for eternity.
Teachers Day is a day devoted to honour teachers and to say ‘thank you’ to them for their passion, dedication and love.
Most primary and secondary schools and teacher education institutes celebrate Teachers Day with merry making filled with games and food.
In the old days, Teachers Day meant no lessons and children did not need to bring their school bags to school.
There were fun activities drawn up for the whole day. There were speeches and games and concerts and the climax was a big feast with the teachers and children.
Teachers were usually presented with gifts and flowers. Each teachers’ table would be filled with some form of gifts.
Little children would come streaming into the staff-room to kiss the hands of their teachers.
It is a heart warming session that resonates mixed feelings of love and endearment.
Those were the days when Teachers Day was celebrated come rain or shine on Teachers Day..
Every child looked forward to Teachers
Day. It was a happy festive day in school.
However, it is sad that nowadays Teachers Day seems to have lost its appeal.
Some schools and even some teacher education institutes do not put much importance to Teachers Day anymore.
It has been scaled down to mere speeches and some simple ceremony.
In some schools, Teachers Day is also not celebrated on Teachers Day itself and is often postponed to another day because most schools would be having their mid year examinations around this time of the year
and so it is put off to another day.
When Teachers Day is postponed to another day, the day loses its significance.
Primary and secondary schools, colleges and teacher education institutes should celebrate Teachers Day on Teacher Day.
By celebrating Teachers Day in schools, we are instilling in children the significance of
appreciating and remembering our teachers.