World Teachers’ Day 2019
“Teachers change the world, one child at a time.”
On October 5th, we honour some very important people in our lives and they are our teachers. In a student’s life, a teacher is a very important person who inspires and motivates them. From your everyday classroom teacher, to the teacher who guides you in sports, music and other activities, these individuals are there to help the students to reach their highest potential. Teachers, in our life are not merely educators, they are motivators, problem solvers, ones who understand our full potential and guide us into our careers in life. Away from our parents for the day, teachers at school are the ones who have our best interests at heart and therefore they need to be appreciated in return for the positive impact they make.
The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established World Teachers’ Day on October 5th 1991 and it is celebrated annually in over 100 countries. Some countries have their own day in honouring their teachers, and in Sri Lanka this year, World Teachers’ Day was celebrated on October
5th. However, since it fell on a weekend, schools made arrangements to have observances of appreciation on another day during the week. On World Teachers’ Day, children show their appreciation, by organizing plays, singing songs or having special speeches to honour their teachers.
In India, World Teachers’ Day is celebrated on September 5th. They hold many educational programmes to highlight the importance of teachers. In Vietnam children start preparing a week before to show their appreciation for their teachers. Some prepare pieces of writing, others works of art and even food items are cooked for their teacher’s pleasure. In South Korea students visit past teachers and give them carnations as tokens of appreciation. Other than tokens and acts of appreciation, there are also more formal activities observed.
The day may also be marked by conferences emphasizing the importance of teachers and learning, extra training sessions for teachers, recruitment drives for the teaching profession among university students or other suitably qualified professionals and events to increase the profile of teachers. Unfortunately there is a deficit of trained teachers since the remuneration offered is quite poor and many graduates opt to pursue other careers. Without trained teachers, students will suffer from a dearth of accomplished teaching. Teachers are very important individuals in any student’s life. They help, guide, motivate, encourage and mould a child’s formative years of learning. We are what we are, because of our teachers; remember your teachers on World Teachers’ Day, and show them your gratitude and appreciation.