World Teachers' Day

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Edward Hessler

Today, October 5 2019, is World Teachers' Day, aka International Teachers Day, a UNESCO designation.  It was founded in 1994. The Wiki entry notes that the aim is "appreciating, assessing and improving the educators of the world and to provide an opportunity to consider issues related to teachers and teaching." This is not a trivial purpose!

This day is not much celebrated, acknowledged may be more accurate, in the United States but I'm in favor of appreciating teachers as well as understanding the nature of their work and the kind of support they need. The work is difficult and important.

I suggest you read this post by retired English teacher, Peter Greene who writes wisely based on deep experience about the hard part of teaching. It reminds me of the minute-by-minute decisions a teacher makes each day, almost all of them moral ones.

Which leads to follow, for how long and to what end. How much help, when and how. The endless hands and who to call on. Making time to teach and help students learn. How to allocate time for science, technology, engineering, maths, art, English, social studies, music?