Friday, October 05, 2007

World Teachers Day (WTD)

October 5th is designated as World Teachers Day, celebrated since 1994. According to UNESCO, WTD represents a significant token of the awareness, understanding and appreciation displayed for the vital contribution that teachers make to education and development.

As I see it, teaching is one of the most important professions in the world. Ok you may disagree saying that doctors or scientists and even, god forbid politicians are better, but a doctor wouldn’t be a doctor if someone hadn’t taught him/ her in the first place. All of us have had teacher in our life, and still do, and we wouldn’t be where we are if not for them would we? Yet somehow the profession of teaching does not get the due respect which it deservers.

In the good old days, at a time when knowledge was held in high esteem (yes, there was a time like that), teachers were held in high regard. However as the world became more money mad and where wealth, instead of knowledge got you respect, teachers have been reduced to mere servants to look after kids. Dumbass politicians, drug lords and others of their sort are the one’s getting the “respect” now. It’s a sad world today. Most teachers get paid in peanuts, and we wonder why they complain and have strikes. In my perfect world teachers and the profession of teaching would be held in high regards, with pay scales to match.
Ok during the school years (a long time ago :D, a time which I sadly miss), nobody likes their teachers and will make fun of them behind their backs at every given chance, but the respect was there. While in school you don’t realize it, but teachers does play a big part in how you turn out in life. I am not saying that all teachers are saints, there are some despicable ones around, but the majority is truly concerned with nurturing the minds of the young.

So I say a heartfelt thanks to all my teachers who have taught me something along this potholed road of life. The truth is that I haven’t seen or heard about many of them after leaving school, but where ever they are they do deserver a big thank you.

Something from the official site:

We, teachers of the world, demand

* A decent working environment - a safe and healthy learning environment for teachers and learners, appropriate class-sizes and adequate pedagogical resources in the classroom;
* Living wages - salaries that allow for decent living conditions and that are regularly paid;
* Equal pay and equal rights for women - female teachers should not experience discrimination of any form and governments should ensure the empowerment of women in the education setting, in decision making and in the workplace;
* Initial and ongoing professional development - the opportunity to gain and to develop professional skills, to be kept uptodate with new information and pedagogical techniques, and to develop a career;
* Involvement in policy-making - to ensure that new policies reflect the reality of the classroom, social dialogue should be an integral part of education planning and policy formulation;
* Collective bargaining to defend and enhance teachers’ rights - working conditions, as well as quality assessments of teaching procedures, must be negotiated between representatives of the government/employers and the representative education unions.

The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence.
Amos Bronson Alcott (1799 - 1888)

Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.
Chinese Proverb

Cheers!!!

7 comments:

Lady divine said...

In our growing years, we spent a lot of time with our teachers...
All what they have done for us has helped us develop ourselves a lot....

Good tribute to them...
May they be blessed always!

Anonymous said...

Hail the teachers! May they teach long!

Though there are some I'd rather not have teache the next bunch of students...

Nadiyya said...

I am educated teacher so on behalf of all Norwegian teachers I say : Thank you for this post! Haha!

Really, all of us are teachers through our relations to others, through our communication, and you are a great teacher yourself Azrael, through your blog.

Lapa said...

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(PASSANGER IN TRANSIT)

BOOKS:

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BORDO”; “MARILHA”; “A TABUADA DO TEMPO”; BRAÇO TATUADO”; “MIGUEL TORGA O LAVRADOR DAS LETRAS”

He has, also, translated into Portuguese the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith.

He has been awarded several prizes.

Don't forget the name of this great author, you'll be hearing of him soon.


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Thanks for visiting.

Azrael said...

LD - very true

Jester - Yeah there are some that are not fit to teach anything

Nadiyya - Your welcome and Thank You :D

Deadmanshonda said...

Way to go Azrael...you are SO right....and I love that you show so much support for such an immensely important and often neglected profession. I'm sure teachers the world over who check your blog are hugging you right now...in their minds, I mean. ;)

Harshadewa said...

My gratitude to all the teachers for what they do and to their gifted ability of teaching. It is truly a skill that should be born with.

In Sri Lanka, Teachers (Most Government) aren't paid well. Thats why they tend to do private classes and thrive students to private classes, downgrading school education.

And I would like to kindly request all teachers; "Do your work to the best you can without moving students out from school to private tuition classes." Because that's one of the best thing you can do to produce healthier and wiser next generation.