World Teachers’ Day October 31

World Teachers' Day will be celebrated in Australia on October 31.

It was celebrated in other parts of the world on October 5.

The theme this year is "Teachers -- Opening Doors to a Better World" to illustrate how teachers are the pillars of education: they help pupils develop critical skills; they impart core values; they open up new perspectives, possibilities and hope.

On World Teachers' Day teachers' organisations worldwide mobilise to ensure that the needs of future generations are taken into consideration in this increasingly complex, multicultural and technological world.

UNESCO inaugurated World Teachers' Day in 1994 to commemorate the signing of the Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers on October 5, 1966.

World Teachers' Day also highlights the Recommendation Concerning the Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel adopted in 1997.

More than 100 countries observe World Teachers' Day. The efforts of Education International and its 311 member organisations have contributed to this wide spread recognition.

Education International says that without teachers, education would not be what it is meant to be, because to teach is not simply to tell a child established facts and figures. It is to inspire, to unlock his or her potential, to offer new perspectives, to help children realise their dreams to build a better world. This is the reason why Education International insists on the right of every child around the world to have a qualified teacher.

At all stages of the education system, from kindergarten to higher education, qualified teachers are needed to guide students in developing values that are essential to peace, tolerance, equality, respect and understanding. Qualified teachers help children, young people and also adults develop essential social and life skills, such as trust, confidence, dialogue, critical thinking and self-esteem.

Teachers are the pillars of education. Teachers open doors to a better world. The world tomorrow depends on the world's teachers open up for our children.

Article is based on information from Education International's World Teachers' Day website is at www.ei-ie.org/camp/english/wtd/index.html.

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October 2003 contents