This World Teachers’ Day, Here’s what teachers want you to know

If there was ever a year to appreciate teachers, it is 2020.

Held annually on 5 October since 1994, World Teachers’ Day commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. This Recommendation sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions.

Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future

Teachers are the cornerstone on which we build inclusive, equitable, quality education. The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially compromised teachers’ capacity to maintain education quality due to school closures, the transition to remote teaching and the challenges of returning to school. Yet the COVID-19 crisis has also shed new light on the way in which teachers lead in classrooms, schools and communities.

To ensure quality teaching and learning continue, so that countries do not lose pace in efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, leadership will play an increasing role. To foster a healthy and equitable learning environment for all, including students further marginalised by the pandemic, countries need to provide quality training to ensure teachers acquire relevant skills to strengthen their leadership roles.

The global teacher workforce has expanded rapidly since 2000, yet many more teachers are needed

The total number of teachers worldwide increased by 50% between 2000 and 2019, from 62 million to 94 million teachers (Figure 1).ÔTo reach universal primary and secondary education in 2030, 69 million more teachers are needed: 24 million for primary and 44 million for secondary education. ÔTeacher shortages are most acute in sub-Saharan Africa, where 70% of countries face shortages at primary level and 90% of countries at secondary level (UIS, 2016). Source: UNESCO

And World Teachers’ Day — which is held annually on October 5 — aims to do just that.

Amid a global pandemic, teachers have become even more vital, as they navigate how to help students adjust to distance learning and adapt to Covid-19 safety guidelines in their classrooms.

Many teachers said they are working as hard as they possibly can to make the best out of a tough situation. I am sharing part of the article from CNN here.

“It’s a different type of busy. There are no gaps, there are no breaks,” said Diane Thompson, a high school biology teacher based in Nashville, Tennessee, where schools started the year remotely.

“We’re trying to respond to the (achievement) gaps that are already there and feeling the pressure that we’ve got to cram missed content in. Kids are overwhelmed, staff is overwhelmed, and I think we just need to recognize it’s okay not to be okay.”

Teachers described spending countless hours working overtime to create new lessons from scratch, and redesign assignments to work in an online environment. Over the summer, some teachers also spent their vacation time pushing for more coronavirus safety measures in schools and working with institutions to create the safest possible reopening plans. Others fought for the right to work remotely rather than risk exposure to Covid-19.

Meanwhile, parents found themselves trying to juggle working from home, childcare, and helping kids with remote learning. Memes quickly started circulating online with parents highlighting how educators should be paid more.

This year involves so much more than teaching, Thompson said. Her school is finding ways to give kids tech support and internet access, as well as food to make up for missing free and reduced lunches at school.

Many teachers said they are working as hard as they possibly can to make the best out of a tough situation.”It’s a different type of busy. There are no gaps, there are no breaks,” said Diane Thompson, a high school biology teacher based in Nashville, Tennessee, where schools started the year remotely.”We’re trying to respond to the (achievement) gaps that are already there and feeling the pressure that we’ve got to cram missed content in. Kids are overwhelmed, staff is overwhelmed, and I think we just need to recognize it’s okay not to be okay.”

Teachers described spending countless hours working overtime to create new lessons from scratch, and redesign assignments to work in an online environment.