Saturday, October 5 , is World Teachers’ Day. It is a day set aside to acknowledge the teaching profession. It is also a day to appreciate teaching professionals all over the world.
Teachers are conduits for learning. They give learning experiences they have first received to their students. The quality of the learning experiences they have is the quality of the learning they give and the teaching experience they build for themselves. Teachers ought to be appreciated so they can up their game in the quality of learning experiences they have and give.
In what ways therefore can teachers be appreciated to mark the World Teachers’ Day this year? I will make some suggestions here, but nothing is binding. Appreciation is like a freewill offering. Each employer of teachers, parent of students or individual that wants to appreciate teachers should do so at his/her own level and by his/her own will. I can only make suggestions.
Ways to Appreciate Teachers on World Teachers’ Day:
Commendations
1. (For the employer of teachers) Send out an address (speech) to the teachers under you to commemorate World Teachers’ Day (like a president or governor would do on memorable days). Let the address convey your recognition of their role, your appreciation, and your wishes/prayer for a brighter future.
2. Send personalised note or text of appreciation to each teacher. Make it as distinct as possible so that it really connects with the average teacher.
3. (Very important; school owners should take note). Encourage parents to call to say Happy Teachers’ Day’ to their children’s teacher(s). Whether this gesture is accompanied with a gift or not, it will be golden for the teacher.
Bestowal
1. Tell the world about your teachers and how good they are.
For school owners, get on social media and put out a post and picture(s) taken for the ocassion (to appreciate your teachers individually or in group). For those that are not aversed to being mentioned on social media, tag their own profile so their own friends and followers can get to know they are being appreciated.
2. For individuals who want to appreciate their old teachers, do a post (with or without a picture/image), mentioning the teacher and the role he/she played and tag him/her if on social media. Whether or not he/she sees it, whether dead or alive, you have bestowed honour on the teaching profession.
3. For individuals in enviable positions and as a result commanding the press (Governors, Senators, Commissioners, LG Chairmen), bring one or two of your old teachers to the spotlight. Celebrate them publicly to commemorate World Teachers’ Day. Let it make the news. That way, you are telling the whole world that teaching is worth it.
Participatory Honour
Don’t just appreciate the teachers. Give them the opportunity to appreciate themselves.
1. (For school owners) Organise a photoshoot session ahead of the Teachers’ Day. Give each teacher an opportunity to take some good pictures. Most will use the quality pictures on their social media platforms. Encourage them to comment on Teachers’ Day and their experiences as a teacher. They are doing if for themselves and their profession.
2. Circulate images/banners about World Teachers’ Day or that which commend teachers and the teaching profession (I am coming up with some images before the end of the week). If the images are of good quality and the message on them is unique and positive, the teachers will use and share them on their own.
3. Make souvenirs commemorating World Teachers’ Day (pen, jotter, journal, t-shirt etc), with a unique slogan/message commending teachers. Let it go round all teachers on the payroll.
Merit Awards
(For employers of teachers). If you are going to have awards, don’t have the winner takes all’ kind. It can be counterproductive to have one teacher carting home the whole reward on a day set aside to appreciate all teachers. So, spread the awards and let as many teachers as possible go home with a prize.
You can award prizes for the following:
a. Punctuality
b. Dress code adherence
c. Lesson Plan Submission
d. Meeting deadlines (generally)
e. Teacher(s) with the best good feedback from parents
f. Teacher(s) with the best decorated classroom
(List not exhaustive. There can be more than one awardee for each category)
In addition, group awards can be given to the different arms (creche, basic, secondary) and different departments (English, Science, Commerical, Arts) so that all teachers are somehow included in the awards. The goal here is inclusion not exclusion..
Enhancement Training
It is good for teachers to have a jolly time on World Teachers’ Day. But it can also be a time of career enhancement.
For school owners, bring a trainer to your (WhatsApp) forum and let him/her share essential knowledge with your teachers for an hour or two. Prepare your teachers ahead to be ready to ask relevant questions. If the trainer is resourceful enough, this alone can make their day
Also, you can arrange an onsite training where the trainer will be there physically with your staff. Whether online or onsite, your teachers stand to benefit a whole lot.
Grand Events
Employers of teachers can hold an event to commemorate Teachers’ Day. October 5 is a Saturday, and that is Party Day in this part of the world. Have a special lunch or dinner for your teachers (you can ask them to bring their spouse along). Have fun, eat good food, play some good games, and address them on what the day is all about at the end. If you are planning to hold an event but Saturday is not convenient, you can have it another day (before October 5 or after).
Good Gifts
This is coming as one of the last points because I am shying away from emphasising it (it should have been the second after Commendations), but it is important as well. It will be good for the average teacher to have a gift to show his/her family that day. Whether it is a souvenir, an award prize or a personal gift given to appreciate him/her, it will score a good point.
So, school owners, kindly look into this. Parents, without any compulsion, you can give a gift to your child’s teacher. For individuals who want to appreciate their old teachers, if that teacher is still alive and you know where he/she is, send a gift of appreciation. He/she deserves it.
For school owners, a good gift to give is self help/motivational books on personal development. (I have a list ot such books that I can recommend privately). Such a book can turn gold if read, asimilated and its ideals acted upon by the teacher.
Make A Promise
(For employers of teachers). To further boost the morale of the teachers while marking the Teachers’ Day, the employer can announce a benefit or incentive in the offing for teachers. Only make sure you do not promise what you cannot fulfill because that will be counterproductive at the end. The benefit can be about welfare, improving the school environment or standard, renumeration, training etc. Again, only make a promise that will be fulfilled.
Those are different ways teachers can be appreciated. I hope every employer of teachers will digest and pick at least a couple of them to work on so that his/her/its teachers can have a great Teachers’ Day on Saturday.
Michael Omisore is the author of Smart and Brilliant Writing book series. He has several articles on education online. He can be reached through his handle @mdomisore and email mdomisore@yahoo.com.
Featured Image Source: UNESCO
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