World Teachers’ Day is an international day observed on October 5 every year to celebrate the work and contributions of educators. The day aims to recognize and appreciate the role of teachers in advancing education, as well as the importance of their contributions towards the development of society and humankind.
The day also marks the anniversary of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) October 5, 1966, adoption of the ‘Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers’. This document sets out the rights and responsibilities of teachers, as well as the standards for their initial preparation, further education, recruitment, employment, teaching and learning conditions.
Yukon Minister of Education issues a statement to thank teachers
On this occasion, Yukon Minister of Education Jeanie McLean issued a statement to thank teachers for their incredibly important work. She said:
“Teachers, to you we say shäw níthän, merci and thank you for the incredibly important work you do each day for our students and our society.”
She also acknowledged the challenges that teachers face in their profession, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She said:
“This World Teachers’ Day, we also recognize that teachers need the support of our governments and our communities. From early learning, through elementary and secondary school, to postsecondary education, the Yukon’s educators provide students of all ages with knowledge, valuable skills, stability, support, guidance and inspiration for a lifetime of learning. It is our responsibility, as a society that benefits from the services of teachers, to stand with our educators and to uplift and support them.”
Yukon government announces initiatives to support teachers
Minister McLean also announced some initiatives that the Yukon government is undertaking to support teachers across the territory. These include:
- Investing in the Ready-to-Learn Schools initiative, which provides training for teachers on how to best support children in their classrooms.
- Adding 81 new full-time student support positions over the next three years, along with a $1 million investment in student support initiatives, such as hiring Elders, Knowledge Keepers and other community leaders.
- Investing an additional $27.3 million in school facilities, $3.5 million in early learning and childcare, and $1 million for recruitment and retention of rural education professionals.
- Embracing UNESCO’s 2023 theme for World Teachers’ Day: ‘The teachers we need for the education we want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage’. The Canadian Teachers’ Federation also selected a theme for this year: ‘The Empty Classroom: Challenges and Solutions to the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Crisis’.
Minister McLean concluded her statement by saying:
“In Yukon schools, we have classroom teachers, learning assistance teachers, educational assistants, language teachers, including Yukon First Nation language teachers and Elders, counsellors and more. Every day, educators in the Yukon make significant contributions in the lives of learners of all ages, as well as towards the future of our society, including the not-too-distant future leaders of the Yukon and our communities.”
