How different countries celebrate teacher appreciation

Some ways to celebrate teacher appreciation on World Teachers Day (WTD) every 5th of October, or your own national Teacher Day.

For those of you looking for a little creative inspiration on teacher appreciation and how to celebrate World Teachers' Day, school-wide or in the classroom, listed here are a few ways that people in the past have celebrated:

• An essay competition was initiated in Quebec for students aged 6 to 17. Entitled “Mad, mad, mad about my teacher”, the competition gave children an opportunity to write about a teacher whose influence on their lives was decisive.
• The Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) launched a new website on October 5. It featured downloadable “Thank you” cards for students to print, fold and send to their teachers as a token of teacher appreciation. Read CTF’s World Teachers Day message.
• The Queen of Spain gave a reception to teachers. Teacher appreciation was shown with many activities and a special classic music concert at the national auditorium in Madrid. Spain’s “Homenaje al maestro” (homage to teachers) campaign for teacher appreciation was great. Have a look (Spanish)
• On WTD, 20000 apples were given to pedestrians at the main railway stations of Helsinki to express “Teachers’ humanity and personality”, the theme of the day.
• Students in Finland made the world's largest pointer using fir trees as a way to show their teacher appreciation.
• Algerian students demonstrate to show their teacher appreciation.
• The Austrian teachers' union also focused on technology as they organised an interactive presentation called “From the Letterstreet to the Datahighway” where they displayed all the activities students and teachers had already performed using the computer and internet.
• Namibia organizes a teacher appreciation song and poetry event, and awards are given to the best performing schools. • In Albania, teachers’ organizations help the media to provide a thorough coverage of WTD and promote teacher appreciation in society.
• In Estonia, local authorities and educational institutions held festive receptions to honour the teachers and show this Baltic nation’s teacher appreciation, together with concerts, theatre performances, and balls.
• In Mozambique, a national homage to teachers is conducted by the country’s media during the whole week.
• In the tiny island republic of Sao Tome and Principe cultural and sporting activities were organized such as men's and women's football matches between teachers. You could also organise a student vs. teachers game or mixed teams.
• In Mexico a teacher appreciation ceremony is done every year at the Monument to the Teacher in Mexico City. Similar acts are done in all state capitals. The minister for Education normally participates in the Mexico City event.
• Samoan students express their teacher appreciation with a sports, music and dance competition.
• Showing films about teachers, like “Mr. Holland's Opus”, is always an entertaining way to celebrate WTD.
• Round tables discussing topics on education and working conditions of education personnel are often thought-provoking and informative.
• Collective cooking may also be a great idea if you know what your teachers like! Or just involve them in the cooking process. It will be fun and you can make a lot of food for the whole class.