World Teachers' Day

View our 2012 World Teachers' Day video. Every day, in classrooms around the state, Queensland teachers are making a difference educating and inspiring young Queenslanders. World Teachers' Day, on the last Friday of October, is a chance to acknowledge our teachers and say thanks. Celebrated in more than 100 countries world-wide, World Teachers' Day was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1994 to celebrate the role of teachers in society. World Teachers' Day is held internationally on 5 October. As the day usually falls during school holidays, Queensland celebrates on the last Friday of October each year. The day is a wonderful opportunity to draw public attention to the important role of teachers in our local communities. The department recognises the outstanding work of its teachers through the Teacher Career Milestones program, presented each year on World Teachers' Day. Queensland state school teachers are also recognised through the My Favourite Teacher program announced during State Education Week. My Favourite Teacher gives students the chance to nominate a teacher making a difference in their lives. Check out last year's recipients online.

World Teachers' Day 2013

In 2013, World Teachers' Day will be celebrated on Friday 25 October. Speak to your local school, TAFE or early childhood centre to find out what activities or events have been planned.

Get involved
There are a number of ways schools, TAFEs and early childhood centres can promote World Teachers' Day and acknowledge the valuable contribution of your teaching staff including:

working with parent and community groups to acknowledge teachers encouraging teachers, parents and caregivers to join the department's Facebook and Twitter campaigns promoting World Teachers' Day to your local community.

All that I have achieved in my life is because of my teachers. Some of them were formally designated as my

teachers -- in school, college, and university. Others, such as my parents, were my teachers nonetheless. Here are some happy Teacher's Day quotes to celebrate the best teachers in our lives. Forest Witchcraft A hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the bank, but the world may be a better place because I made a difference in the life of a child.

Take a stand for teachers! is the slogan of World Teachers Day 2012 (5 October) which UNESCO is celebrating along with its partners, the International Labour Organization, UNDP, UNICEF and Education International (EI).

Taking a stand for the teaching profession means providing adequate training, ongoing professional development, and protection for teachers rights.

All over the world, a quality education offers hope and the promise of a better standard of living. However, there can be no quality education without competent and motivated teachers.

On this day, we call for teachers to receive supportive environments, adequate quality training as well as safeguards for teachers rights and responsibilities...We expect a lot from teachers they, in turn, are right to expect as much from us. This World Teachers Day is an opportunity for all to take a stand.

Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General

Teachers are among the many factors that keep children in school and influence learning. They help students think critically, process information from several sources, work cooperatively, tackle problems and make informed choices.

Why take a stand for teachers? Because the profession is losing status in many parts of the world.. World Teachers Day calls attention the need to raise the status of the profession - not only for the benefit of teachers and students, but for society as a whole, to acknowledge the crucial role teachers play in building the future.

At UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, the focus of the 2012 World Teachers Day celebration will be on how to attract top graduates to teaching and how to raise the status of teachers.

Partners are also urged to organize events around the world in order to make the day a truly international celebration.