TEACHERS AROUND THE WORLD CELEBRATE

TORONTO, Oct 4 /CNW/ - Ontario Teachers' Federation President Rian McLaughlin issued this statement on the eve of World Teachers' Day:

Ontario's 160,000 teachers in our publicly funded schools are honoured to be joining their 55 million colleagues across the globe recognizing World Teachers' Day.

World Teachers' Day, held annually on October 5 since 1994, commemorates the anniversary of the signing in 1966 of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. It is an occasion to celebrate the essential role of teachers in providing quality education at all levels. Its aim is to mobilize support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future generations will continue to be met by teachers.

The UNESCO theme for this year, Recovery Begins With Teachers is one that encapsulates what we know about returning to normal after a disaster of any kind—the first step is to get schools open again.  In Canada we are supporting that theme with a national statement—Canadian Teachers - doing it right.

Whenever or wherever there is human tragedy—the hurricane in Haiti, the floods in Pakistan, or the persecution of teachers anywhere—Ontario's teachers are always at the front of the line to offer their expertise and to open their cheque books.

As the President of OTF,  I want to take time to congratulate and thank Ontario's teachers for striving to 'do it right' on a daily basis for all of their students.  At a time when our colleagues in the United States are under attack from so many, we should take a moment to celebrate our profession, our schools and ourselves.  We have much to be proud of in education in Ontario and we have much to share with our colleagues.

The Ontario Teachers' Federation is the advocate for the teaching profession in Ontario and for its 160,000 teachers.  OTF members are full-time, part-time and occasional teachers in all the publicly funded  schools in the province—elementary, secondary, public, Catholic and francophone.

To find out more about World Teachers' Day visit:

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/multimedia/photos/photo-galleries/a-tribute-to-teachers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiU3alizKDQ&feature=channel

For further information:

Kathleen Devlin
Director, Policy & Public Affairs
416.966.3424