If there was ever a year to appreciate teachers, it is 2020.
Held annually on 5 October since 1994, World Teachers’ Day commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. This Recommendation sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions.
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“It’s a different type of busy. There are no gaps, there are no breaks,” said Diane Thompson, a high school biology teacher based in Nashville, Tennessee, where schools started the year remotely.“We’re trying to respond to the (achievement) gaps that are already there and feeling the pressure that we’ve got to cram missed content in. Kids are overwhelmed, staff is overwhelmed, and I think we just need to recognize it’s okay not to be okay.”Teachers described spending countless hours working overtime to create new lessons from scratch, and redesign assignments to work in an online environment. Over the summer, some teachers also spent their vacation time pushing for more coronavirus safety measures in schools and working with institutions to create the safest possible reopening plans. Others fought for the right to work remotely rather than risk exposure to Covid-19.
Meanwhile, parents found themselves trying to juggle working from home, childcare, and helping kids with remote learning. Memes quickly started circulating online with parents highlighting how educators should be paid more.This year involves so much more than teaching, Thompson said. Her school is finding ways to give kids tech support and internet access, as well as food to make up for missing free and reduced lunches at school.Many teachers said they are working as hard as they possibly can to make the best out of a tough situation.”It’s a different type of busy. There are no gaps, there are no breaks,” said Diane Thompson, a high school biology teacher based in Nashville, Tennessee, where schools started the year remotely.”We’re trying to respond to the (achievement) gaps that are already there and feeling the pressure that we’ve got to cram missed content in. Kids are overwhelmed, staff is overwhelmed, and I think we just need to recognize it’s okay not to be okay.”
Teachers described spending countless hours working overtime to create new lessons from scratch, and redesign assignments to work in an online environment.