World Teachers Day: celebrating the people who inspire our children

They work tirelessly to develop the talents of generations of children but on 5 October they finally get their own chance to shine in the spotlight. World Teachers Day celebrates the dedication shown by the EU's six million teachers and other educators around the globe. However, the demands on them are ever increasing in a rapidly changing world. We asked teachers visiting the European Parliament what the European Union could do to help.

The importance of education

Education is vital to overcoming the challenges arising from the economic crisis, according to Yanka Takeva, head of the Bulgarian teachers trade union, who was visiting the Parliament with a group of teachers. "Europe cannot cope with poverty, unemployment, xenophobia, if people do not acquire proper education," she said. "Teachers are entrusted with an important mission - to assist the personal development of our children so they have an important role to play in the development of society."

Ms Takeva called for the training of teachers and the financing of the education system to be made a priority.   "Europe can contribute by setting requirements in the field of education, for example by a minimum limit of budgetary spending on education of 6% of GDP and minimum wages for teachers. EU should also regulate on measures to support and improve the training of teachers."

Develop skills and knowledge

EU should give teachers the chance to experience how other education systems work, said Dan Svensson, who was visiting the Parliament with a group of teachers and students from a secondary school in south Sweden. He said it would be useful to be able to share ideas and best practices with colleagues from other EU countries through exchange programmes or online discussions.

"It would be valuable to gain insight in teaching and pedagogic approaches in other countries," Mr Svensson said. However, he thinks many teachers are afraid of going abroad because they worry about what would happen to their lessons while they are away on an exchange programme.

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