Before We Celebrate Teachers, Are We Supporting Them?
Every year on October 5, the world celebrates teachers.
We share appreciation posts, thank the educators who shaped our lives and acknowledge the important role teachers play in raising the next generation. But beyond the celebrations, there is a question worth asking: Are we giving teachers what they need to do their jobs well? It is easy to say that teachers shape the future. It is harder to examine the conditions under which they are expected to do so. The expectations are high.
Is the support enough?
Teachers are expected to help children understand difficult subjects, manage different learning needs, maintain discipline, encourage creativity and prepare students for examinations. Increasingly, they are also expected to incorporate technology into their lessons and equip children with skills for a rapidly changing world. Yet, these expectations mean little if teachers lack the resources, training, time and working conditions necessary to meet them.
In Nigeria, conversations about education often focus on students’ examination results, school infrastructure and the quality of the curriculum. These are important issues, but the people responsible for bringing the curriculum to life deserve equal attention. A teacher cannot be expected to deliver an engaging, technology-supported lesson without appropriate tools or training. Neither can a teacher effectively support every learner in an overcrowded classroom without adequate time and resources. We cannot demand better learning outcomes while overlooking the conditions that make them possible.
Teachers are people, too.
Teaching involves more than preparing lesson notes and standing before a classroom. It requires patience, adaptability, emotional awareness and the ability to recognise when a child needs a different approach. Some children learn quickly; others need additional explanation. Some participate enthusiastically; others require encouragement before they feel comfortable speaking. Teachers must navigate these differences while keeping an entire classroom engaged. This work requires support, not just praise.
Professional development should be accessible. Teachers should have opportunities to learn new teaching methods, understand emerging technologies and exchange ideas with other educators.
Schools should also create environments where teachers can raise concerns, seek assistance and improve their practice without being expected to have every answer. When teachers are supported, they are better positioned to support their students.
What can parents and schools do?
Supporting teachers is not the responsibility of governments and school administrators alone. Parents and communities have a role to play, too. Parents can build constructive relationships with their children’s teachers, communicate concerns respectfully and reinforce learning at home. Schools can listen to educators when making decisions that affect their classrooms. Communities can recognise teaching as skilled, valuable work rather than treating it as a profession anyone can perform without preparation.
Most importantly, we must recognise that a child’s education is a shared responsibility.
Teachers cannot do everything alone, and expecting them to do so benefits no one: not the educators, not the parents and certainly not the children. This World Teachers’ Day, let’s go beyond appreciationTeachers deserve recognition.
But appreciation should not begin and end with a message, a social media post or a celebration once a year. It should be reflected in the resources available in classrooms, the training educators receive, the respect they are shown and the conditions in which they work.
If we genuinely believe teachers shape the future, then supporting them should be a priority throughout the year. Because every child deserves the opportunity to learn well. And every teacher deserves a fair opportunity to make that possible.
This World Teachers’ Day, let’s celebrate teachers, and ask what we can do to help them thrive.