World Teachers’ Day 2026

I remember Mrs. Wendy, who instilled a love of writing and wordsmithing that I still have today.

I remember Mr. Garbas, who opened every history class with his signature line: “You can pay me now or pay me later.”

I remember Mrs. Johnston, who held my hand and walked me to the office when I wasn’t feeling well.

I remember Mrs. Ozols, who gave kind, yet firm, reality checks about the world after graduation.

I remember Mr. Malpass, who once arrived at school in a Rolls-Royce because, well, he could.

These are just some of the teachers I remember. There are others whose names have been blurred by time. But even if I can’t recall every name, I can still remember the feeling of being taught, encouraged, challenged and cared for.

That feeling is the essence of World Teachers’ Day 2026.

What is World Teachers’ Day?

World Teachers’ Day was first established on October 5, 1994, as a celebration of educators and education .

The date marks the 1966 adoption of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers , which established baseline standards for, among other things:

• Teacher rights and responsibilities
• Recruitment and fair employment opportunities
• Classroom and working conditions

World Teachers’ Day 2026 is the 60th anniversary of UNESCO’s landmark recommendation.

It’s also a chance to recognize teachers who shaped us in ways we notice immediately. And in ways we don’t notice until years later.

A day to reflect on the teachers who taught us the rules of grammar (and when to break them), showed kindness and compassion and who somehow made the Punic Wars sound thrilling.

It’s a look back, a look ahead and a reminder:

• A look back at Mrs. Wendy’s perfectly loopy handwriting on the chalkboard, or the pin-drop silence in Mr. Garbas’ class as we all chose to pay now.

• A look ahead at the challenges and changes facing teachers worldwide, both inside and outside the classroom.

• A reminder that investing in teachers is also an investment in children, society and our collective future.

And this year, World Teachers’ Day asks a very important question:

What does it mean to stand with teachers and support and protect the teaching profession today?

I remember delivering handmade cards, along with loaves of my mom’s homemade Easter bread, to my teachers to show thanks and appreciation.

While heartfelt cards and baked goodies are always welcomed, teachers need more than our gratitude.

Supporting and protecting the teaching profession means ensuring teachers have the resources, training, respect and backing they need to do their jobs well.

When I first walked through the maroon double doors of Prince of Wales Elementary in 1981, this is what it looked like:

• A teacher had a chalkboard…
• …and a box of chalk…
• …and a stack of textbooks…
• …and a classroom full of students…
• …and, most importantly, time and space to teach.

Forty-five years later, on World Teachers’ Day 2026, we are reminded that today’s classroom looks very different.

Technology is everywhere. Learning takes place in-person or remotely. Students are learning coding, along with cursive.

But amid all that’s changed—and all that continues to change —one thing remains the same:

Children still need teachers.

And teachers need our support. And the teaching profession needs protection.

Where do we start?

Maybe it starts by ensuring that teachers can do the thing they became teachers to do: teach.

Teachers are facing new challenges today

World Teachers’ Day 2026 is a time to focus on the modern challenges of teaching. When I was in school:

• Mrs. Wendy didn’t like it when she ran out of chalk.
• Mrs. Johnston wasn’t happy when the library card catalogue was out of order.
• Mr. Malpass was annoyed when his Rolls-Royce (seriously, where did he get that car?) was scuffed.

And now?

Technology is everywhere

Smartboards, not chalkboards. Tablets, not textbooks.

Projects, assignments, permission slips and more are submitted via online portals. Parent-teacher meetings are scheduled online. Teachers are using technology to teach, and students are using it to learn.

Yet, with all this new technology, teaching is still fundamentally human.

And it all has to work together, somehow.

Because when it doesn’t, everybody falls behind.

Running out of chalk? That’s an inconvenience. A frozen smartboard with 29 students waiting? That’s a lost lesson.

What happens outside the classroom impacts those inside it

Climate change . Displaced refugees and migrants . Natural disasters .

Education is affected by factors far beyond policy and curriculum.

Although the world can be unforgiving and unfair, teachers are still expected to provide a safe and inclusive learning-focused environment.

And teachers do their best to create one.

Some even build one from nothing.

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Against the odds: Isa's mission to protect education

Meet Isa , a refugee teacher who fled the conflict in Sudan with his family.

Upon reaching a settlement camp, he saw many children, but no school.

With support from World Vision , he opened a single classroom which has now expanded to three primary schools and a secondary school serving over 440 children.

Read Isa's story now

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Teachers need a voice

Teachers don’t just magically appear at the front of the classroom.

They train. They learn. They prepare.

And then they teach.

Teachers know their students. They know their classrooms. They know what works and what doesn’t.

No policy manual told Mrs. Johnston to hold my hand on the walk to the office. She just knew.

Teachers deserve to have a meaningful voice in the decisions that shape how they teach.

Teaching needs to be sustainable

We can’t just ask teachers to do more. We need more teachers.

Everywhere.

It’s estimated that 44 million teachers will be needed by 2030 to achieve universal basic education for all. Many countries in Africa are especially affected, with an estimated need for 15 million new teachers by 2030.

Where will they come from? Why will they want to become teachers? Will they be granted the working conditions, opportunities for professional development and fair compensation they deserve?

Teaching is a noble profession. It’s a hard one, too. And it needs protecting.

Because if we can’t protect the teaching profession, we cannot attract teachers to it or keep teachers in it.

What World Teachers’ Day reminds us

Let’s use World Teachers’ Day 2026 to think about the teachers we remember and how they made us feel:

• Mrs. Wendy made me feel purposeful.
• Mr. Garbas made me feel history.
• Mrs. Johnston made me feel safe.
• Mrs. Ozols made me feel prepared.
• Mr. Malpass made me feel the hand-stitched black leather seats in his Rolls-Royce.

The teachers I remember had different personalities, different teaching styles and different lessons to share. But they all had one thing in common:

They were there.

Now, what about you? Maybe you remember:

• The teacher who encouraged you to ask questions.
• The one who noticed when you were struggling.
• The one who pushed you when you needed a push.
• The one who stayed in at recess to listen while everyone else was outside.
• The one who believed in you before you believed in yourself.

That’s what’s remarkable about teachers.

They don’t all teach us the same lessons. But the good ones always leave something behind.

Let’s protect teaching and celebrate teachers on World Teachers’ Day 2026

The next Mrs. Wendy, Mr. Garbas, Mrs. Johnston, Mrs. Ozols or Mr. Malpass is already studying in teachers’ college or standing in a classroom somewhere .

They deserve the opportunities and resources to do their best work.

And sitting at their desks in front of them are children who deserve to have the same levels of attention, knowledge, inspiration and guidance that we had.

I gave my teachers cards.

I (okay, my mom) baked them bread.

I thanked them once a year.

But supporting and protecting the teaching profession means doing more. This World Teachers’ Day, you can:

• Thank a teacher in writing and copy their principal. Praise that reaches the people making decisions goes further.
• Speak up for your local teachers. Attend school board meetings. Join parent councils. Make your voice heard on issues like funding and class sizes.
• Support teachers working against the odds, like Isa. Donate where it’s most needed to help children receive essentials, including access to education.

Because, years from now, a child will remember their teacher.

Maybe they’ll remember the lesson. Or the advice.

Maybe they’ll even remember the Rolls-Royce.

But more importantly, they’ll remember that their teachers were there.

Author’s note

I never sat in Bill Cowan’s classroom. I knew him first as my father-in-law. But I knew and saw what kind of teacher he was. Because a teacher like that never really stops teaching when the dismissal bell rings.

He believed in the potential of every child he taught.

He was there.

In loving memory of Bill Cowan, 1953-2017