A little Polish history on the subject.
Did you know that the well-known Polish celebration of education and higher education was established on 27 April 1972?
This day is defined by statute – the Charter of Teachers' Rights and Duties – as TEACHERS' DAY. It commemorates the founding of the Komisja Edukacji Narodowej (Commission of National Education).
On 14 October 1773 the Commission was established by the Partition Sejm, on the initiative of King Stanisław August Poniatowski.
Also associated with this occasion is World Teachers' Day, which was proclaimed on 5 October 1994 to mark the signing in 1966 of the ‘Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers’, drawn up by UNESCO. In Poland, since 1997, World Teachers' Day has been celebrated by teachers in the science and higher education sector.
In London, Teachers' Day is not celebrated as grandly as in Poland. Even so, the parents and pupils of Polish Saturday schools do not forget our wonderful teachers, because the future of the Polish language in the generations to come depends on them.
So, as parents, let us not forget such a special day – and perhaps we could tell our children where this celebration comes from?
Teachers give up their time to teach our children, and it is lovely to have a day when we can say ‘Thank you’ – all the more so because they put so much heart into teaching our children so that they feel at ease.
And how do you thank your teachers? With shop-bought gifts, or do you rely on your little ones' creativity?
It is good to teach children that a creative, handmade thank-you can be worth more than one bought in a shop.
Bogumila Drwal-Zielinska
Irena Kukuła
