“Ontario’s teachers are among the best in the world,” stated Mike Foulds, President of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF). “World Teachers’ Day is our opportunity to thank them for their contributions to our students, education and society.”
“Teachers are the foundation of our schools and education system,” added Foulds. “They are in our schools and classrooms every day to ensure a quality education for our youth. They are truly the voice of public education in Ontario.”
World Teachers’ Day, marked every year on October 5, was proclaimed in 1994 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to recognize the contributions of teachers around the world to society.
Annually, the Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan (OTIP) and OTF recognize the excellence of Ontario’s teachers in publicly funded schools with the presentation of the OTIP Teaching Awards for excellence. This year, the outstanding teachers were Lee Martin, Central PS, Grimsby in the Beginning Teacher Category; Thomas Doherty, St. John School, Red Lake in the Elementary Teacher Category; and Hilary Masemann, Marc Garneau CI, Toronto in the Secondary Teacher Category. To learn more about these great teachers, go to www.teachingawards.ca.
The Ontario Teachers’ Federation (www.otffeo.on.ca) is the advocate for the teaching profession in Ontario and for its 160,000 teachers. OTF members are full-time, part-time and occasional teachers in all publicly-funded schools in the province – elementary, secondary, public, Catholic and francophone.