When I worked in the UK, I never had the chance to celebrate World Teachers’ Day.

It wasn’t that I or my school didn’t see a reason to celebrate teachers, of course. Usually, in this first half term, there was so much going on that there quite often wasn’t time to breathe.

Days slipped by so swiftly and there were so many things to get through that opportunities to reflect were few and far between.

World Teachers’ Day: Students thanking their teachers

I now work in Bangkok, at a school in Thailand.

It’s just as busy but there is a wonderful annual tradition called “wai kru” where teachers are presented with a flower arrangement, usually on stage, with a speech from the student heads of school about the importance of teachers and their impact on students’ lives.

It is a beautiful moment and is hugely important for the students to offer their hand-made gifts to their teachers. It made me release that these moments are not just nice to have or a quick nod to how hard we work, but have real meaning.

Which is why World Teachers’ Day, celebrated today, is something we should all take time to partake in - especially in 2020 when teachers have shone on the world stage like never before.

Keep on keeping on

The theme of this year’s event is Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future - a bold vision, no doubt, and one with merit. After all, what we do shapes millions of young people who go on to take up the professions that keep the world ticking.

What the future holds is too hard to say - who saw this year coming? But what we do know is that teachers lead in a crisis, always.

We teachers should celebrate this when we can. We may not get much time to do it, but when the UN gives us a day to be celebrated, let’s ensure that we don’t let it slip by; that we use it to celebrate each other and recognise the wonderful things that we do day-to-day.

So in honour of World Teachers’ Day, here are some of the remarkable things I see every day from our teachers as they motivate, encourage and stretch the future leaders of tomorrow.

The three fundamentals all teachers possess 

1. Giving time

Not just the time in school, but the hours on the sports field, coaching, guiding, practice, 6am sports training, drama and music rehearsals for hours after school and at weekends.

All the late finishes, the early starts, the weekends given up marking, the “Miss, will you come and watch me on the sports field?” pleading, the trips and experiences, the out of hours which are never claimed back in overtime or in days off timetable.

All these hours poured into people who over time will become the leaders. The future artists. The future Olympians. The future entrepreneurs and philanthropists.

All of this time is given with such grace and enjoyment from all members of staff involved.

2. Giving love

Since returning to school after the three-month lockdown, we have noticed an increase in the number of pupils (and staff) who need support and a metaphorical cuddle in order to resume some sort of normality within their lives.

So many teachers do this without thinking, a slight nod of the head to demonstrate understanding when homework is not returned, a quick chat when a child is dawdling outside your classroom or packing up a little bit slower than usual.

We recognise that their academic grades may have slipped a little with their six months off school, and give extra support with writing a university application or extra reading time.

All of this extra love comes at no cost to teachers - it’s part and parcel of our job; it goes under the radar but it also goes without saying that we are pretty expert at this.

3. Never giving up

Despite many challenges and worries over the past eight or nine months, teachers have remained unflappable, calm and, let’s be honest, downright good at their jobs.

Demonstrating leadership skills through our everyday performance allows pupils to see that in times of crisis we still get the job done.

Our skills lie in the fact that they are so innate we often don’t even recognise them - but they are real, they are vital and they have impact that lasts a lifetime.

So this World Teachers’ Day, wherever you are, let’s celebrate each other.

And then let’s make sure we keep doing that - over every week, month and year. Teachers are simply magic and we need to shout about it a little more often.

Vicki Rotheram is an assistant principal at Shrewsbury International School (Riverside) in Bangkok. She leads the newly established Shrewsbury Institute. She has taught internationally for six years