Honoring teachers everywhere this World Teachers’ Day

Read this post in Spanish // Blog en español aquí.

In the last few years, the rate of change in education has accelerated dramatically. Between technological advancements and hybrid learning environments, teaching and learning has evolved both inside and outside of the classroom.

In honor of World Teachers’ Day, we take this opportunity to highlight the incredible passion and devotion of teacher communities everywhere. As someone who served in schools for over a decade, the challenges and joys of being in this profession deeply resonate with me.

I remember the joy and hope of the first day of school — meeting my students and connecting with each of them personally to discover their goals and passions. I also recall the anxiety and worry I’d have as my seemingly endless to-do list continued to grow each day, or as I struggled to support a student in need.

That’s why it’s been incredible to hear the powerful stories from educators around the world about how they have continued to navigate so many changes from the last few years with such resilience and grace. From one teacher in my hometown of Chicago who created individualized “pep talk” videos to her students to ease the return-to-school transition, to another in Seoul, South Korea who created a digital space for thousands of their peers to connect and support one another as they explore new instructional tools–educators have gone the extra mile daily to bring positive impact to their students.

As we’re facing an unprecedented global teacher shortage, there is even more demand for educators today. So it’s great to see the increase in searches that are looking for ways to thank educators in their communities. For instance, according to Google Trends, there’s been a global increase for search terms around “thank a teacher” by 77% over the last 12 months.

To celebrate the amazing work that educators everywhere continue to do, we’re sharing a place where you can see more education and learning-related searches and trends from the past year, as well as videos about inspirational teachers who have made a difference in students’ lives. We also took a moment to spotlight teachers from around the world, to hear from them about what it means to be a teacher today and what brings joy, and what they’re excited about the future of education.

While I miss my students and being in the classroom every day, I also feel so grateful to work with and serve so many passionate educators from around the world. Thank you to teachers everywhere for your strength, your passion, and your dedication to your students. We look forward to continuing to support you, and keep you connected with other incredible practitioners in your community.