Thank a Teacher on World Teachers' Day Friday

World Teachers' Day, celebrated on Oct. 5, is a great opportunity to show teachers in the Enumclaw School District how great you think they are. But, the day also takes on a deeper meaning, standing for the protection of teachers' rights.

Since its inception in 1994, World Teachers' Day has had a theme every year. The theme for 2012 is “Take a stand for teachers.”

This day was founded by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Its aim is to educate the public about the conditions of being a teacher around the world, focusing specifically on the protection of teachers' rights, and the proper training, development and status raising of teachers.

UNESCO’s partners in this effort are the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, Education International and UNICEF.

Everyone has an educator who has changed his or her life with their kindness, humor or educational impact.

"The teachers in the Enumclaw School District have positively impacted our family for three generations!" Schools Superintendent Mike Nelson wrote in an email to Patch. "My parents graduated from Enumclaw High School in 1937 and 1941. I graduated from EHS in 1981 and my children graduated in 2007 and 2010. So for decades, our family has valued and appreciated our teachers (current and retired!). Happy World Teacher’s Day!"

On World Teachers' Day, we can remember them by looking at issues and obstacles they may face, knowing that the brightest and most motivated teachers need to be continually attracted to a profession whose status continually needs improvement socially and monetarily.

Locally, the Enumclaw Schools Foundation continues to establish itself as a philanthropic partner with the school district, funding scholarships for more students to take advantage of early education and full-day kindergarten opportunities, and also providing enrichment and innovation grants to local educators to help turn their ideas for the classroom into reality.

"My boys have been so fortunate to have had many wonderful teachers at Black Diamond Elementary, Thunder Mountain Middle School and Enumclaw High School," said Foundation President Johna Thomson. "They come home from school with stories about what they learned in science or math; looking up the meaning of words for an English assignment; chattering about what sport they’re playing in PE; or explaining how their band 'challenge' went. They are both motivated to get their homework done and are becoming independent learners – what a great reflection on the dedicated teachers in the Enumclaw School District! Thank you teachers for the amazing effort you put out to engage my boys in learning!"

More than 100 countries currently observe World Teachers' Day, with many corporate supporters such as Google recognizing the global impact and conditions of teachers.

TALK TO US: Give your favorite teachers a shout out in the comments section below.