National Teacher's Day History

Teacher's Day is the occasion to spend quality time with teachers. It is the day to commemorate the profession of teaching and everyone associated with it. Teacher's day is celebrated on different dates in different countries. In United States of America, the day is observed as National Teacher's Day. The day is observed with great fanfare, across the western country. There, people indulge themselves in a number of activities that concentrating on bringing teachers and students closer. On the day, a number of educational institutions across the country organize cultural programs, to honor teacher and appreciate them.

The history of National Teacher's Day dates back to 1944, when an Arkansas teacher, Mrs. Mattye Whyte Woodridge, corresponded with political and educational leaders, to dedicate a day for honoring teachers. She also wrote to eleanor Roosevelt, who persuaded the 81st Congress to proclaim a National Teacher Day, in 1953. In the late 1970s, the National education Association (NeA), its Indiana and Kansas state affiliates, and its local affiliate in Dodge City, Kansas, lobbied the Congress for the creation of a national day, to honor the profession of teaching. Congress declared March 7, 1980 as National Teacher's Day. However, it was declared as National Teacher's Day for that year only.

NeA and its affiliates continued to observe Teacher Day on the first Tuesday in March until 1985, when NeA and the National PTA dedicated the first full week of May for the celebrations of Teacher Appreciation Week. The NeA Representative Assembly then voted to make the Tuesday of that week as National Teacher's Day. Since then, National Teacher's Day is celebrated on the Tuesday of the first full week of May. every year, the day is observed as an official holiday in the United States of America and is celebrated with fun and fervor.