BYU McKay School of Education celebrates World Teachers' Day

The McKay School of Education celebrated World Teachers' Day in front of the Joseph Fielding Smith Building on Oct. 6.

A booth was set up with a large board for students to write notes to their current teachers or former teachers. Apple cider donuts were provided as an incentive for students to participate.

While World Teachers' Day is celebrated internationally on Oct. 5, the McKay School of Education moved its celebration to Monday, Oct. 6, to allow more students to participate.

Brent Challen, director of the Education Preparation Program (EPP) for the McKay School of Education, helped organize the event.

We put it out, students walk by, see it, and they realize, this is awesome. I have a teacher I want to thank. Sometimes they dont even take a donut, Challen said.

Students across campus recognized the impact that teachers had in helping them attend BYU.

Rachel OMalley, an elementary education major, expressed her gratitude for former teachers.

I think the biggest turning points for me have been from teachers they really shaped who I am as an individual, and I never gave them enough credit for it, OMalley said.

According to UNESCO, the celebration of World Teachers' Day commemorates the adoption of the Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. This created "benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers, and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions.

This recommendation provided a way to elevate the status of teachers across the world and set international standards for teachers rights, responsibilities and preparation.

The McKay School of Education has been celebrating the event for around four years. BYU hosts 26 teaching majors and 21 teaching minors that lead to a license in the state of Utah.

We decided we wanted to do something to help bring awareness and attention to give students on campus a chance to recognize who helped them get here, Challen said.

In tandem with the BYU 150 initiative, "Beacons of Light," a small poster board was displayed with map icons representing where graduates of the McKay School of Education are spreading their light. Little lighthouses pop up in nearly every state in the United States and several foreign countries.

Mikaela Campbell, an ambassador for the McKay School of Education, highlighted the connection between the beacons of light celebration this year and teachers.

Its really important because we gotta recognize our teachers and all the efforts that they put in I feel like, especially with BYU 150, we are really just recognizing everything that happens at BYU itself, Campbell said.

The organizers of the event intend to apply the feedback received to help their teacher candidates as they prepare to go and teach in public schools in and outside of Utah.