Today is Teachers Day in China, when students show their appreciation of their teachers with small gifts (as opposed to castigation during the madness of 1967-76). Why today? No-one really knows, but back in 1985 someone chose 10 September and it's stuck. But not for long: last week the Government approved a bill moving it (next year) to 28 Sept - Confucius's birthday.
Other countries do the same on different dates, and there's also a World Teachers Day on 5 October though it doesn't seem to be widely acknowledged - least of all in the UK. Do British children doff their caps to their teachers, or perhaps place an apple on their desks? I think not. To be honest, I don't recall any of mine being particularly inspiring, but I can remember all my form teachers, from year 1 at primary school to upper 6th: Mrs Howard, Mrs Chase, Mrs Mann, Sister Maria, Mr Hutchings ('Sir'), Sister Scolastica, Mr Ashton (Baldy), Mr Read, Dr Elphee (woe betied you if you called him mister), Mrs Simmonds (two years running), Mr Craig and Mr Fenton. Lists. What would we do without them?
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
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