Movement to Raise Teacher Voices Goes Global
By Tim Walker
In July, NEA launched “Raise Your Hand,” a national campaign to empower educators across the nation to lead the charge for students and quality public education. A loud and strong teacher voice, however, is needed wherever schools are being undermined by economic and political forces – and that’s everywhere. On Friday, the eve of World Teachers Day (October 5), Education International (EI) launched Unite for Quality Education, a campaign to ensure that universal, free quality education remains at the top of the political agenda. EI is the world’s largest federation of unions, representing more than 30 million educators in 170 countries.The purpose behind Unite for Quality Education is to call on educators everywhere to pressure politicians and education officials to put in place the three essential elements of a quality education: universal and free access to quality teachers, modern teaching tools and resources and supportive, safe and secure environments for teaching and learning.
“The evidence shows us that the international focus must be widened beyond mere access to education,” said EI General Secretary Fred Van Leeuwen. “Access to quality education is critical and can no longer be ignored. Unfortunately, millions of students around the world who have been enrolled in school, even for a