#TeacherTuesday

The latest EFA Global Monitoring Report 2013/4 analyses the challenges teachers face on a daily basis to provide a quality education that will ensure children in their class emerge with at least the basic skills.

Over 10 Tuesdays from the 25th February, 10 teachers, from 10 countries around the world will share their stories, motivations and challenges in their work as part of a new social media campaign, #TeacherTuesday. The project will tell the stories of teachers who have taught through fighting in Syria, grappled with multilingual classrooms in Honduras, fought to overcome gender barriers in Afghanistan and taught in the largest urban slum in Africa, as well as many more. The dates for each appear below.

Influential bloggers selected from across the globe will help bring these teachers’ daily work to life, and help ensure a deeper look is taken by policy makers and education workers at the support they need to help improve learning outcomes around the world. We will also be holding a tweetchat with each teacher using @EFAReport.

Meet the teachers

Esnart

“I’ve even seen children as old as 9 or 10 who are unable to read and write their names when clearly they should be able to do this.”

Country: Malawi

Topic: Teacher shortage/school conditions

#TeacherTuesday date: 25th February

Tweetchat time: 12pm GMT

> View selection of blogs about Esnart and teacher shortages in Malawi

World Education Blog: "Malawi: A shortage of teachers is putting children’s learning at risk"
My Island View: "Malawi Educator starts #TeacherTuesday"
Mail & Guardian Thought Leader: "Why teach in Africa?"
Eduvichar: "Teacher Shortages: Malawi’s Tale"
As We Grow: "#TeacherTuesday: Teaching in Malawi"
E-Learning Journeys: "#TeacherTuesday - Malawi: The struggle for literacy"
For the love of learning: "What can we learn from Malawi's teachers and schools?"
Education for all day: "Teacher Tuesday: Esnart Chapomba from Malawi"

Natelee

“Language has an impact on how children learn and how they perceive themselves as being part of the teaching-learning process. To not be taught in your mother tongue, leaves a gap, and makes you feel your language is not important."

Country: Honduras

Topic: Language issues in the classroom

#TeacherTuesday date: 4th March

Tweetchat time: 4-5pm GMT

> View selection of blogs about Natelee and language issues in the classroom

World Education Blog "Honduras: Teachers need support to teach in multilingual classrooms"
Teacher Reboot Camp "Cultural and Language Struggles: Interview with a Teacher in Honduras"
Mail and Guardian Thought Leader "The language of inclusion and exclusion"
Lakes Single Mum "#TeacherTuesday Week 2 Natelee, Honduras"
Eduvichar "Bilingual Teaching: Dear Natalee from Honduras"
Ixhanti lam "#TeacherTuesday Week 2: The language question (inclusion and exclusion)"
Mom bloggers for social good "The Importance of Inclusive Education for Indigenous Children #TeacherTuesday"
E-Learning Journeys "#TeacherTuesday - Honduras: Teach students in the language of their thoughts"
As we grow "#TeacherTuesday: Teaching in Honduras"
Wale Micaiah on Education "#TeacherTuesday-2: Teaching with what we already know"
Education for all day "Speaking in (mother)tongues"

Nahida

"I am a realistic person and optimistic about the future of education and learning programmes in Afghanistan. Now our people, after three decades of war, completely know about the importance of education. Educated people don’t take guns and don’t destroy their country and their schools."

Country: Afghanistan

Topic: Conflict and gender

#TeacherTuesday date: 11th March

Tweetchat: Storify account of the conversation

Related information: Gender Summary

> View selection of blogs about Nahida and gender and conflict in learning

World Education Blog "Afghanistan: rebuilding girls’ education after decades of conflict"
E-Learning Journeys "#TeacherTuesday - Afghanistan: An Issue of Gender Equity the World Should Take Notice"
Eduvichar "Nadiha – Teaching Girls in Afghanistan"
Mail and Guardian Thought Leader "A case for gender parity in education"
As we grow "#TeacherTuesday: Teaching in Afghanistan"
Wale Micaiah on Education "#TeacherTuesday-3: I am Afghanistan, surviving Conflict and Gender bias"
Education for all day "The gender gap: #TeacherTuesday Week 3"

Mohammed

"[In Syria] the teachers are there for the students but the majority don't come as it's not safe for them to reach the school and the number of students are very little, that's why you can't call it an education process."

Country: Syria

Topic: Education in conflict situations

#TeacherTuesday date: 18th March

Tweetchat: Storify account of the conversation

> View selection of blogs about Mohammed and education in conflict situations

World Education Blog "Syrian refugees make the best of temporary schools"
Mail and Guardian Thought Leader "The right to education sacrificed in the name of power, war"
E-Learning Journeys "#TeacherTuesday - Syria: Displaced Learners in Zaatari Refugee Camp"
Wale Micaiah on Education "TeacherTuesday-4: Learning and Teaching in fear – Syria"
As We Grow "#TeacherTuesday: Teaching in a Syrian Refugee Camp"
Eduvichar "Mohammed, Syria"
Huffington Post "Syrian Refugees Make the Best of Temporary Schools"
Education for all day "Teacher Tuesday Week 4: Mohammed from Syria"

Margaret

“I remember a teacher telling us one time that we should never complain about hunger or poverty because that would stop us from getting an education. If we don’t have food today, we go to school and we get that food in abundance in the future.”

Country: Kenya

Topic: Poverty

#TeacherTuesday date: 25th March

Tweetchat: Storify account of the conversation

> View selection of blogs about Margaret and education and poverty

World Education Blog "Poverty holds back learning in Kenya"
E-Learning Journeys "#TeacherTuesday - Kenya: Working to break the poverty-education cycle."
Mail and Guardian Thought Leader "The ‘single story’ about Africa’s education"
Simbolei "Helping Them Beat the Odds: Teaching In Kibera"
Eduvichar "Margaret, schools in poor regions"
As we grow "#TeacherTuesday: Teaching in Kenya"
Wale Micaiah on Education "TeacherTuesday-5: Education hampered by Poverty in Kenya"
Education for all day "Teacher Tuesday week 5: Margaret from Kenya"
Ixhanti lam "Week 5 #TeacherTuesday:The single story about Africa’s education"

Cees

"I am teaching at a school where it is very student focused. Students are the masters of their own learning process. You teach them how to cooperate, how to be self-supporting, and to make their own decisions how to learn things."

Country: Netherlands

Topic: Maintaining high grades/teacher training

#TeacherTuesday date: 1st April

Tweetchat: Storify account of the conversation

> View selection of blogs about Cees and student-centered learning

World Education Blog "Student-focused learning helps the Netherlands achieve"
As We Grow "#TeacherTuesday: Teaching in The Netherlands"
Eduvichar "On Teachers and Systems that Deliver - Cees"
Wale Micaiah on Education "#TeacherTuesday-6: Quality Teacher and teaching yields great outcome"
Mail and Guardian Thought Leader "What do good grades mean?"
E-Learning Journeys "TeacherTuesday - The Netherlands: Teacher preparation means higher learning outcomes"
Ixhanti lam "#TeacherTuesday Week 6:What do good grades mean?"
Education for all day "Teacher Tuesday Week 6: Cees from The Netherlands"

Mosammat

"We need the floating school because in the monsoon season, one third of Bangladesh goes underwater.The floating school is the only education option here - it travels to students and provides education at their doorsteps."

Country: Bangladesh

Topic: Access to education

#TeacherTuesday date: 8th April

Tweetchat: Storify account of the conversation (with founder of a floating school)

> View selection of blogs about Mosammat and access to education

Times of India "Teacher Tuesday"
Mail and Guardian Thought Leader "Floating schools and how access to technology broadens access to education"
Simbolei Community Assistance Association blog "Floating Schools in Bangladesh: Using Technology to Bridge the Access Gap"
E-Learning Journeys "TeacherTuesday - Bangladesh: Learning on water with solar powered technology"
Wale Micaiah on Education "#TeacherTuesday-7: The will to learn makes learning possible"
As We Grow "#TeacherTuesday: Teaching in Bangladesh"
World Education Blog "Bangladesh: Innovative solutions to improve education for the disadvantaged"
Xhanti lam "#TeacherTuesday Week 7: Floating schools and how access to technology broadens access to education"
Education for all day "Teacher Tuesday Week 7: Mosammat from Bangladesh"

Russell

“Poverty draws a line in the sand. You’re on one side or the other. It’s hard. That’s why I don’t set homework on a computer as I know some still don’t have computers at home. I accept homework on a piece of paper. I don’t mind how it comes back as long as it comes back!”

Country: Australia

Topic: Indigenous communities

#TeacherTuesday date: 15th April

Tweetchat: Storify account of the full conversation

> View selection of blogs about Russell and teaching in Indigenous communities

E-Learning Journeys "#TeacherTuesday Australia: Rural and Indigenous - Strategies to improve learning"
Wale Micaiah on Education "#TeacherTuesday-8: Challenges of teaching children from different backgrounds"
As We Grow "#TeacherTuesday – Teaching in Australia"
World Education Blog "Australia: Rich countries are also failing to ensure that the marginalized can learn"
Eduvichar "Teacher Tuesday – Russell, Australia"
Xhanti lam "Week 8 #TeacherTuesday:Playing catch up in the classroom"

Shape

"We train the learners not only on the curriculum, but also in sport and music. I always encourage them that this could be their future career. You can play soccer and it can give you a salary, it could put bread on the table! Every opportunity you are being given, take it as important."

Country: South Africa

Topic: Skills training in schools

#TeacherTuesday date: 22nd April

> View selection of blogs about Shape and skills training in South Africa