2006: Every Child Needs a Teacher

Every Child Needs a Teacher was the slogan under which campaigners across the globe united during the week 24-30th April. Children, parents, teachers and campaigners did everything possible to put the Case for Teachers to education officials and political leaders. They called upon governments and international institutions to enable the recruitment and retention of a professional well motivated workforce so that every child can be taught by a qualified teacher in a class no bigger than 40.

Three actions made up this year’s campaign for Every Child Needs a Teacher.

Stage 1: Creating Dossiers: Dossiers (files of evidence used in a legal cases) were created by children, campaigners, parents and teachers. The dossiers contained The Case for Teachers and comprised of stunning evidence in the form of pictures, stories, poems, plays and also hard hitting facts, the numbers of teachers still needed and their poor living and working conditions.

Stage 2: Officials ‘Back to School’: The dossiers were then discussed and handed to officials, political figures and celebrities at ‘Officials ‘Back to School” Days. This gave GCE campaigners an opportunity to highlight the reality of the situation facing learners and teachers. Officials were asked to respond to the content of the dossiers and report on
what they had done to keep previous years’ pledges.

Stage 3: The Big Hearing: Campaigners took officials and Heads of State to a mock ‘court’ – in the style of a legal hearing or public enquiry. Children and campaigners took over court rooms, government or official buildings and invited education officials, celebrities and the media, to teeth-clenching, headline-making trials in the case for teachers was presented; thus ensuring that teachers were put at the forefront of education agendas.

Download the Global Action Week 2006 Big Book in English | Español | Français