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Teacher's Day is the occasion to spend quality time with teachers. It is the
day to commemorate the profession of teaching and everyone associated with it.
Teacher's day is celebrated on different dates in different countries. In United
States of America, the day is observed as National Teacher's Day. The day is
observed with great fanfare, across the western country. There, people indulge
themselves in a number of activities that concentrating on bringing teachers and
students closer. On the day, a number of educational institutions across the
country organize cultural programs, to honor teacher and appreciate them.
The history of National Teacher's Day dates back to 1944, when an Arkansas
teacher, Mrs. Mattye Whyte Woodridge, corresponded with political and
educational leaders, to dedicate a day for honoring teachers. She also wrote to
Eleanor Roosevelt, who persuaded the 81st Congress to proclaim a National
Teacher Day, in 1953. In the late 1970s, the National Education Association (NEA),
its Indiana and Kansas state affiliates, and its local affiliate in Dodge City,
Kansas, lobbied the Congress for the creation of a national day, to honor the
profession of teaching. Congress declared March 7, 1980 as National Teacher's
Day. However, it was declared as National Teacher's Day for that year only.
NEA and its affiliates continued to observe Teacher Day on the first Tuesday in
March until 1985, when NEA and the National PTA dedicated the first full week of
May for the celebrations of Teacher Appreciation Week. The NEA Representative
Assembly then voted to make the Tuesday of that week as National Teacher's Day.
Since then, National Teacher's Day is celebrated on the Tuesday of the first
full week of May. Every year, the day is observed as an official holiday in the
United States of America and is celebrated with fun and fervor.
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