英语故事:瑞典的教师节

The first week in November marks an interesting day in all Swedish schools, with much potential for a break from routine and opportunity to demonstrate teacher appreciation: November 7th is Swedish Teacher’s Day.

The fact that there are over 230,000 members of the Swedish educators’ union (making it the country’s fourth largest professional trade union) demonstrates how this is a nation which loves to teach. This special day, November 7th, is a demonstration of the reciprocal feeling – how Swedish students love to be taught!

Typical activities which can be carried out on any teacher’s day around the world include the staging of plays to honour teachers, the making of cards and the giving of gifts. A country-specific teacher’s day may include something a little more traditional – for instance, a teacher appreciation gesture could involve a special food or folklore tale. With Sweden in mind, a popular dessert dish is the ‘daim torte’, a crunchy mix of toffee and chocolate which school pupils can spend an afternoon baking together as a communal teacher appreciation gift for their favourite teacher.

Although a relatively small European country, Sweden is home to some magnificent cities such as Stockholm (its capital) and Gothenburg. In fact, Gothenburg is twinned with America’s Chicago and so even if you are not a Swede, if living in a city with a Swedish twin, why not use Sweden Teacher’s Day as an excuse to build bridges between your school and a Swedish institution? Learning about a completely different culture – in this case, a Nordic culture of great heritage – really is eye-opening. Learning how people your own age go about their daily lives can inspire you to make changes in your own life or even travel to experience the culture first hand - something promoted by school exchanges and class excursions.

However you decide to celebrate Sweden Teacher’s day, we recommend you be inspired by the generous culture and take advantage of the opportunity to learn about how it has developed with respect to the education world – any teacher would be highly impressed with such effort and gratitude!