Canadian stamp stories

More than just educators, teachers inspire, guide, lead and enlighten - encouraging young minds to remain curious and embrace knowledge. As a tribute to teachers across the country, and to mark the 2002 World Teachers' Day on October 5th, Canada Post has issued a single domestic rate ($0.48) commemorative stamp, available in a pane of 16.

World Teachers' Day
World Teachers' Day was launched in 1993 by the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the International Conference on Education in Geneva. The date October 5th was chosen because it was on this day in 1966 that an inter-governmental conference organized by UNESCO and the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted the 'Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers.' Today, more than 100 countries recognize World Teachers' Day and the Director-General of UNESCO sends out a message in a number of languages to commemorate this annual event.

Education in Canada
Under the Constitution Act, 1867, Canada's provinces were given virtually exclusive responsibility for education. Established structures, for the most part, saw locally elected school trustees forming school boards that functioned in a role between the provincial education ministries and schools. A distinctive feature of Canada's educational system is the publicly supported 'separate schools,' most of which are Catholic. This system of separate schools varies from province to province.

Growth of Student and Teacher Populations
Canada's student population peaked during 1970 and 1971 when public and independent schools enrolled 5.8 million students. From there, a decline continued into the mid-1980s, reaching a low of 4.9 million in 1985-86. The numbers have risen since then, and today, the number of students is approximately 5.3 million. In 1910, there were 40,000 full-time teachers in Canada, and that number rose to 272,000 in 1976. By 1986, this number declined to 252,000, then rose to 293,000 by 1995.

A Lesson in Design
Created by the internationally recognized and celebrated Koudis Design Office (KDO) of Toronto, the stamp was designed to communicate the concept of teaching. The challenge lay in using a single image to express the diversity of the occupation. Says Mark Koudis: "Icons such as a green chalkboard, flash cards, handwriting and the figure of a teacher are all viewed from the students' perspective. The shadow represents any number of teachers in one's education, or a memory of the collective." This is his third stamp project; Koudis designed the 5-stamp Sporting Heroes set for the 1996 Olympic centenary, and the beloved Pablum stamp in the Millennium Collection.