Thank a Teacher on World Teachers’ Day

It’s been a year where most parents have gained a new found respect for teachers and education professionals. 

World Teachers’ Day is the day when we get to say thanks, so at pickup this afternoon spare a moment to offer up a few words of gratitude to the teachers in your life.

For Leanne Bignall, the call of teaching came early, with the Northside Christian College Prep teacher having been inspired by those that taught her.

“I loved my teachers in primary school and had wanted to be a teacher from then.  Now I get to live the dream every day!”

Leanne is in her fifteenth year working as a prep teacher and told 96five that it’s a special experience seeing the children grow throughout their first year of formal education.

“It’s so rewarding to see their love of learning; they learn from us but we also learn so much from the children as well.  They have a thirst for knowledge, and for them to be at school learning is so special.”

World Teachers’ Day was established 25 years ago by the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a way to recognise and celebrate the role that teachers play in society.

This year the theme is fitting – Teachers: Leading in Crisis, Reimagining the Future.

As the world ground to a halt in March in response to the global coronavirus pandemic, our teachers remained calm on their front line.

Amidst dwindling attendance rates Queensland teachers were already preparing for the possibility of remote learning and when the Queensland Government announced a period of home learning from the beginning of Term 2, many teachers were faced with delivering lessons online.

“There were lots of challenges” Leanne said, “we as teachers had to do things that we’d never had to do before with remote learning.  For me there were new forms of technology to use; being prep teachers a big thing was making sure we had lots of communication with parents and making sure they were comfortable with what they were doing as well.”

“Teaching is so much about the relationship and not seeing the kids face to face every day was a huge challenge.”

And on World Teachers’ Day Leanne says that a simple word of thanks will encourage our educators, as well as a willingness for parents to work together with teachers.

“We can’t do it without the parents, and as parents found out this year they can’t do it without the teachers; it’s a partnership and we need to work together.”

To celebrate, Education Queensland has produced a special podcast series that celebrates Queensland’s extraordinary teachers. You can listen to three diverse teachers from across the state talking about their love of teaching and the many different opportunities that teaching provides them by clicking here.