To Sir or Madam with love – Families Magazine salute to educators

In the lead-up to NAPLAN we often reflect on the stress that our children are under and congratulate them once their pencils are down on the final day of testing. Families Magazine wants to salute the people on the front-line of educating our kids every day. Thank you to our teachers and educators.

We don’t need no education – except we really do!

Think of the teachers in the life of your child. Their early childhood educator who works so hard to create innovative, educational experiences. Their prep teacher who spends that extra time helping them to build their confidence in class. The immersion aide who works tirelessly to ensure that all the children in the classroom have equal access to learning.

Where would we be without these wonderful people? Let’s face it – they’re not in it for the pay or the respect! Teachers, educators and student support officers are amongst the hardest working people in the country who are often disrespected and maligned – both by individuals and by the wider discourse. They drown under paperwork, jump through NAPLAN-sized hoops and spend their ‘down time’ running around trying to catch up.

Teachers change lives

For whatever reason, teachers have become the ‘catch-all’ scapegoat for all kinds of social issues. They’re not JUST teaching the curriculum. Teachers are expected to be stand-in parents, counsellors, disciplinarians, coaches and time keepers as well as imparting knowledge on our kids.

Teachers are asked to collect, reflect, report and adjust based on endless data collection. They must re-write the curriculum constantly to keep in line with educational theory and pedagogical direction. Teachers and educators must meet a million and one expectations and standards but do it all with a smile on their face.

Doesn’t seem fair, does it?

The staff at Families Magazine want to change the conversation. We want to congratulate and appreciate these heroes in our community who give up their days, weekends, weeknights and holidays to improve the lives of OUR children. We want to say THANK YOU for making a difference. THANK YOU for sometimes sacrificing your own health, sleep and sanity to protect the interests of our children. And lastly, we want to say THANK YOU for worrying so much about the well-being of our school aged children through difficult testing periods.

Giving back to teach

Let’s get behind our teachers – they’re losing heart! If your child is lucky enough to have a special teacher or educator in their lives please say thank you. Why not drop a note in to them the next time you are at school, just saying thank you!?

Long days and sleepless nights can be forgotten about when parents acknowledge and appreciate the blood, sweat and tears that goes into being a teacher. That parent who screamed their head off about a less-than-perfect test mark is a distant memory when you let them know, really let them know, the difference they make to your child’s life.

Show and tell them how much you care

Can you tell us about a teacher in your child’s life who has made a difference? Let’s change the conversation and show these fabulous people how grateful we truly are! Add a comment on our Facebook post RIGHT HERE and we will choose one comment to gift a hamper from Australian Gourmet Gifts on Friday 12 May 2017. Competition now closed.