Dear Editor,
It is a privilege to be able to commend my fellow teachers on this special occasion of World Teachers’ Day. World Teachers’ Day was begun by UNESCO and is celebrated the world over on October 5 each year by those for whom education has great significance. The motto this year encourages us all to take a stand for teachers. Teachers are indeed the foundation upon which the education system stands. Teachers must recognise the important part which they play in the lives of the nation’s children and youths, and let that notable fact influence their thinking and actions. Let not disgrace and unprofessional behaviour be found among us as we steer our children in the right direction. Let’s use our knowledge, our skills and abilities, our charisma, our influence, our enthusiasm to take our students to greater desired levels of performance and conduct. We don’t impact our children for a year, but for a lifetime! Henry B Adams reminds us that “A teacher affects eternity. S/he never knows where his/her influence stops.“
It takes a lot of heart and mind to do the stuff that teachers do. We expect teachers to handle teenage pregnancy, substance abuse and the failure of the family. Then we expect them to educate our children says the astute John Sculley. All those who are reading this today can do so because of a teacher. Teachers, let’s take a stand for ourselves and show by the way we dress, by the way we speak, by the way we carry ourselves, by our attitudes to those in our care, their parents and to the general public, the effective way in which we teach, that we are indeed worthy of this noble profession to which we belong. Let’s at this time recommit to the greatest profession, the one that creates all other professions.
I take a stand for all teachers today. I salute them. They should keep on giving their best and making a difference in our children’s lives.
Have a great World Teachers’ Day!
Yours faithfully,
Jennifer Cumberbatch
Headteacher
Retired
