TEACHERS DAY

Dr HARVEY (Newland) (10:44): I move:  That this house notes that 26 October is World Teachers’ Day (Australia) and expresses its appreciation to all South Australian teachers and former teachers who have dedicated their lives to helping our next generation to be all they can be. Internationally, World Teachers’ Day is celebrated on 5 October each year. However, as this is usually within the Australian school holidays, Australia celebrates it on the last Friday of October which is this coming Friday 26 October. (To see full, view HOA Hansardpg 3077)

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Frome, I will give you the call.

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Frome) (12:04): Thank you. I did stand first, but I thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Today, I also want to support the motion brought by the member for Newland; I think it is a great motion.

Teachers are a very integral part of our children’s future. We must remember that teachers have children for only a very small part of their lives. They do not have them in the school holidays; they have them for only about six hours a day. Parents have their children for far more time than the teachers, so parents play a part in the teaching of their children.

Teachers have a great impression on the future direction of any student growing up. Other members have gone back on their younger days and things like that, and I would just like to quickly reflect on my younger schooling days, and my primary school days in particular. I had the privilege of being taught at Wandearah, a small community just south of Port Pirie, in one classroom comprising seven grades and one teacher.

At that school I learnt how to be able to relate not only to grades 1, 2 and 3 but also to grades 5, 6, and 7 because we were in the one classroom. At one stage, when you got to grade 3, the teacher would ask you to read the primers, or the readers, to grades 1 and 2, so you would go home at night-time and be very proud of yourself because you got your sticker for reading not only to the teacher but also to the students themselves, and I believe that my education was very, very good.

In my electorate of Frome, in particular, I have a great range of primary schools and secondary schools, ranging from public schools to Catholic, non-Catholic and Lutheran schools. Also, just starting next year, we will have a university hub, which is going to be facilitated in Port Pirie. Instead of having to go to the universities in Adelaide, people will be able to have some tertiary education in the country.

School teachers are really sometimes under great pressure at the moment. In my younger days, we did not have the social media, we did not have the mobile phones and we did not have the technology we have today. Today, we have all this new technology. We have mobile phones, the internet and all of that, so the teachers really need to be on top of their education opportunities. I think that the member for Florey indicated that sometimes people criticise or say that teachers get many holidays. They may have holidays, but in those periods of time they are preparing for their students in the next semester. They are actually getting all the information, marking reports and things like that.

Certainly, I endorse this and commend the motion to the house. I also want to compliment members of parliament on both sides for their dedication to the education of our young kids in this state. I commend this motion to the house.