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12 CatholicOutlook October 2011Celebrating the hardwork of teachersWorld Teachers’ Day 2011 provides a greatopportunity for me to say thank you to theteachers in our schools who work on behalfof the evangelising mission of the Church.I know they do a great job and over the past12 months I have had the opportunity withBishop Anthony to visit many of our schoolcommunities for the opening and blessingof their new building projects funded underthe Australian Government’s Building theEducation Revolution program.As I said in my video message to teachers tocommemorate this day, the thing that reallystrikes me is how proud our communitiesare of their schools. And, in particular, howmuch our students and parents valuetheir teachers.Often the general community andeducational commentators seem to undervaluethe work of teachers by focusing onbasic measures of student achievement, likeNAPLAN results. These results, which haverecently sent home to parents of Years 3,5, 7 & 9 students are good diagnostic testsdesigned for our teachers to use to measurewhere each individual student is at, at aparticular moment in time. They shouldnot be used as a way to make a generalassessment about the quality of learning atthe school, nor the performance of teachers.Richard Elmore made the comment,‘teaching is not rocket science, it’s muchmore difficult’ and I agree with him. Thework of teachers is complex and in a Catholicschool is a work of the human heart, as wellas the mind.It does us no good as a society to minimisethe role of teachers, nor will it ultimatelyserve the children in our schools. We havemuch work to do in developing meaningfulmeasures for student performance, and ergo,the evaluation of the work of their teachers.Within this context, I would like toacknowledge our teachers, and those whosupport them, for their enormous hard work,their commitment and professionalism. Wevalue what you do, each and every day, forthe benefit of the children and young peoplein your care.Photo: Hamilton LundWorld Teachers’ Day 2011Recognising the great work of teachers“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well” – VoltaireOlivia O’ConnorWorld Teachers’ Day will be celebrated in Australia onFriday 28 October and is an opportunity to acknowledgethe great work of teachers.The Oxford dictionary defines the practice of teaching as“to give lessons to students in a school; to help somebodylearn something by giving information about it”.As highlighted in the September issue of CatholicOutlook, the role of teachers is undergoing a significantchange as the needs of learners changes in a connected,knowledge-rich and global world.The Oxford dictionary definition of teaching doesn’tbegin to do justice to the work of the 4,500 teachersworking in our schools in the Catholic Diocese ofParramatta, or the contribution of the many teachers’ aidesand classroom helpers supporting learning and teaching.The work of a teacher today goes well beyond theteaching of facts or providing information. Teachers seekto develop within each student the ability to becomelifelong learners; to think critically and creatively; to workindependently and collaboratively; to find solutions to realworld challenges.In Catholic schools, the work of a teacher goes furtherin support of the evangelising mission of the Church.Catholic school teachers seek to provide opportunities forstudents to come to know their faith and the teachingsof the Church; to experience their faith through prayer,celebration of the sacraments and in the lived example oftheir peers, teachers and leaders; to make the world a betterplace through outreach and action.For many students it is the relationship with theirteacher that makes a lasting impression – the teacher asmentor or guide on the learning journey – the simple signsof encouragement; the joy a teacher shows when theirstudents grasp a complex concept; the teacher who staysawake half the night trying to work out how to teach adisengaged student.Gregory B WhitbyExecutive Director of Schools@gregwhitbyBlog: bluyonder.wordpress.comAsher Taccori and Jim GillespieSilviana Alberti with Kate Owens