Thursday, 2 November 2023

World Teachers Day

Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for Medical Research) (09:36): Education is the most powerful cause for good. We know that it is the most important public investment we can make in our future and we know that teachers inspire and change lives.

Last week we celebrated World Teachers Day. We can all remember that teacher that inspired us to aim higher, work harder and be braver. I had the great pleasure of going back to my old primary school last week, St Christopher’s in Airport West, to see the great work that continues to go on there under the teaching staff, the parents, the business managers and all the students. I want to thank Adrian Glasby, who has been there for nine years, as well as Dr Ed Simons, the executive director at Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools, who accompanied me. The school was founded back in 1962. I went there with my brother and sister. It is a wonderful local institution in Airport West. I also had the pleasure, on World Teachers Day, to go to Western Chances and see how scholarships are literally changing lives for some of the most vulnerable kids in Melbourne’s west, putting them on that path to education to unlock their true potential.

We know too that the Be That Teacher campaign that was launched between the Commonwealth and state governments around Australia is a real call to arms for our teachers. They serve our community and they inspire the next generation. We want more people to become teachers. On that note, I want to thank all our VCE students, who are going through their important exams. Please do everything you can, but be well organised.