Welcome to the Teacher: Your Guide to Education. The newspaper was scheduled to be renamed ”The Educator” this month.
In March, I promised that we would be sporting a new name to go with our brighter look and focus. However, after a great deal of soul-searching and fierce debate, it was decided that there could be no other name as apt and simple as the Teacher.
In addition, the South African Democratic Teachers Union publishes and distributes The Educator’s Voice to its members. We did not wish to confuse readers or engage in destructive competition, rather wishing to complement such media efforts.
Shakespeare said a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. So we will be retaining our original name, spelling out our broader mission – to become Your Guide to Education.
This newspaper’s goal is to raise awareness of and assist in education through news; analysis of policies; information on study opportunities; and production of resources for educators, learners, parents and anyone interested in education.
While we recognise that many professionals prefer to be called educators, we believe that the Teacher is a name that transcends the classroom. Moms and dads, educators at schools, lecturers at tertiary institutions – anyone, really – is involved in teaching.
We respect teachers’ wishes to be called educators and to refer to pupils as learners, and will use these terms where necessary. We hope that educators, parents, academics and everyone in our country will join us as we strive to make teaching and learning, both inside and outside the classroom, more rewarding.
the Teacher has, since April 1996, evolved into a powerful tool in classrooms throughout South Africa, particularly in rural areas, where this newspaper is often the only form of reading material.
Our goal is to inform about education policy, report on news at schools and teacher-training providers, and offer resource material.
We will strive to uplift the morale of the teaching profession, which has dropped over the years.
Several changes have been make to the Teacher aimed at improving the content and the look. I urge you to let us know what else we can do to make your newspaper better.
Our mission is to inform and provide materials for the promotion and advancement of a learning culture in South Africa.
Join us as a partner in learning as we seek to become the voice of educators, parents, learners, academics, and anyone interested in educating South Africa.
Edwin Naidu
the editor
— The Teacher/Mail & Guardian, April 2001.