The Teacher, the monthly newspaper distributed to schools and educators by M&G Media, publisher of the Mail & Guardian, turns 10 years old this month.
“Happy birthday to a newspaper that is dedicated to servicing the most important people in our society: the architects of tomorrow’s generation,” said M&G editor Ferial Haffajee. “Long may The Teacher continue to educate and shine its torch.”
“Oh la la, The Teacher 10 at last! It’s been a privilege and a whole lot of fun being part of a brave newspaper’s first decade. This isn’t a birthday wish that I’d send to many friends, but to The Teacher I say: I hope the coming years bring you lots and lots of fat, that you get downright heavy, and that your voice gets louder and louder!” said long-time former Teacher editor Julia Grey.
The Teacher officially began in 1996 with the South African Schools Act and was started in response to the fact that the schooling system was in “a very ravaged state at that time,” said Grey.
“It was a joint initiative with Sadtu [the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union] and had funding, and an explicitly expressed intention to support teachers in their professional development, provide information and resources, and generally be the newspaper with the interest of promoting quality and equity in education,” she said.
Grey described the relationship between the monthly newspaper and Sadtu as problematic. “Mainly because of conflicting views of what editorial line we should be taking.”
Other difficulites faced by the paper were trying to cover all the many, many important issues and sectors associated with education in a very limited space.
Grey said some highlights of The Teacher included projects that she thinks have really contributed to “quality/equality in education”.
“We’ve also helped raise awareness of some vital issues [like the scandal of 12-year-olds being injected with contraceptives, racism at school, the issues of standards in the matric exam …]
“My highlights were always about being on the road and visiting schools, where I was generally welcomed with extraordinary hospitality by teachers who approached their profession with enormous courage and integrity,” said Grey.
The National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) also congratulated The Teacher.
“This is indeed an achievement. But 10 years of service to the community of educators without relevance and quality would mean very little. The editor and staff of The Teacher have succeeded admirably in this regard by raising issues and sharing news and ideas,” said Dave Balt, president of Naptosa.
“The Teacher has not only become a source of information, but also a valuable resource that is appreciated by teachers and all those who are interested in education. Naptosa and all it members wish The Teacher every success for the next 10 years.”
Barbara Ludman, the former M&G associate editor said The Teacher was a wonderful initiative.
“The idea was to empower teachers and at the same time give them the tools to empower themselves,” she said.
The South African Council for Educators (SACE) also congratulated The Teacher on a decade of good service to the teachers of South Africa.
“SACE complements the team for providing stimulating material on educational issues. You have empowered educators as they contribute to the transformation of society. Your ongoing efforts in providing unbiased and constructive critique are endorsed. Keep up the good work,” said Rej Brjraj, SACE CEO.
The Teacher was also congratulated by Sadtu Union for “10 years of dedicated work in the field of education. We believe that education is the key to skills development and meeting the growing needs of the labour market and the economy.
“Education is also at the heart of post-apartheid reconstruction as we seek to build a society guided by the democratic principles of the Constitution. Education is a vast and complex sector, employing hundreds of thousands of people and serving a constituency of millions.
“It is, therefore, vital that information about education is widely disseminated and informed debate is encouraged. The Teacher has contributed greatly to this process. May it continue to do so.”