What do educators want for World Teachers’ Day? ‘Please, no mugs’

What do educators really want for World Teachers’ Day this Friday? I can bet it’s not chocolate and empty platitudes.

Queensland’s teachers, of which there are more than 115,000, have one of the most important jobs in society – helping to educate, inspire and transform children into well-rounded adults.

Teachers would like more pay and relief from impossibly high workloads to prevent burnout.Credit: iStock

So it’s about time we gave them more.

To start with, I’m pretty sure teachers want to be safe from assaults by students and parents. Teachers would also like more pay and relief from impossibly high workloads to prevent burnout.

A 2022 Monash University survey showed most Australian teachers felt the public did not respect them, and a large majority indicated they were planning to, or would like to, leave the profession.

A majority reported their workloads were unmanageable, while only one in three would recommend teaching as a career.

Pressures included the complexity of the learning, behaviour and social needs of children, an increasing burden of administration tasks, limited support from school leadership, and an overloaded curriculum.

Don’t even get me started on that tired gripe about how teachers score short days and long school holidays.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who knows teachers who mark essays on the kitchen table after dinner, or who work through their breaks.

Kristina Moffett, who has 16 years’ experience as a teacher and a director of pedagogy, said teachers often worked during personal hours, including at night and on weekends.

“They take school children for extracurricular activities, tuition and support … as well as during their lunch and morning tea breaks,” she said.

Brisbane teacher Kristina Moffett says she and her colleagues often work in their own time to prepare engaging lessons.

Moffett said excellent teachers worked hard outside the classroom to prepare resources and plan effective and engaging lessons, while also collaborating with other teachers and communicating with support workers, such as occupational therapists, and families (they might have 30 to 180-plus students, depending on whether they work in a primary or secondary school).

“Doing every aspect of their job takes time; time they really don’t have during the day as they are in class, so [they often work] into their personal time,” she said.

It’s also important to recognise early childhood educators, who have the crucial job of ensuring children under five get the best start in life.

I put a callout on social media to ask teachers what they wanted on World Teachers’ Day on October 27.

The answers included “please, no mugs”, a handwritten note from students or parents, kids’ portraits of their teacher, recognition, self-care items, vouchers, a masseuse to visit the staff room for 10-minute slots, a coffee voucher for staff to take a break together and connect, and a simple thank-you.

But I think this final response sums up the selfless nature of so many of our teachers: “The ultimate ‘gift’ is parents who are collaborative and supportive of me, so we can both do the best for their child.”

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