Remote NT educator Tarna Andrews one of many honoured on World Teachers’ Day

Hats are coming off to honour the hardworking teachers of the Territory and celebrate their careers – including one from a remote Red Centre community, who has been teaching for almost 40 years.

Areyonga teacher Tarna Andrews teaching students. Picture: Supplied

Territory teachers – from the Top End, to those serving remote communities in the Red Centre – are being honoured for their hard work on their namesake day.

October 25 is World Teachers’ Day, and with this year’s theme “hats off to teachers”, headwear across the Territory is being raised for hardworking educators such as Tarna Andrews.

Ms Andrews has been a remote community teacher for 38 years, starting as assistant teacher in the Pintupi Luritja bilingual school in 1986.

Areyonga teacher Tarna Andrews teaching students. Picture: Supplied

“Teaching has my dream ever since my uncle encouraged me when I was young. It is important that we give our young ones a good education so they can make choices to have a good life,” she said.

Areyonga teacher Tarna Andrews teaching students. Picture: Supplied

“We are role models to these kids. They look at us and see that they can make a good pathway like us. They can see an option, so they don’t go (down) bad ways.”

Now serving the Areyonga and Haasts Bluff communities, Ms Andrews teaches important cultural traditions such as inma bush dancing and bush tucker knowledge.

“We are on country and strongly connected to learning through culture. At Areyonga School, we are bilingual, so the learning is two-way approach through Pitjantjara and English. We are learning through our own language and that is a strong way for our kids,” she said.

Originally published as Remote NT educator Tarna Andrews one of many honoured on World Teachers’ Day