Tim Bullard: [00:00:02] Welcome to the Teach Learn Live podcast. I’m your host, Tim Bullard, Secretary of the Department for Education, Children and Young People in Tasmania.

Tim Bullard: [00:00:10] Through this podcast, we’re going to shed some light on how we’re connecting students and young people to succeed. Every day in our classrooms we’ve got teachers working hard to inspire our learners. And I see great school leaders making a real difference in many people’s lives. Join me as we get to know more great teachers, curious learners and inspiring families and communities who teach, learn and live in Tasmania.

Tim Bullard: [00:00:42] Before we start our conversation today, I would like to acknowledge the Tasmanian Aboriginal people who have been caring for and educating their children and young people here on this island for tens of thousands of years. I pay my respects to elders’ past and present and to all the Aboriginal community members who work in our child and family centres, our schools, our libraries and our business units. And I acknowledge our Aboriginal learners right across the state who will be the strong community members and leaders of tomorrow.

Tim Bullard: [00:01:14] Welcome to a special edition of the Teach, Learn, Live, Live podcast. Today, we’re celebrating teachers for World Teachers Day. Teachers Change the world. The ripples from what they do every day in the classroom flow through the lives of individuals and of generations.

Tim Bullard: [00:01:31] Throughout my public school education, I’ve had many great teachers who both supported and challenged me. But most important, it was their belief in what I could achieve. If we want Tasmanian communities to be strong and vibrant, education is front and centre and teachers play a really important role in that. I come to work every day inspired to work alongside teachers who are working hard to have more of our learners learning more every single day.

Tim Bullard: [00:02:03] Thanks for joining me today as I interview students in public education right across the state to hear what they think is most important about their teachers.

Tim Bullard: [00:02:21] What do you think World Teachers Day is?

Children: [00:02:24] It’s about celebrating teachers.

Children: [00:02:27] To celebrate the teachers all around the world and to thank them.

Children: [00:02:30] You celebrate all the teachers in the world.

Children: [00:02:39] To celebrate teachers.

Children: [00:02:40] Celebrating the teachers and what they’ve taught us.

Children: [00:02:45] It’s an appreciation for all the things that our teachers have done for us.

Children: [00:02:54] To celebrate teachers and what they do for their students.

Tim Bullard: [00:03:13] What is a teacher and what do you think that they do?

Children: [00:03:17] They teach us, obviously. They are kind and they try to make you enthusiastic in learning. They don’t kind of just come here, write stuff on the board and make you copy it. They make you enthusiastic in learning. They make you want to learn they make you have a better future for yourself.

Children: [00:03:36] A teacher is a person who helps us with our education,

Children: [00:03:40] A teacher is who helps us with our education, as he said, and give you value and help you help you with your career in the future.

I think a teacher is somebody who education every student and gives them hope and encouragement for future times.

Children: [00:04:24] A teacher will help you read, and they might help you write.

Children: [00:04:38] Someone who supports your learning.

Children: [00:04:41] Yeah someone who supports you and encourages you during your learning.

Children: [00:04:47] A teacher’s there to help you learn.

Children: [00:04:49] I think they have an enthusiastic approach to learning and lead this new generation of adults into the future.

Tim Bullard: [00:05:03] If you were a teacher, what do you think would make a really good teacher?

Children: [00:05:08] Be kind and just try and do your best.

Children: [00:05:13] Being nice to the students.

Children: [00:05:15] Yeah, I’ll be nice to the students. And I’ll be motivated, and I will motivate them and push them, push them harder and harder until, like, you know, they’re like until they achieve something big. So yeah. That will make me a good teacher.

Tim Bullard: [00:05:30] You’d believe in them?

Children: [00:05:31] Yeah, I’d believe in them.

Tim Bullard: [00:05:32] That’s a good answer.

Children: [00:05:43] I think like supporting the children and like caring for them as well.

Children: [00:05:52] If I was a teacher, I would be very enthusiastic. I wouldn’t just come to work, make everyone copy something off the board. I would like to be very I like everyone to be really I would like I want everyone not to be like ahhhhh school. I want everyone to be like, yes, we’re learning about fractions.

Children: [00:06:40] Not to be too difficult on the students and to give them the time that they need.

Children: [00:06:44] To be kind to my students and help them whenever they need help.

Children: [00:06:49] Someone who can adapt to the learning space and are capable of teaching anyone.

Children: [00:06:57] Someone who supports and educates all youth, no matter their background or culture or anything that’s stopping them from learning.

Children: [00:07:10] Being fun and making the activities that we do fun.

Children: [00:07:15] To be enthusiastic and be kind and to teach them.

Children: [00:07:22] To be funny

Children: [00:07:24] To be funny and kind. And silly.

Tim Bullard: [00:07:29] What’s the best thing that you’ve learned this year?

Children: [00:07:38] Maths, definitely maths, science, science, science and maths. Yeah, yes.

Children: [00:07:46] At first algebra. Why algebra. I just always loved math.

Tim Bullard: [00:07:53] Excellent.

Children: [00:07:54] I’ve learned how space works and how old all the planets are. Why some planets aren’t planets anymore and other stuff.

Children: [00:08:04] Um, probably about my earthquake project that I’m working on at the moment. How earthquakes are formed and how they’re measured and examples of earthquakes.

Children: [00:08:18] Um, I’ve learned a lot about decimals and fractions. I’ve learnt how to play tennis, learnt more about football, learnt more about soccer. And I’ve just been way better on my body with PE. So, I have learned so much about PE and decimals and fractions and maths.

Children: [00:08:39] Ummm Art. And I’ve been learning more about reading,

Children: [00:08:43] Probably history on Aboriginal cultures.

Children: [00:08:47] How our teachers are able to adapt to any situation that they have been given and how they’re still able to or willing to help us, even though they themselves are still trying to figure things out. They don’t make it hard on us and try to make everything the easiest they can for us to learn.

Children: [00:09:16] How to play sport.

Children: [00:09:19] PE,

Children: [00:09:21] I think I can draw a bit better. hmmm me too.

Tim Bullard: [00:09:28] What is your favourite thing about your teacher?

Children: [00:09:31] Well, I love how he is very nice, and he give us our own levels to learn and he has like things planned for us and how we’re gonna do them. And he gives us good feedback.

Children: [00:09:47] She’s fun. And she’s also a little bit creative.

Children: [00:09:52] She’s kind, nice, polite.

Children: [00:09:56] You know, how they never give up and they push the students towards a good thing.

Children: [00:10:02] Oh, she’s nice.

Children: [00:10:04] Well, Mr. Hamilton, he likes to make things fun for us.

Children: [00:10:11] She teaches us and she’s funny.

Children: [00:10:16] I really like how they give us a bit of freedom about what we do and like really enjoy the work they set us.

Children: [00:10:25] I like how they support us and, um, like care for us.

Children: [00:10:31] Um, I like how they are always open to help us and support us in any way they can and how they are always here for us when we need to talk.

Children: [00:10:47] Yeah. Like they encourage us to keep coming to school and like yeah.

Children: [00:10:53] My favourite thing about my teacher is that he doesn’t give up on us. If we give up, he will try and not try, but he will succeed in making sure that we can approach this. He won’t let us give up, more like, yeah.

Children: [00:11:14] She teaches us anything and everything.

Children: [00:11:19] Um, just her personality in general. She’s a very nice, caring and supportive teacher.

Children: [00:11:25] The fact that she gives us more opportunities

Children: [00:11:30] That she’s just nice.

Children: [00:11:32] And, um, we get to play. Yeah on the iPad. Yeah play at the end of the day.

Children: [00:11:38] I love all the fun work like when we get to stick pictures in our books

Tim Bullard: [00:11:44] Does your teacher do anything that’s funny and makes you laugh?

Children: [00:11:49] When a student does something funny, he makes it funnier and makes us all laugh and tells a few kind of jokes type thing. And it’s fun.

Children: [00:12:00] A dead ant.

Children: [00:12:01] Oh, she does a lot of things. She loses her phone and it’s like in her pocket or her glasses are in her head. And just anything funny.

Children: [00:12:12] Once when we were playing silent ball, it was the end and I threw the ball to him, but it landed on his head and bounced off.

Children: [00:12:23] Oh, a dead ant.

Children: [00:12:26] Dead ant.

Tim Bullard: [00:12:28] The dead ant? I’m hearing a lot about this dead ant. And why do you have a dead ent?

Children: [00:12:32] When someone goes up a reading level?

Children: [00:12:34] Oh, so is it like a celebration?

Children: [00:12:36] Yeah. Yeah.

Tim Bullard: [00:12:37] Do you have a special message that you’d like to give to your teacher?

Children: [00:12:41] Don’t stop teaching us. And thank you.

Children: [00:12:45] Thank you for always encouraging us.

Children: [00:12:49] Thank you for being my teacher. And you’re kind of great. And you always look on the bright side and that would be me if I were a teacher.

Children: [00:13:04] Keep it up, keep teaching students stuff.

Children: [00:13:07] Yeah. Keep doing what you’re doing. Keep giving values to the students and helping them with their career. Never give up. Yeah. Stay motivated. Keep doing what you’re doing. It’s awesome

Children: [00:13:18] You’re doing the best teacher in the world.

Children: [00:13:21] Thank you for teaching us.

Children: [00:13:24] Like, I just want to say thank you for, like, supporting us and being there.

Children: [00:13:29] Thank you for supporting us during our learning and encouraging us.

Children: [00:13:33] Thank you for making school enjoyable to come to.

Children: [00:13:36] Thank you for just trying to do everything and help us with a lot of things.

Children: [00:13:43] Yeah. Thank you for being there for me and helping me when I’m when I need it.

Children: [00:13:47] Yeah. Thanks for helping since grade seven.

Children: [00:13:49] Thank you.

Children: [00:13:51] Thank you for what you have done for us.

Children: [00:13:54] Um. Mr Hamilton, you’re cool and a good teacher.

Children: [00:14:02] You have helped me with my fractions, and when I wasn’t doing that well, you put more time into my learning and I’m really thankful for that.

Tim Bullard: [00:14:15] And can you say a big thank you to all of the teachers in the world?

Children: [00:14:18] Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Tim Bullard: [00:14:34] I hope that you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast to hear more about those people who teach, learn and live in Tasmania, join us at www.decyp.tas.gov.au/podcast or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Why not subscribe so that you can keep up to date with what we’re doing? Or if you have a story about an inspiring teacher or student. Email us at teachlearnlive@decyp.tas.gov.au