The value and importance of teachers has come into sharp focus during the past 20 months as the world deals with rapid changes to the way in which we live, play and learn. Besides thanking those in the profession, we should be celebrating it.
World Teachers Day is commemorated worldwide between October 5 and October 12. The aim is to create increased awareness of and celebrate the hard work of all educators, including teachers, researchers and professors.
This year, MySociaLife has announced the launch of a programme to ‘teach the teachers‘ around the latest challenges and opportunities of a life spent increasingly online.
The 75-minute online course uses a web-based ‘log in and learn’ approach to reveal what's happening regarding social media, apps, trends, cyber-security, scams, mental health and essential privacy settings. From this foundation, they can approach their students with a greater understanding and deeper interest to find what excites them in the digital space.
“By teaching the teachers, we can help them guide their students to other ways of using smart devices that may open doors for them, ones which can lead to a love of photography or programming or analytics. If you take the amount of time spent online by GenZ and borrow just 10% of it per day and direct it towards a passion or hobby, you can generate fresh momentum. It can also help with mental health too, given the deeper purpose that students find,” said Dean McCoubrey, Founder of MySociaLife.
The day is also an opportunity to take stock of progress and debate ways to address challenges for the advancement of the teaching profession. It also examines the role of teachers in the attainment of global education targets.
The programme seeks to first explain the different dimensions of life online for students between Grades 4 to 6 and also Grades 7 to 11 - latest trends, social apps, gaming, cyber-bullying, fake news, privacy and security issues.
“Increased screen time can also mean increased risk, so you have to know what’s in front of you as a teacher first, so you can navigate the space with these age groups,” adds McCoubrey.
IOL Education would like to thank the teaching profession for the positive impact they have on individuals, families and communities. Today, take the opportunity to thank the teacher who’s made the most impact on your life and all teachers who have been on the frontline during this time.