Newsman Dan Rather once said, “The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called 'truth'."

It is Teacher Appreciation Week from February 7th-13th, and Rather's message is a timely reminder of the challenges we place before our teachers and the rewards we all reap from their dedication, compassion and expertise. Education today is a demanding sector in which to work. The Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) would like to express its profound thanks to the more than 8,000 teachers who, each day and often, beyond school hours, do our English public school network proud across the province.

Our network is responsible for educating some 110,000 youth and adult students, preparing them for a rapidly changing world, in French as well as English. Not only do our students bring with them an endless diversity of potential, challenges and backgrounds, they come to the classroom ready to think and learn in ways that no one has yet fully assimilated. It's a dynamic time in education, and our teachers are responding with professionalism, integrity and commitment.

Another public commentator, historian Jacques Barzun, once said: “Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition”. QESBA, its member school boards, along with all Quebec parents, the community and our provincial government must to do everything we can to restore that lost tradition. We must each do our part to ensure that this most important of professions is properly rewarded, in a manner that is commensurate with the responsibilities it entails.

 “Teachers who inspire realize there will always be rocks in the road ahead of us,” to quote a final, unnamed source. “They will be stumbling blocks or stepping stones; it all depends on how we use them.” We tip our hats to teachers, this week and every other.

Debbie Horrocks

President