Samoa honours her teachers

By Vatapuia Maiava 06 October 2016, 12:00AM

Samoa paused yesterday to honour its teachers.

The occasion was the local commemoration of International Teachers Day.

Throughout the country, students paid unique tributes to their teachers.

Principal of Gagaifo Lefaga Primary School, Masae Tupou, said Teacher’s day means a lot to those in her line of work.

Aged 50 and from the village of Matautu Lefaga, Masae says that the special day gives them a chance to reflect on all the good they have done.

“This day has been put aside for us teachers,” she told the Samoa Observer.

“It reminds us of our work and our ancestors who were our first teachers. It shows how hard the job of a teacher is.

“We don’t just focus on the minds, body and language of the students but we also focus on their personalities and now that this day for teachers has come, we see it as the most important for us.

“We remember and we keep in mind that this job and duty isn’t an easy one because there are many problems we face.”

According to Mrs. Tupou, many times the teachers work out of sheer willingness to help the students.

“A lot of the times we push through with our eagerness to bring up the standard of the children in Samoa,” she said.

“Especially nowadays where there has been much change. We try and try to teach the children well here in the village.”

Mrs. Tupou also explained how the key behind a successful teacher is patience.

“The struggles we face as teachers starts all the way from the year ones where we need a lot of patience for,” she said.

“We need patience to understand the state all our children are in because we have those who need more attention; we also have those who need a lot more discipline.

“We must have patience for those who don’t listen and others who give us trouble so we can teach them properly. With patience we can give all the students equally the service we offer.”

Leading a school in a rural school, Mrs. Tupou says that their school is in need of help.

“We are in need of a lot of reading books in our school,” she said.

“Not just that, we need proper resources to better teach the students. We also need computers like many other schools who are now using that technology.

“We need those things to help out with teaching the students out here in Lefaga.

“Whatever is good in Apia where they have computers in each room, good classrooms, enough resources, and enough money to do their work both in the classrooms and the compounds then that is also good for us out here.

“We out here in Lefaga should be treated the same as those in Apia.”

Mrs. Tupou concluded with well wishes to all the teachers of Samoa.

“I wish all the teachers out there a good teachers day,” she said.

“Not just for the teachers here but also the government schools, and all other schools. This job isn’t easy but we teachers need to be patient, we need to stand and work together no matter how hard it gets.”

By Vatapuia Maiava 06 October 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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