Funny, Awesome, Wicked, Cool & Excellent Teachers

New Zealand teachers are funny, awesome, wicked, cool and excellent

Media Release

10 December 2003

New Zealand teachers are funny, awesome, wicked, cool and excellent

Nominations have closed for the ASG's National Excellence in Teaching Awards (NEiTA) and the results confirm that Kiwis love their teachers, describing them as funny, awesome, wicked, cool and excellent.

This year 463 teachers were nominated during the five and a half month nomination period. This is 25 percent up on the last awards round because of the inclusion of early childhood teachers with 115 nominations. There were 243 primary and intermediate teachers and 105 secondary school teachers nominated.

Pat Lynch, convener of New Zealand Selection Panel and member of NEiTA Advisory Council, says the introduction of early childhood teachers into NEiTA has injected a fresh enthusiasm into the awards process.

"The early childhood nominations have shown that New Zealanders place importance on their children's education from the beginning. They are also keen to acknowledge the teachers who play such a pivotal role in laying the foundations for a solid education in the future.

"What has also been apparent in all of the nominations is that teachers are an incredibly versatile and vibrant group of people. Among the teachers nominated have been those for their chemistry teaching skills as much as their rugby coaching success.

"The energy that the parents and secondary school students have put into their nominations has also shown the depth of gratitude they feel for their teachers.

All nominated teachers are now invited to submit a self-portrait form, which details their teaching background, techniques and accomplishments.

From here, 20 teachers - four early childhood, eight primary and eight secondary teachers - will advance to become regional award winners. Six national winners will then be announced in November 2004 . The national recipients also have the opportunity to present a submission for an ASG Professional Development grant worth up to $5,000.

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