Sydney
Students of all ages will be encouraged to nominate their favourite teacher of all time and post an online message of support as part of a new program to highlight the important role that teachers play.
The Prime Minister will today launch a six-week competition for people to tell the story of their favourite teacher during a roundtable with student teachers and Minister for School Education Peter Garrett at the University of New South Wales.
The Prime Minister will kick off the campaign with a video in which she talks about her favourite teacher and the importance of education.
The aim of the new campaign is to generate a conversation on social media about the inspirational role that high quality teachers play in students' lives.
Pupils, past and present, will be invited to post a message, photo or a video about their favourite teacher on the Prime Minister's Facebook page.
The competition will be run online across a range of social media channels with the Prime Minister and other ministers.
A range of social media platforms will be used, including:
• People posting their entry on the Prime Minister's Facebook page;
• A video of the impact of education on the Prime Minister's life and how it has shaped the Prime Minister's views on education;
• A Facebook Q&A session on education; and
• A live blog about education.
Under our National Plan for School Improvement we want Australian schools back in the top 5 schooling systems in the world by 2025, and we know that great teachers are the key to getting there.