Ms CLANCY (Elder) (11:12): I rise today in support of this motion to recognise and celebrate World Teachers' Day and thank my very good friend the member for Davenport for bringing this motion to the house. World Teachers' Day is a fantastic opportunity for us to recognise and celebrate the crucial role that teachers play in our community.

One of my favourite traditions since being elected is to celebrate World Teachers' Day by dropping off delicious cakes from the bakery The Cake Hut in Melrose Park on South Road, just opposite Castle Plaza if anyone needs to know. I feel like Father Christmas: I fill up the boot with cakes and then go and spend the morning delivering them off to schools. It is really lovely getting to connect with school staff and being able to celebrate them and tell them how valued they are.

This week I am hosting Angus, a year 10 student from Unley High School who I recognise is in the gallery, who wrote the following to share his experience with teachers at Westbourne Park Primary School and Unley High School. In Angus's words:

Schooling isn't just a process that children must go through in order for them to enter the workforce and develop into independent adults, it's the period in which students develop their interests, passions, and overall identity.

Teachers are what form the crucial backbone in this stage of both childhood and adulthood development and often don't receive the amount of acknowledgement or even treatment they deserve.

Students don't normally make this realisation until they are well out of school, and their opportunity to say thank you to those teachers who only want the best out of them, has passed.

Throughout my journey in primary and high school, I have had various teachers that I like more than others, but regardless of personal opinions, every single one has made me strive for my best.

It didn't matter whether it was subjects I was interested in, or subjects that I only took because they were compulsory, my teachers always brought the best out of my skills, which is crucial in every single workplace.

This aspect of the education system is often left in the dark, whether teachers don't seek recognition or appreciation.

Instead, what drives their continual effort is their passion and trust in young people, alongside their optimism on a prosperous future for South Australia, Australia and the world.

I am lucky to have [had] this realisation while still in school, and instead of pushing away my teachers, I can seek advice and feedback from them with the knowledge they do what they do to see all students prosper.

Teachers also prove as necessary role models for all children, and don't just develop student knowledge, but student behaviour. During my primary school education in particular, all of my teachers embodied significant values such as respect, integrity, [honesty] and diversity.

In leading by example, these teachers have set the standard for me to develop these values as I look forward to university and beyond. I will be forever grateful for the pivotal role that teachers have played throughout my education, and hope that all students across our state and country will be as well.

So, for this World Teachers' Day, let's open closed doors, and give thanks, recognition and gratitude to all teachers for much of the work that they do for students in the dark.

A big thankyou to Angus for your thoughtful, insightful message on World Teachers' Day. Special shout-out to all my wonderful teachers at Paringa Park Primary School and Brighton Secondary School; my favourite teacher of all, my brother Ryan, who is a teacher at Unley High School; and my second favourite teacher, the member for Black.

In closing, I join Angus in thanking each and every single teacher in South Australia, particularly those at our schools in Elder, for their work in shaping the next generation. I commend the motion.