Lynne Douglas (right) reads her NZEI award recognising 50 years of service to teaching with fellow Leamington School teachers Margaret Grover (centre) and Courtney Ryder at Stables on Alpha on August 24.Lynne Douglas was struggling for words after receiving an award celebrating her 50 years of service to teaching last Thursday night.
“It’s quite special,” she said. “It’s a real thrill; I feel quite humble. It’s almost embarrassing because you think, that’s a long, long time, you know, looking back.”
Douglas retired from full time teaching in 2015 and still works as a reliever at Leamington School.
“I still receive a great deal of pleasure out of watching the enthusiasm and excitement that the children bring to their learning,” she said.
Apart from technological advancements, one of the most noticeable changes over the past five decades had been “the amazing development of the understanding of neuro-diverse children who were once considered to have behavioural issues”, she said.
“With this understanding these children are able to thrive and succeed.”
Douglas was one of 72 Cambridge teachers honoured for more than two decades of service by Cambridge’s New Zealand Educational Institute last week.
Leamington School principal Mike Malcolm said the union regularly held events to welcome new teachers to the profession.
“And we thought, there are a lot of people who have given so many years of service and making a difference and we’ve never done anything for them,” he said. “So that’s where this idea was born.”
Three other Leamington School teachers – Pauline Baty, Margaret Grover and Helen James – were recognised for notching up 40 years of service.
“There were 70 teachers receiving awards and the minimum award was 20 years and the maximum award was 50, so it would be close to 2000 years of experience in teaching in that room alone,” Malcolm said after the ceremony.
“I think the common variable between these kaiako rangatira is they have a very unique talent – that they look at a child and they see their potential and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to try and help that come to the forefront.”
