To commemorate International Teachers’ Day, we spoke to Maria da Graça Ponte, a retired teacher and vice-president of the Teachers’ Social Solidarity Association (ASSP-Açores). This association is committed to supporting teachers’ professional and personal development. Among the activities promoted by ASSP’s Azores delegation are the Reading Club and the ‘Presença Amiga’ (Friendly Presence) project, which aims to combat isolation among teachers who are no longer teaching.
Correio dos Açores: How important is it to mark Teachers’ Day, especially in the current context of education in Portugal?
Maria da Graça S. Rego Ponte (Vice-President of the Teachers’ Social Solidarity Association of the Azores delegation/retired Biology and Geology teacher): World Teachers’ Day has been celebrated annually since 1994 on the recommendation of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and UNESCO. It is important to raise awareness of teachers’ importance as agents of change and social development.
What initiatives will ASSP promote to celebrate this day?
On October 23rd, ASSP will personally pay tribute to Professor Rubens de Almeida Pavão for his lifelong dedication to education and for his commitment to opening this national ASSP delegation. In this tribute, we want to symbolically integrate all those who have dedicated their lives to teaching, knowledge, and culture.
How do you describe the current panorama of teaching?
Each era imposes challenges inherent to all the dimensions of the teaching profession. However, in recent years, due to changes in parents’ jobs and the absence of a family support network, for example, grandparents, all social, family, and personal problems have come to the school, often without being solved with a multidisciplinary and individual approach.
On the other hand, today, the great and rapid development of information technologies is a challenge that is often disproportionate to the time and opportunity available for careful and effective training of teachers, especially younger teachers.
How do ASSP’s values translate into accompanying teachers throughout all stages of their careers, from the beginning to retirement?
ASSP has a training center with professional and personal development proposals to meet teachers’ expectations.
Some delegations provide temporary accommodation in residences that can be used for travel, outings, and other situations.
It also has protocols/collaboration agreements with entities/services that can complement ASSP’s work, add value to its intervention, and benefit its members.

What initiatives does the association promote to continue supporting retired teachers?
Every year, all the delegations prepare a plan of socio-cultural activities that is proposed and organized to meet the suggestions/needs of the members, their families, friends, and the community in general.
The National Directorate and the Delegations also promote and organize trips and outings for members and their families every year.
How does ASSP foresee the future of teaching in the Azores, considering the growing demotivation that has led many teachers to leave the profession?
I don’t have any objective data to answer this question. On the other hand, the teaching career here in the Azores, in relation to colleagues on the mainland, has already met some of the demands regarding progression and recovery of length of service.
What do you find most rewarding about the teaching profession?
The most rewarding thing about teaching is learning every day with the students, for the students, and, above all, for ourselves, sharing and enriching that learning with the whole school community. Being a teacher forces us to improve as people and professionals.
Is there a story or moment in your career that you would like to share that has specially marked you?
I think that each of us will have not one but a few defining moments throughout our career. For example, meeting former students who remind us how much they enjoyed the subject, the classes, and the socializing is gratifying. But despite all the enthusiasm that has mobilized me in this profession, I am aware that we often don’t reach everyone with the same clarity and availability.
What message would you like to leave teachers on this day?
To be a teacher is to leave an indelible mark on the generation we have helped to grow. We must do this with pleasure, dedication, and generosity.


Daniela Canha is a journalist for the newspaper Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros, director.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.