Editorial Commentary Analysis

Tribute to Teachers

This editorial commentary belongs to the BBC Radio 4 programme A Point of View, and was first broadcasted on 29th October, 2010. 

It is presented by Sarah Dunant, paying a tribute to the female teachers who influenced her and the rest of students of her generation to become the women they are now. The editorial commentary begins just with the title of the programme and the name the presenter, without any more information about her, and then Sarah Dunant starts talking about two memorial services to which she had recently attended, both of two teachers she had in her years studying at school. She talks about these two women, their names and what were exactly their occupation, their interests and how they fought to provide girl students the same education than boys. She says that the two memorials were full of women who had been their students and thinks over how immense was their influence, linking this to personal experiences and anecdotes from her own life and to how these experiences with the teachers helped her grow as a person and not just to achieve a lot of information about history, literature, art, and the rest of the school subjects. These teachers educated them in life. 

Then, Dunant changes to a more general approach. She points out that the end of the war placed women again in their place as mothers and wives and had to left bigger dreams behind —she puts the example of her teachers wanting to have theaters and art galleries—, and that is why they decide to become teachers and pass their ideals to girls of the following generations, who would be the ones in charge of the next waves of feminism, and to convince them that they were as much capable of everything as boys. Dunant denounces that these women have not yet received the credit they deserve for their work towards equality. 

The presenter ends up claiming how important is the presence of teachers who inspire, in every period of history and both to boys and girls, and finishes —after a brief mention to the general debate on education— talking again about one of her teachers and some objects she left her, symbols for Dunant of the work of all women teachers and the inspiration they were for schoolgirls. 

The programme ends with the repeating of the name of the presenter, specifying that it was written by her, and the name of the producer. 

Begoña Martín Lara.