Many elderly people are happy to be confined to their sofas and to perform only essential chores in and around the house. But 81-year-old “Tannie” Tienie Roos – actually Dr Roos – is bucking this trend.
This English and history teacher at Roshunville Primary School in Schweizer Reneke in the North West faces her grade four and seven learners with the energy usually reserved for the young. This enthusiasm, together with her work ethic, has earned Roos the respect of both learners and colleagues.
When the Teacher joined her during an English lesson, Roos’s ability to create a lively and enjoyable learning atmosphere among learners was instantly visible.
She walked between the desks, chatting to learners to make sure no one is left behind. Every time she asked a question, they would shout the answer out.
“Don’t shout, raise up your hand,” she would tell them.
Getting learners to eat from your palm is a rare feat for teachers these days, but Roos appears to know the secret. The trick, she said, lies with the teacher.
“Children like a subject because of a teacher and the more love and commitment a teachers displays, the more learners would buy in,” she said.
Boitumelo Maselo (17), a prefect and grade 7 learner, summed up the learners’ feelings: “She is like a mother to us. She makes learning very enjoyable by engaging every one of us and she never stops tickling us with her side-splitting jokes,” said Maselo.
She said “Tannie” is special and always approachable and what she likes most about her is that she “does not judge a person based on one’s skin colour. She treats us as her own children.” The issue of race has been close to Roos’s heart.
At the age of 60, she obtained a doctorate in political science through Unisa, focusing on this very issue. “My thesis was on the problem of race in South Africa and I drew parallels with other overseas countries that have plural communities like Switzerland,” she said.
Her academic achievement did not come easy.
“Twenty years ago while I was studying for my doctorate, our house burnt down completely. I was devastated as among some of my most prized possessions I lost was my dissertation that was due on that Monday,” she said.
It was a painful episode but one that she had to overcome. Two years later, she graduated. She said in total her academic career spans 20 years – all with Unisa.
She believes her passion for education and being educated came from her mother, a pioneer in her time. “As early as 1900, my mother held a degree in maths and science,” she said.
While studying towards her PhD, Roos never stopped working as an educator – a job she started early in life. “I passed my matric at 17 years and by the age of 19 I started teaching.” In 1945, she started teaching at a school for disabled learners in Lichtenburg, North West, after she obtained her teacher’s diploma.
She retired from teaching 15 years ago at the age of 65. She had been teaching English and Afrikaans for grades eight to 12 at a high school.
But hardly a month after she took retirement, she was approached to come and lend a hand at Roshunville based on her vast teaching experience, she said.
A bell rings to announce the end of the school day. Roos’s husband, Abram, has arrived to fetch her. They live in a modest, self-contained house with a large yard and a well-manicured lawn.
“Today I have prepared lunch and I hope you will join us,” she said.
Shifting the focus to the new education system, Roos said she likes certain aspects of it and dislikes others.
“I like the new text books; they are graphic and relevant to our context. But I also feel they do not go deep enough in addressing some of the key concepts,” she said.
Her message to all teachers as they celebrate World Teachers’ Day this month is that they should be committed to their calling.
“Children like a subject because of the love and attitude of their teacher.” She added: “Regard teaching as a calling not as a job.”