Meet the winners …
Excellence in Primary School Teaching
Nomvuzo Constance Mtyide, St Patrick’s Junior Secondary School, Eastern Cape
If you ask Mtyide what the biggest challenge is at her fee-paying school, located 15km away from Mthatha, she does not hesitate: “We have no laboratory. St Patrick’s has limited resources, especially with regard to science.” Teaching was not Mtyide’s first choice. She chose the career based on her lack of funds to study medicine and her ability to get a bursary for education. But she soon realised that she had made the right move. To make the most of their school days, Mtyide urges learners to be committed, hard-working, cooperative in class and self-motivated. She urges teachers to focus on planning, as well as enhancing knowledge of their focus area to optimise their skills. She suggests that teachers vary their assessment strategies for pupils by combining traditional individual exam-based assessments with other strategies such as group work. Mtyide teaches maths, science, and economics and management sciences to grades 7 and 9. “I’d like the school to have the resources to further effective teaching,” she says. “We don’t have enough workshops on content.” Mtyide knows what she is talking about — she coordinates the school’s integrated quality management committee, which evaluates teacher performance.
Excellence in Grade R Teaching
Mamokete Zondi, Mehopung Primary School, Free State
If you were in any of the shops selling toys in Ficksburg in December, you may have come across Zondi, a Grade R teacher at Mehopung Primary School in Ficksburg, talking to parents buying Christmas presents. “I went to every store in town,” she says. “I helped the parents choose the right materials and related a story about my schoolchildren’s lack of toys.” Through donations, she managed to give every child in her class a toy this year. It is this kind of dedication that has kept her teaching Grade R since 2004 in spite of financial difficulties. Her school, which charges R200 a year, is not funded by the education department. Support material for Grade R is expensive, so Zondi pays for things out of her small salary or improvises. She uses waste products such as bottle tops to make cars and photocopies her books from those used at other schools. Many educators are leaving Grade R, she says, because of low pay and a lack of benefits. But Zondi says she loves teaching this age. Grade R is a crucial foundation; it teaches children to be sociable, accept information and follow instructions. To capture their hearts, Zondi makes everything fun. Her career highlight was conducting a workshop on emergent reading and writing. It was so successful, it was used to educate other teachers.
Excellence in Secondary School Teaching
Samuel Mphuthi, Rekgotsofetse Secondary School, Free State
Mphuthi became a teacher by chance. “I was helping a friend with his schoolwork and the teaching bug bit me. I realised I have an ability to explain things well and my friends would always come to me for advice and help,” he says. Mphuthi started teaching in 2004 and has been at Rekgotsofetse Secondary School ever since. He teaches maths to grades 10 and 12 and is the head of department for maths and science. Nothing pleases him more than seeing learners mastering a subject they did not understand before. “Most of the learners I’ve taught are either pursuing studies in engineering or have become established engineers,” says Mphuthi. Even though most learners come to school hungry, Mphuthi does not allow it to demoralise him. When the performance of one of his brightest learners started to suffer as a result of poverty, he intervened and bought him food and clothes. Rekgotsofetse is the only school that provides secondary education in the area and Mphuthi initiated a “twinning” programme with another secondary school 35km away. Teachers and learners regularly meet to revise past exam papers and share ideas on how to tackle difficult maths questions. Mphuthi also enjoys writing and recently published a book.
Excellence in Inclusive Education and Special Needs Teaching
Anna Pienaar, Alma School, Gauteng
Pienaar joined Alma School 15 years ago and is a head of department in the intermediate phase. She is a qualified teacher with a BA degree and a higher diploma from the universities of Pretoria and Potchefstroom. She did not start teaching immediately after attaining her qualifications, choosing to look after her own children instead. “After a 20-year break, I felt it was time for me to use my training. What better place than this special school? I decided to help just for a short time, but it’s turned into a solid 15 years.” Pienaar adapts the foundation-phase programmes taught at mainstream schools to teach her 12 disabled learners. She says her priority is to equip disabled children with the necessary skills to face life on their own. The school focuses on three learning areas: numeracy, literacy and life skills. “We try to expose the children to a whole range of real-life situations by taking them on outings,” says Pienaar. The school has set up a feeding scheme in order to nourish learners and teach them cooking skills. Pienaar uses specialised assistive devices to help them achieve their academic outcomes. She says the school’s biggest challenge is the costs associated with purchasing the specialised materials and transporting learners.
Excellence in Primary School Leadership
Thulani Z Nkosi, Mlondozi Primary School, Mpumalanga
Nkosi has been the principal of Mlondozi Primary School in Hartebeeskop since 2003. He says he became a teacher because he likes children. “They are fun to work with and I always enjoy their company.” Nkosi comes from a poor household and this played a big role in influencing him to become a teacher. “It was only through education that I could fulfil my dreams. I help learners who face similar difficulties to succeed in life,” he says. Although he spends most of the time doing administrative work, Nkosi finds time to teach English to learners who struggle with the subject. “This is a special intervention initiative on my part after I realised that a lot of learners from different grades have difficulty with the subject,” he says. When Nkosi took over at Mlondozi Primary, most teachers were unqualified. One of the first things he did was to motivate them to upgrade their qualifications. “I believe the school management team, learners and parents must all be involved in every decision I take to ensure we pull in one direction,” he says. With poverty being such a prevalent issue in the area, he initiated a programme for retail stores to donate food to needy children. He has also secured a sponsorship from a businessman to buy school uniforms for 10 poor learners every year.
Excellence in Adult Basic Education and Training
Douglas Lindumuzi Fakude, Wattville Adult Education Centre, Gauteng
Fukude’s first choice was to be a nurse, but because of his family’s finances he couldn’t pursue his dream and chose to become a teacher instead. “I don’t regret it. I’ve developed a passion for the profession. I feel that in the course of my teaching career, I have produced not only good results, but also learners who have gone on to conquer the world,” he says. Fakude became manager of the Wattville Adult Education Centre in 1999. His centre holds adult basic education and training (Abet) classes from Level 1 to 4 and also caters to Grade 12 repeaters.The centre places a strong emphasis on skills development programmes to ensure learners are self-sufficient. It offers training in sewing, carpentry and information technology and is about to introduce catering. Fakude’s teaching method? Self-discovery. “Learners work on their own to research information. It boosts their confidence. My role as a teacher is just to help troubleshoot problems.” Fakude believes government should improve the service conditions for Abet teachers and says it should also clear up the confusion regarding the old technical college qualifications.
Excellence in Secondary School Leadership
Christo Thurston, Riverside High School, Gauteng
“My management secret is chocolate,” says Thurston, acting principal of Riverside High School in Vereeniging. He is conveying the importance of building sound working relationships with others. ‘You can marry the classroom and the office,” he says. “A manager is involved in finance and admin, but the key to success is how he or she manages human resources.” Thurston has some practical advice: “Start with a positive comment. Don’t attack. Listen to the individual, remembering that behind the exterior there is someone with dreams.” He believes in leading by example and getting to know his staff. It is a belief that has served Thurston well in overcoming the racial prejudice he encountered among staff on first joining the school. To overcome it, he organised a braai. “Food unites people and the staff realised they had a lot in common.” Thurston also restructured the school committees to be more demographically representative. “It sounds like forced integration, but people started appreciating one another,” he says. Riverside High has a sound 96% average matric pass rate, with a 50% university exemption rate. Thurston recently walked into the library of North West University and saw three former learners. One of them said: “Sir, it’s all because of what you offered me.”
Lifetime Achievement Award
Piet Swart, Hoërskool Ben Vorster, Limpopo
Swart has spent the past 24 years building a multicultural, meritocratic place of excellence at Hoërskool Ben Vorster in Tzaneen. In 36 years of teaching, he counts as his greatest achievement the role he played in 1996 to convince parents to agree to a phased-in multicultural policy for the school. So controversial was the decision, there were threats to his life. Swart pioneered integration through sport. He noticed that few black learners were taking part in extramural activities and recruited talented black youngsters from disadvantaged primary schools to set an example. As a result, the school now has a host of sporting triumphs to its name. The school boasts facilities a university would envy: an indoor heated pool, indoor cricket facility, indoor hockey facility, a dance academy with a sprung floor and a gym. There is also a restaurant and a reading and computer centre. All were built during Swart’s tenure. Hoërskool Ben Vorster has won the trophy for the best performing school in the Mopani district nine out of 10 times and its Grade 12 pass rate has been 100% for the past seven years. Four years ago, a black learner got seven distinctions and Swart uses her as an example to motivate others. Swart, who is set to retire soon, is laying the groundwork for workshops on multiculturalism.