What do you teach? I am the Zulu subject teacher, and I teach Social Science to Grade 6s.

How long have you been teaching? From 1994 – 2004, then from 2006 to present.

Why do you teach? I love working with children.

What is your passion? Working with and helping people. I also considered going into nursing as an opportunity to help people. I may be reserved but I enjoy communication on many levels, and interaction with children, colleagues, parents and so forth.

What are your goals? To grow as a teacher and an individual – I am currently researching helping children with special needs.

What is your vision? My vision is to establish an integrated learning/teaching environment, and building an understanding of cultural nuances. I am motivated to build that understanding in others, too.

I have found that the staff at Forest View Primary School are very pleasant to work with. I have also found from working with learners from rural areas and now in a more urban environment, that kids are kids – they are basically the same, no matter where they come from. They may face different issues, but essentially children are children wherever you go. I feel that this experience has been very useful to me.

What is your philosophy of teaching? Be the best of what you are, give the best of your ability. As I teach Zulu, over the course of a year I want to see the learners in my care SPEAKING the language. This is more important than being able to write Zulu. They may get full marks for their written work and not be able to converse at all, and that is the opposite of what I strive to achieve in my classroom.  For this reason we spend a lot of time in class SPEAKING Zulu, more than writing it.

It is important never to give up on a child, no matter how negative they seem to be. A teacher’s care and commitment can be the foundation for a positive attitude in months and even years to come.
In some cases we have to overcome family attitudes and develop parents into partners in the best interests of the child