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| Sun May 19 Liza Matthee |
| Mon May 20 Edwin Schroeder |
| Thu May 23 Immanuel Europa |
| Sun May 19 Liza Matthee |
| Mon May 20 Edwin Schroeder |
| Thu May 23 Immanuel Europa |
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My Grade One teacher, was the embodiment of what it means to care. It was October 1950. My mom, dad, and older brother and I had emigrated from Holland to settle on a small wheat farm on the outskirts of a small town in Saskatchewan. The unaccustomed social isolation (none of us except my brother could speak English) and arriving at the time when a harsh prairie winter was setting in resulted in all of us experiencing profound culture shock.
At just the time when I needed it most, my teacher took me under her wings and helped me to develop my own. She lived out an enduring quality of intentional kindness, which is the essence of the altruistic spirit. She was one of those people in whose company you felt that you were the sole focus of her undivided attention, that what was of concern to you was deeply understood and really mattered, and that something good may yet become of you. My well-being seemed to be the major consideration, with her personal need-fulfilment being simply a by-product of doing what was best for me.
My teacher modelled a wonderful capacity for embracing people of widely varying backgrounds. She took great delight in attending to the needs of strangers and went out of her way to ensure that all people in her community experienced a genuine sense of inclusion. She didn’t just tolerate cultural diversity; she celebrated it. My teacher’s deeply held convictions were inseparable from her sense of self. When the crueller of my classmates took it upon themselves to call me D. P. (displaced person), we all learned the meaning of “zero tolerance.” She would not hesitate to forcefully express her moral outrage on such occasions and would involve us all in confronting the utter and complete unacceptability of inflicting hurt upon others. Our classroom was truly an oasis of care.
My teacher put me on the path to becoming a believer in angels of mercy, for she was one of them. I can’t remember her face, but I will never forget how she made me feel. In my own way, I loved her back in Grade One, and today she has my eternal gratitude. I have sometimes been accused of being an irredeemable believer in the idea of human progress. So be it! My Grade One teacher made me that way.
Frank Van Hesteren
The aim of the Math Marathon was to complete 200 000 mathematical calculations in one day - from 08.00 to 12.00 midnight - and friends and families of the school sponsored the event - a certain amount for a certain number of calculations - in an effort to fundraise to be able to employ more teachers for the Foundation Phase school.
The e-Learning component of the Cape Winelands Education District has been struggling to keep teachers interested in the ICT Integration training as many teachers have already done the WebQuest and MSPIL courses. The connection between ICT Integration training and curriculum delivery has not always been very clear and using the moodle site creates the structure for e-Learning for learners with the contents coming from the WebQuests developed by teachers in their ICT Integration training and other assessment tasks coming from the use of “hot potatoes” and other interactive software.
A dream come true!