TEACH Ambassadors of 2012 are ready to forge ahead

Conviction, passion and talent – after speaking with the new TEACH Ambassadors for 2012, it seems they have these traits in abundance. The group are in the process of wrapping up an intensive training programme at the South African Breweries Training Institution, where I caught up with them earlier in the week to discuss their thoughts about the initiative, how they came in contact with TEACH South Africa, and their general excitement at helping to shape the potential leaders and big thinkers of this country.

“The training has been tough, but also really interesting,” says TEACH Ambassador Jacqui Watson. “We’re taken out of our comfort zone, bonding with people we don’t know and learning how to cope away from home, while learning the crucial skills we’ll need during our time in the classroom. 

“Just because we know something doesn’t mean we can explain it, so the training has been extremely useful in this way.”

Jacqui will graduate tomorrow (14 December, 2011) from the University of Cape Town (UCT) with her Honours degree in marketing and business science, and in January she moves to Dobsonville’s Isipo Primary School to teach maths to Grade 5 – 7 learners. 

Like many of the 2012 TEACH Ambassadors, Jacqui also has some experience in education and working with children. During her time at UCT, she took part in after-hours tutoring programmes within various Western Cape townships, and felt a passion develop to help improve the state of education in South Africa.

Western Cape University Masters graduate (computational finance) Charles Manzini also joins TEACH South Africa with similar experience.

“I come from Khayelitsha, where I helped lead the Khayelitsha Youth Development Council for kids in the community,” says Charles. “We would run interventions and workshops, teaching them how to be contributing members of society. I wanted to take the work I was doing there to other parts of the country within a schooling environment, and TEACH South Africa has allowed me to do that.”

He hopes to start a club during his time teaching maths at the Leap Science and Maths School in Cape Town, looking at the interests of learners and encouraging them to devise solutions to the problems they face in life. 

Other 2012 TEACH Ambassadors have similar community-building plans in mind. Zamangwe Mazibuko, who will teach English to Grade 8 – 10 learners at Lebone Secondary School in Soweto, plans to implement English Olympiads and spelling bees, as well as a school recycling drive, while Seipone Zwane plans to start a book club.

“Reading is a lifelong skill, it will help learners in everything they do, especially studying,” says Seipone. 

Sphiwe Sibanyoni shares the same enthusiasm I encountered in all the TEACH Ambassadors I spoke with, saying he plans to be there as a resource for anything his learners need. “I want to instill hope and meaning to their lives, and help them see their own potential. Many learners in disadvantaged areas don’t see the importance of education. I want to change that.”

Founding member of TEACH South Africa Richard Masemola explains that the training is going very well. “The team has bonded, and every year the quality of our Ambassadors and the training they receive seems to improve. This is a stunning and dynamic group.”

Of the 38 Ambassadors who have joined the TEACH South Africa programme, Richard explains that 10 have been sponsored by STANLIB, five by Eskom, three are being sponsored by a small contingent of private businesses in Port Elizabeth, two by the Thebe Foundation, and six will receive funding through the Leap Schools – all private sector initiatives. 

“What excites me is the growing confidence the private sector is showing in TEACH South Africa. Hopefully government will come on board in 2013/2014, when they have an allocated budget to sponsor Ambassador placements,” says Richard. 

Good luck to the 2012 TEACH Ambassadors on the exciting road ahead.