Tony bids DHS farewell
A special assembly with staff, learners and DHS Old Boys was held to say goodbye to 74-year-old Tony Human who retired on Friday.
LONG-TIME teacher and Durban High School (DHS) legend, Tony Human, bid farewell to the school on Friday when he retired after almost 54 years at the school.
The school bid farewell to 74-year-old Human, better known as AJ, at a special assembly with staff, learners and DHS Old Boys.
Human started teaching at DHS in 1965 at the age of 20. He taught science to matric classes for 51 years. He also ran the boarding establishment for 15 years.
“I never thought, when I started teaching at DHS, that I would still be here for so many years,” he said adding that not only has he taught some of the boys’ parents, but has reached a stage where he even taught their grandparents.
Human went into semi-retirement after teaching, but stayed on at DHS, working with the DHS Foundation.
“I was involved with working with Old Boys from all around the world. It was hard work but the Old Boys are special to me. I’m not really retiring, I don’t believe in the word. Although I will no longer be teaching or working with the Foundation, I still have a few things up my sleeve,” he said.
He said he didn’t have a word to explain what he was feeling on his retirement. He said he wasn’t feeling sad, as he lived close by the school. “It’s not that I am leaving and will never come back to the school again. My godson’s son is coming to the school next year and I will come to the school events,” he said.
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Debra Green, a member of the school governing body, said she had the privilege of helping Human pack up his office.
“I have never known a more meticulous man, he has boxes of records of all the learners he has taught over the years. When Mr Human leaves, we are losing one of the major connections with the history of DHS,” she said.
Human has a science laboratory and a functions room named after him and has seen the school celebrate its 100th anniversary, its 125th milestone and its 150th birthday.
He is looking forward to his first adventure as a retired man at the end of July.
“I will be going on the Blue Train to Cape Town at the end of July where I will be meeting up with some Old Boys. I will stay in the city centre for five days and will come back on the premier train. I am going into the unknown with my retirement and am a bit apprehensive, but I am not one to do nothing. I am a great supporter of Rotary and attend meetings every week, and intend on doing more voluntary Hospice work. I will also join my friends for walks on the beach a few times a week,” he said.
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