Closing the gap on adult education

Natalie J Whyte’s phone rings unstoppably. But she finds time to respond to each caller.

To Whyte – a Johannesburg-based evolution coach for adults – every call matters. “I get a kick out of helping people,” Whyte says of her clients, ranging from pupils, professionals and entrepreneurs.

Evolution coaching covers leadership, change management, sales, project management, content creation, healing and entrepreneurship. Having accumulated 22 years’ experience in education, accompanied by a wide range of other specialist fields, Whyte is determined to empower everyone she comes into contact with.

Her extramural sessions with children include speech, drama, fitness, games, yoga, chess, junior entrepreneurs, practical skills, acrobatics, soccer, coding, public speaking and hip-hop dance – activities not covered by most schools.

“We are not teaching children the most vital information – mastering themselves,” Whyte says.

“This refers to mastering aspects of themselves that will empower them to perform in all areas of life, including
those related to schooling.”

The athletic and highly-driven mother of two, lives by the mantra: “Preach what you practice.” Waking up at 5am to walk daughter Tura and son Kade halfway to school, Whyte runs back home to do yoga and meditate – before the start of her daily work.

ALSO READ: It could cost you close to R1 million to give your child a basic education

“Before I know it, it is the end of the day. Then I have to cook dinner and put kids to bed. It is very chaotic, but the meditation and yoga keeps my mind calm.

“I am blessed to have a purpose because a lot of people don’t know what to do with themselves,” says Whyte.

Educated at Bracken High School and at the University of Johannesburg, Whyte has a BA honours in psychology, a postgraduate certificate in education and courses in project management, effective speaking, digital age teaching, play directing, handwriting analysis and entrepreneurship.

Growing up in Brackendowns, south of Johannesburg, Whyte found the world of work was not a bed of roses.

“After doing further study, I took up student jobs like telesales,” she says.

But little did she expect a rude awakening one Thursday.

“Driving to work, my car broke down, then I was mugged. I was retrenched the following morning,” she recalls.

She found a job working with children with autism.

“At that stage I was doing honours in psychology and I was expecting to go the route of psychology and started working in the area of autism,” Whyte says.

“I later started au pairing, studied education, then went to teach at primary and high school. I later went on my own and opened my own school with my own kids – an eclectic mix of progressive feeling.”

While her parents were her source of influence and inspiration, Whyte says about 100 leaders she has been following on social media continue to inspire her.

“Both my parents worked full day, so the domestic worker was like my mother, having spent more time with her than my own mom,” she says.

“The greatest influence my parents had on me was good work ethic and not giving up.

“In the late ’80s and early ’90s, there was an economic depression in the country, with my mother being retrenched a number of times.

“My mom was resilient in the face of adversity, quickly picking herself up and not wasting much time in the dump.”

Discovering a gap in the country’s education system drove her to come up with a new revolution – pushing children to become independent thinkers.

“The education system fails to inspire a child’s initiative. This is because institutionalised schooling is so prescriptive – children have to wear their hair in a certain way and the same colour of socks,” said Whyte.

“It damages that internal drive – the ability for children to self-initiate.

“If you look at adults these days, you will see that the schooling system has almost kept us as children.

“Adults always have to seek recognition to make sure that what they are doing is right – instead of being driven internally by their purpose and mission.

“There are hundreds of people who are sitting on their chairs as accountants but they hate their job.

“It is because their parents influenced their career paths – either you become an accountant or a doctor.” She resolved to pull her children out of school “after noticing that high schools damage kids initiative”.

“After resigning from my teaching post, I took my kids on a 10-month adventure tour around the country – an absolutely amazing experience,” said Whyte.

“We were exposed to the concept of unskilling – meaning you have to give children two years to get out of the system where they are being prescribed to.

“I also learnt about radical unskilling, home skilling and digital learning. Obviously, as a parent, you give the two year old guidance. Because I had this ability and experience, I had courage to bypass all the difficult GDE [Gauteng department of education] requirements to school.

“I thought of providing what my children need, which is socialising and extramurals. This is when this concept was developed.”

Whyte is currently reading a book by Dr Joseph Spencer, The Coming Supernatural.

– brians@citizen.co.za