In classrooms filled with young malleable minds, schools need to ensure that there are great teachers to mould them.
Tasneem Moosajee, a Grade 1 teacher at Franklin D Roosevelt, won third place in the national 2016 Teacher’s Day competition held annually for the past six years by Woolworths Educational Programmes.
Walking into Moosajee’s classroom, one is greeted by a sea of raised hands of pupils dying to answer any question she would ask of them. On this particular day, the lesson was about the different kinds of houses people live in.
When one thinks of a house, one reflects on a safe place where one is free to be oneself and one feels protected. A very fitting analogy because to her pupils, this classroom is every bit a home away from home the pupils look forward to daily.
To get nominated for an award, pupils had to send letters to Woolworths which stated why they thought their teacher was the best.
Jesse Thom, a pupil of Moosajee’s wrote in his letter that Moosajee was the best because she did the unexpected. When he was sick with a terrible virus that saw him out of school for close to three weeks, he said his teacher never forgot about him. “She got me a special gift, she got me a colouring book and cards from my classmates. I just want Ms Moosajee to teach me forever,” said Thom.
Moosajee said her three years of teaching have been nothing short of amazing. She said her success was due to the people she worked with and the pupils she got to interact with on a daily basis. “The school has had so much faith in me in my time here. I have become a grade head for the Grade 1s and the experience I have gained here is far beyond anything.”
Moosajee said in years to come she hoped to be that teacher that her past pupils remember and say, ‘Because of you I never gave up’.
The school’s foundation phase head of department, Ruth Julius said Moosajee was by far one the most dedicated teachers she had come across. “She came straight out of university, eager to do her best and she has far exceeded that,” said Julius.
Watch this compilation of her students sharing why she is the best:
