Laerskool Unika’s ‘Striker’ offers tips for teachers
Receiving a thank you from a learner or their parents makes all the hard work worth it.
As a teacher, it is not just enough that you love your subject.
You must also have a burning desire to change the lives of young people. You must leave your negativity at home, be passionate and intentionally do your best for the children.
This is according to Laerskool Unika’s geography and history teacher Anton van Nieuwenhuizen who goes by the names Striker, Captain America or even ‘skool papa’ with his learners.
“Some teachers just go through the motions as they feel stuck in their job doing what they have done for years,” he told Randburg Sun during an interview.
ALSO READ: Laerskool Unika learners tell us what their favourite subjects are
“All things change. People change. Even what we teach changes over the years. You have to be able to adapt to make learning better for the children.”
For Striker, this means using videos, posters, drawings, flags and even the huge world map he has on the back wall to engage the interest of learners.
His classroom is colourfully packed with these things and it is unlike anything that one would call a typical classroom.
For this, Striker is thankful to the school for making it possible.
“We all get bored, and teachers are people too. You need to ignite the fire of wanting to be in your class. So look for ways to be different and fun.”
Being able to mix things up and not let troubles in your personal life affect you are key to making an impact on your learners, Striker said.
“When I am in SPAR and little Anlie and her mom are there, the mom comes and says thank you for all I do for her [Anlie], how she is always talking about how fun my class is, what she learned, it makes all this worth it.”
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