Dedicated educator bids farewell to teaching

Annemarie Barber (66) is gracefully bowing out of the education system. The passionate Strubenvale Primary School educator has worn many hats during her tenure, including as a teacher and principal.

Annemarie talks about what inspired her to teach.

“When I study, I need to understand to remember, so I was never a great history scholar. When I received my results from a history test, the teacher, Maureen Ogara, was most disgusted with my marks and announced very loudly that I was a bag of lazy bones and would never amount to anything.”

That was the moment that changed her.

“I was going to prove her wrong.”

She adds that she later returned to Springs Girls’ High School to present her qualification.

“Unfortunately, by then Miss Ogara had passed away.”

Annemarie talks about her journey in education that started with her teaching at Aton Manor Primary in Kempton Park in 1980.

“I thoroughly enjoyed teaching. Every day was a new experience. The learners were excited and enthusiastic about learning.”

She returned to teach in Springs because travelling distance had become an issue for her.

“I started teaching at Selpark Primary School and then moved to Pinegrove Primary School because I taught wherever a school needed a teacher. This gave me a lot of experience and offered many challenges.”

She speaks about how she made history in her own right by teaching at a township school.

“I was offered a teaching position at Laban Mothlambi Secondary School in Kwa-Thema. I was informed I would be the first white woman to teach there. I was up for the challenge.”

She taught biology to Grade 11 and 12 learners.

“I also had to teach religious instruction to one of the Grade Eight and Nine classes.”

She endearingly refers to this as an interesting time.

“The first few years of my teaching career, various challenges kept my passion alive, never time to get bored. I also taught Grade Two and Three at Selcourt Primary. There, I had the privilege of teaching with my Grade One teacher, Felicity Abbott. I learnt so much from her.”

She even recalls how, at some point, she even taught her daughter.

“When I rejoined Strubenvale Primary School in 1992, I was placed in a Grade Two class.

“Although I trained to teach inter-phase (Grades Four to Six), I enjoyed the fact that the learners could read, write stories and get on with the day’s work.”

She spent nine years teaching Grade Two learners.

“I even got to teach my daughter. Out of that particular class, at least three became teachers themselves. I would like to believe I had inspired them with my enthusiasm.”

Her career was not without challenges because she was asked to teach Grade One learners, a foreign territory to her.

“When asked to teach Grade One, I was shocked and had no idea where to start. I remember telling Mrs Billson, the principal at that time, that if anybody failed, she needed to take responsibility because I was thrown in the deep end.

“This was an exciting time for me. I would call this a highlight of my career.”

She reminisces about one learner who reminded her why she started teaching in the first place.

“I remember a little boy in Grade One who had a very limited English vocabulary, but the day he realised he could read was for him a life changer.”

Annemarie recalls how the child was uninterested in mathematics and everything else.

“He wanted to read anything and everything he could lay his hands on. His father kept me informed of his progress at school through the years, and I was delighted to hear that he passed matric with a distinction in English. I was very excited to see him a few years ago.”

When asked what moments best shaped her career, Annemarie mentions a variety of them.

“Once all my children had been to university, it was my time to return, and I studied advanced counselling through Unisa. In 2011, I was thrilled when asked to act as the guidance HoD. This really gave me a chance to make a difference in learners’ lives, and I could refer them to the schools and services that could assist them with their challenges.

“In the 2015 National Teaching Awards, I was awarded for excellence in primary school teaching.

“Becoming deputy principal in 2016 and then acting principal in 2023 at the school where I had been a pupil was the cherry on top and a fitting end to my teaching career. I have spent 41 years of my life at Strubenvale Primary.”

Now that she has decided to retire, Annemarie says she has plans to enjoy her time at home with her husband, Norman, their children, the children’s partners and their 10 grandchildren.

“I want to see South Africa out of season and at reduced prices with my pensioner’s discount,” she says laughingly.

“I want to start counselling again once I have made peace with my retirement and realise my teaching days are behind me. I would also like to study more in the field of play therapy and analysing children’s drawings.”

She leaves inspiring words to emerging teachers.

“Don’t see teaching as a job because you can’t find anything else. You need to be committed. It is a 24/7 job, and school holidays are there for you to prepare for the next term.

“Teaching is not a half-day job. If it is, then you are not doing your job justice. Remember, it is people’s lives and futures you are dealing with.

“Give it your best and always remember that you need to treat children the way you would like your child to be treated in a similar situation; in other words, treat the children the way you would treat them if they were your child.”