When JumpCo alumnus, Tlangelani Maluleke, completed matric at Malvern High School, she wasn’t too clear about her life’s goals. She chats to us on Heritage Day about being raised in a traditional Tsonga family, and her personal values and inspiration. On a spring evening in Johannesburg, Dzunisani, 4, has dragged his mom away from her laptop to sit with him after supper. It’s been a long day with her at work, so really this is “his” time! They are watching cartoons on TV when the call comes through. He’s not too impressed! Fortunately his father, Javulani, is on standby, and entertains him during Mom’s interview. What were your career aspirations? As a school leaver I knew that anything to do with computing appealed to me, so I enrolled at Vaal University of Technology for a National Diploma in Information Technology. That was a three-year course, which I completed with average marks. If a crystal ball […]
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JumpStart Robotics and Coding goes virtual with Daniella Lekgau
Imagine lifting the lid on the future of Grade 6 and 7 learners. Imagine intermediate phase learners grasping that they have a unique opportunity to do learn the skills that could give them meaningful and exciting work as adults. Daniella Lekgau, Project Manager of JumpStart Robotics Labs, has a big vision. She has seen how children who learn to build and programme robots have to think through a series of complex and difficult processes. When they struggle to grasp concepts they must endure their own frustration and they develop the skills to work through it and arrive at new solutions. Life skills and learning to code A small group of intermediate phase learners in the Ekurhuleni South Education district have enjoyed learning to code while developing creative thinking skills too. These youngsters have been motivated to study harder through the robotics and coding education, which is also highly enjoyable. Until March this year, this talented […]
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Life under lockdown #6: Tumelo Mokoena builds firm foundations
Tumelo Mokoena is a tutor at Mohlodi Primary School, where he inspires a love of maths to learners in Grades 1,2 and 3. This 22-year-old says that teaching maths has greatly changed since he was in primary school. “Especially, if you consider lockdown learning, teaching via smartphones and devices!” As a tutor he is eager to share his new knowledge with those around him. “Education is not an individual pursuit and I enjoy teaching as well as learning from other tutors,” he explains. Tumelo started a degree focused on politics, but that didn’t go well. He thought about his particular strengths and realised that assisting other people enlivened him. Now he’s studying a B Ed through UNISA with the help of a StudyAssist bursary from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Tutored not tortured Tumelo loves teaching maths and wants to empower the children in his care. He says, “Most of my learners are excited, […]
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Q&A with JumpStart alumnus, automotive machinist Lerato Molete – video
Falling in love with mathematics as a student kickstarted Lerato Molete’s career as an apprentice automotive machinist. “There’s no job a woman can’t do,” she says, excited about sharing her story during Women’s Month. A woman in a man’s world Under the protective gloves she wears to strip the burnt out engine of an earth mover is a delicate diamond ring on her fourth finger. Lerato is mother to Ntokozo, 3, and wife to Nkosinathi Mlotshwa, a boilermaker at Sasol. “Our son’s name means happiness, pride, and joy. He certainly brings us all that. With engineering as a common interest, our relationship is rather unusual,” she says. Lerato is one of two female apprentices at Metric Automotive Engineering, a company that specialises in remanufacturing diesel engines. Lerato works in the block section, where the team rebores cylinder blocks on earthmoving, marine, mine, truck engines, and similar. Her responsibility is to diagnosis the problems and to […]
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Teacher Talk: Hope for learners at Izibuko Primary
This Women’s Month we feature some exceptional women in our community. The first of our August heroines is Barbara Bogogolela, who shared her experience of teaching Grade One under challenging circumstances. Back in January this year, Mrs Bogogolela stood on the long corridor outside her classroom door, leading the young Grade Ones into her class on their first day of “big school”. Izibuko Primary School in Katlehong serves the local informal settlements. Nobody could possibly have foreseen what 2020 would bring her way. Nothing in her 34 years of teaching could have prepared her for the challenges she faces later this month. On 24 August 2020, all those 40 young minds and bodies, will return after months of lockdown! These little ones who entered her life for just a few weeks and had learned to count up to five will have forgotten most of what they learned. However, she will try to give each child […]
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