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Making Your Job a Hobby

ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE INDUCTION OF TEACHERS ON 19 AUGUST 2003 AT ICC DURBAN BY PROF. CRM DLAMINI SC, CEO OF KZN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

People who are happy in their work are those who do not regard their job as an onerous obligation, but as fun as a hobby. If you want to be a good teacher, you need to enjoy what you do. You need to make it fun. You need to make teaching a hobby.

A teacher who captivates the interests of his learners is the one who enjoys not only to teach but also what she teaches. It is somebody who is creative, who thinks and reflects on how she would make her lesson interesting.

Effective teaching is one where the teacher not only teaches, but she also makes the pupil do something to discover something at the same time.

There may be many teaching methods but what makes teaching exciting is when you come with your own method of teaching. It is when you stimulate interest and the desire to learn on the part of the learner. Effective teaching is leading the learner on a journey of discovery where the learner is captivated and be followed.

Teaching is not an ordinary job. It is a calling. It requires a lot of dedication and commitment to duty. It requires a lot of interest in one’s learners. It also requires outgoing concern in the well being of the learner, to see him or her grow mentally and emotionally. It is not a job that brings immediate benefits and riches but it is thoroughly enriching.

It is also important to point out that teaching is not just a job. It is a profession. It has to be done in a professional way an it is a profession that upholds certain values and principles. Owing to the formative influence of teaching on the learner, it must be performed with care and dedication.

The teacher is important because she lays the foundations for the learner on which to build her future. It is absolutely critical that firm foundation be laid. Certain values like honestly, integrity, hard work, empathy and a caring attitude should b e inculcated.

The teacher shoulders an enormous responsibility. The parents place enormous trust in the teachers by entrusting their children to their care for guidance for upbringing. As a result a learner spends more time with the teacher than with the parent.

By entrusting their children to the care, guidance and education of the teacher, the parents are saying they have confidence that the teacher will do a good job. They have confidence that going through the schooling system, the learner will be equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge and competencies to earn a decent living.

Teaching requires public spiritedness. It requires a teacher who has a passion for nation building, who takes her learners not as ordinary learners but as future leaders. This is particularly important because when this learner is something important in future, the teacher would want to behave that she made a contribution to what this learner is. If she had done a good job, she would undoubtedly be proud and excitedly. But if she did not do a good job, she would obviously be ashamed of herself.

Although teaching is an onerous vocation which calls for sacrifices and imposes heavy responsibilities, it can also be fun. It can be enjoyed. It can be treated as a hobby. It should not be approached as an inconvenience or as a burden. It can also be fun. The happiest teacher is the one who also treats her job as a hobby who enjoys doing it and who does it professionally. We need such teachers.

The current process which seeks to retain teachers in teaching and which seeks to carve a secure and promising career path for them is therefore to be supported. It will ensure that we keep those teachers who are dedicated to teaching, who inspire and who enlighten our learners.

There is no doubt that the attitude and approach of a teacher can make a considerable difference in the life of a learner. Teachers also should know that they are in the forefront of nation building. They lay the foundations of nation building. The success of any country therefore largely depends on its education and its educator corps. If teachers take their job seriously while at the same time enjoying it, they can make all the difference in the world.

I thank you.

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