“The motivation to teach”- Handson Fingi Mlotshwa

About Handson Fingi Mlotshwa

• Fellow of the University of Cambridge HP Ed Tech Fellowship
• Director ICT Programmes: Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership & Governance (South Africa)

My personal aspirations appear to have led me towards a career in education, having worked as a cricket coach for one of the primary schools during my university days. However, most people believe and are of the view that they are knowledgeable on what good teachers should be doing. My professional development journey has revealed to me that there are hidden realities about teaching and learning that a layman is unable to understand.

I am a teaching graduate from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and began my teaching career in some of the most challenging neighborhoods in Johannesburg including Alexander, Tembisa, and Noordgesig prior to joining the provincial teacher development institute.

My journey as a teacher is best told using three journey goals, I have defined as

1. The intended goal
2. The emergent goal
3. The realized goal.

These will be used as a lens to articulate my successful journey in teaching.

My intended objective as a young teacher was to develop independent-thinking learners and I utilized the opportunity of being an English educator to introduce protest literature and poetry to my learners of interest was the works of Can Themba and Mafika Gwala. Despite using some of the work from these phenomenal writers from South Africa, I still felt I had not achieved my goals as the realities and conditions of the learners created limitations that went beyond the call of duty.

Despite the poor economic and social factors around my learners, most of them lacked self-motivation and had a general disinterest in schooling. It was difficult to make them see beyond what they understood to be the purpose of schooling.

The challenges highlighted above, were very new to me as I was never exposed or prepared to handle such learners. My continued ability to deal with my challenges prompted me to upgrade my degree studies to honors and master’s. These I did and became very handy in how I responded to my challenges. At some point, the community in Noordgesig referred to me as Malume (Uncle) because of my desire to assist learners including transporting pregnant girls who needed medical attention.

My studies introduced me to an important component of teaching and learning that involves teacher emotions, a huge part of what teachers go through but is often neglected. This strengthened my knowledge of teacher identity, authority, and acknowledgment of teacher emotions. This emergent period was self-fulfilling as it gave me the ability to deal with challenging parents as well as with problematic learners.

My reflective experience started when I formed a technology club known as “Thumb Kids of Noordgesig.”

The purpose of the club was to develop learners’ soft skills and entrepreneurship, this became a catalyst for our success in shifting community mindset with regards to schooling. We went on to be recognized in the National Teacher Awards in 2015 for the category Technology Enhanced Teaching and Learning in South Africa.

I have carried my teacher experience to my new role as a program manager responsible for developing professional development programs for teachers. Reflecting on this is professionally fulfilling and encourages one to always seek knowledge.