WCED educator to represent SA in the AU Teacher Prize Awards
6 June 2022
Jevonn Cloete was named the best special needs teacher in South Africa last year and since then the young educator has been presented with several new opportunities.
Cloete has been appointed as the acting deputy principal at Rusthof Special School, he became a trainer at the Cape Teaching and Leadership Institute, and he has been nominated to represent the country at the African Union Teacher Prize Awards.
Cloete said the NTA served as inspiration to other young educators in special education as well as an “organic appetizer" for education students to enter this field of speciality. “Many students and teachers have reached out to me after the award!”
He added that representing SA in the AU Prize will be the highlight of his teaching career. “I am indeed very excited about this! I am delighted to not only encourage other teachers, but I'm also celebrating teaching as a career that gives birth to all other careers.”
Cloete said the NTA and the AU Prize provide an opportunity for schools and school governing bodies to give credit to those teachers who engage in excellent teaching and pedagogical practices that goes beyond the classroom. “Teachers that work very hard, despite many difficulties and severe challenging circumstances they teach in and still excel in what they do. I want to encourage schools and SGB's to give credit to these teachers who perform class duties, non-teaching activities outside the classroom and community service with a heart for our learners. For teachers I want to say: "Teach the kids you have. Not the ones you used to have.
Not the ones you would like to have. The ones you have right now. All of them."
•Dr Mariette Wheeler of Protea Heights Academy will be representing South Africa in the 2022 Global Teacher Prize. Dr Wheeler won first place in the National Best Teacher category of the 2021 NTA. The Global Teacher Prize is a $1 million award presented annually to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to their profession.