Elsies River High learner pays tribute to educators
18 November 2020
Malikah Swail, a Grade 12 learner at Elsies River High School who earlier this year wrote an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa regarding the reopening of schools, dreams of becoming an English teacher.
The 18-year old is passionate about reading and writing and credits her teachers for her career choice. “My goal is to ignite the very same flame within many others and to one day look back and fondly remember how the actions of my educators have inspired me to do the very same for others.”
Malikah penned an email titled “2020 – the year of planting which will provide us with beautiful crops in the years to come”. Her latest message, which was also shared with the President and the Minister of Basic Education, was intended to spread positivity to those who have been working tirelessly to ensure that everything in the education sector runs smoothly. “So, basically it was a message of hope as a token of appreciation to show them that their efforts do not go unnoticed.”
She says her teachers, family and friends helped her to stay optimistic in the face in of challenges. “Generally, matric is not easy and being in matric during a global pandemic makes it more daunting. However, having extremely supportive educators who go above and beyond their call of duty during these trying times it what makes the tough times much more bearable. My educators have shown remarkable resilience during this time, they have undoubtedly been an amazing support system to our learners. They formed WhatsApp groups for each subject which gave us the opportunity to continue learning while being at home. Some of our teachers went as far as helping us set up timetables and routines and even gave us lists of do's and don'ts for learning from home. It has genuinely been heart-warming to see how our teachers always have our best interests at heart.”
Malikah has been provisionally accepted at various tertiary institutions to study teaching and hopes to secure a bursary to realise her dream.