Work by Velile Quza, and other teachers at Khutliso Daniels Secondary School, is a beacon amid damning reports of apathetic teachers and poorly managed schools in the Eastern Cape.
Though Velile Quza has been teaching for 17 years, his appetite for learning has never waned. Quza teaches grades 10-12 English in Grahamstown’s Khutliso Daniels Secondary School, but has embarked on a part time Honours in Environmental Education through Rhodes University.
Work by Velile Quza, and other teachers at Khutliso Daniels Secondary School, is a beacon amid damning reports of apathetic teachers and poorly managed schools in the Eastern Cape.
Though Velile Quza has been teaching for 17 years, his appetite for learning has never waned. Quza teaches grades 10-12 English in Grahamstown’s Khutliso Daniels Secondary School, but has embarked on a part time Honours in Environmental Education through Rhodes University.
More important than his continued self-education, though, is his desire to share his new knowledge with his students.
“I thought: let me make use of what I now know in this learning environment,” says Quza, explaining his reasons for starting an invasive plant species project, which is getting his classes excited about environmental issues.
Quza’s enthusiasm has not gone unnoticed. He was recently honoured with an award by the Department of Environmental Affairs at the National Environmental Education Teachers' Conference in Gauteng.
“It’s something new to be able to engage the learners in discussions about invasive alien plants,” says Quza, who has taken classes on three field trips, where the pupils identify alien plants and witness first-hand their adverse effect on the environment. The focal species are prickly pear, the guava tree and the pine tree.
“They are a very cooperative class — most of them very bright,” says Quza, who hopes to take the programme further. “There is so much that we can do as a school by sharing information with learners first,” says Quza, “and then when we want to reach out [to the community], we have to find some ways of doing it.”
This is the first year Khutliso Daniels Secondary School has participated in the Eco-School programme, an international initiative adopted by the Department of Education with the aim of integrating environmental education and sustainable living practices into school curriculum.
In its first year, an Eco-School is challenged to choose a project and create three lesson plans based on one of five themes: resource use, nature and biodiversity, local and global issues, healthy living and community heritage.
Each succeeding year, the school takes on new projects and themes. The idea is to combine experiential and classroom learning by building lesson plans around relevant environmental issues.
Quza goes on to explain how Khutliso Daniels is trying out new ways of supporting their Grade 12 pupils. The school has implemented a programme that allows matriculants to stay on the school grounds until 6pm, giving them a neutral environment in which to study. While they're there, a meal is provided for them.
The pupils come from poor homes — situations that are not conducive to serious studying and the school is making every effort to redress this reality.
“We are working very hard to achieve good results,” says Quza, “The teachers are highly dedicated.”
