By Langelihle Elsie Skade
Good Shepherd Primary School teacher Jade Botha is a passionate and dedicated teacher who recently won the Award for Excellence in Intermediate Phase Teaching at the Makhanda Teaching Awards. She has shaped young minds in her eight years as an English teacher.
Her education journey, though, started with another aspiration altogether. Jade wanted to do psychology. She was fascinated with the way human beings behave. However, she soon learned that her calling was to walk hand-in-hand with children on their learning journeys. She switched to doing a Bachelor of Education, majoring in intermediate phase math and science, though her career path eventually led her to teaching English.
Jade’s teaching philosophy is to provide a safe and supportive environment for her learners, a place where they can be themselves and heard, even in classrooms as large as 40. She has honed her approach throughout her career to ensure that each child is seen, understood, and valued. “I try as much as possible to make space for the learners to feel safe, to be who they are,” Botha says.
She says she always strives to be nurturing and responsive with her students.
Being a single mother, Botha knows the hustle of balancing a demanding career with private life. Here, the community of supportive colleagues and parents helps her with this challenge. She believes in the power of community and support networks, even amid what would seem to be overwhelming challenges.
“You can’t survive in isolation,” she says, noting the influential role of vulnerability and the will to seek help when needed.
The culmination of Jade’s professional achievements was the recent Makhanda Teaching Award, for which she had to submit an extensive portfolio detailing evidence of her work, classroom management, and the differences she makes for her students. Colleagues and community members provided testimonials, and a panel member observed her in the classroom to see her in action. Botha says the preparation that went into the award was intense but rewarding.
In her spare time, Botha loves being outdoors, reading poetry, and crafting objects of all kinds. She is also a devoted mother to her son, with whom she shares most of her free time. As a single mother, she has had her fair share of struggles; still, she says she feels anchored by the love and support of the community that has made the journey fulfilling and empowering.
Botha’s future remains open-ended. She is satisfied with her current position but is open to growth, either by advancing her career within the education system or finding opportunities as a university lecturer for students in education.
She is comfortable with herself but open to new experiences and challenges. She is wedded to a philosophy of ongoing improvement as she tries to pursue the best teacher version of herself. “I do try to push myself to be constantly self-reflective, introspective,” she says.
For Botha, teaching is not only a career but also her calling – she seeks to inspire the next generation while maturing with them.
Her advice to her younger self booms in mighty echo: “Trust in yourself. Your voice is also meaningful and powerful.”
Self-trust and growth work hand in glove as her driving forces, making her an extraordinary role model among her learners and colleagues.
