By Doss Southey (OLH Tutor BA HED):
Like so many newly- matriculated Zwelihle students, Patience Sambalopa thought that her dream of furthering her education through a reputable tertiary institution would remain just that, a pipe dream.
That was until she chanced upon the winning combination of the STADIO School of Education (offering distance learning as an option) and the Overstrand Learning Hub (OLH), an academic learning support organisation right here in Hermanus. She immediately enrolled for a B Ed in Foundation Phase Teaching.
The fact that she had never used a computer was just one of the many challenges she has had to face in her journey to being gainfully employed one day.
Initially, teaching did not feature in Patience’s career plan. Instead, she had set her heart on a degree in Business Entrepreneurship. However, it was when she approached Theo Krynauw for assistance in finding a place at a university that she began to reconsider her career choice.
He brought the following to her attention: firstly, the high unemployment rate among the youth, irrespective of educational attainment and secondly, a nationwide increase in demand for newly-qualified teachers. She quickly realised that she would have a better chance of being employed with a degree in teaching.
Theo recommended that she approach OLH for more information on pursuing teaching as a career. She soon realised that it made financial sense to study online through the STADIO School of Education. The added benefit of face-to-face mentoring by qualified OLH tutors convinced her to sign up for a B Ed in Foundation Phase Teaching.
Six months into her first year of studying through STADIO, Patience admits that it is far more challenging than she had anticipated. In the beginning, one of the biggest challenges was that she had never sat in front of a computer before.
She had assignments to submit online but was unable to navigate her way around her laptop, let alone the STADIO student platform.
As her typing was painfully slow, the deadlines seemed to speed closer and closer against mounting pressure. Nevertheless, with the support of family, fellow students and tutors at OLH, Patience’s computer literacy skills have developed exponentially.
Patience is looking forward to becoming a teacher and interacting with young learners. She remembers arriving in Hermanus from Malawi at the age of 8, with very little formal education and speaking only Chichewa, and having to attend an English-speaking school.
Had it not been for the dedication of a caring teacher, who gave her extra lessons to help her improve, she would have been destined to a lonely and very frustrating year.
Patience feels that through this experience she will have greater empathy for those students who have to communicate in a second or even third language (most classrooms in South Africa are multilingual) and hopes to emulate the teacher “who changed her life”.
So, if all goes according to plan, in 2026 a class of young learners will be lucky enough to have Patience Sambalopa as their Foundation Phase teacher.
A teacher who not only is young, hip and brimming with energy and enthusiasm, but who will also be instrumental in helping them to unlock their full potential and to thrive. Watch this space!