SA’s top teacher taught himself how to code during lockdown and ended up teaching his class to programme robots.
Alfred Mokgalaka, a teacher at Hoërskool Frans du Toit in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, was awarded first place as the country’s best teacher, becoming one of seven teachers in the province to be recognised at the annual National Teaching Awards for 2022.
He teaches coding, robotics, geography and Xitsonga at high school level.
Speaking to Sowetan this week, Mokgalaka, who has been a teacher for 20 years, explained that his journey with coding started during the Covid-19 lockdown when he was creating an online learning platform for Xitsonga on YouTube.
Mokgalaka realised that the platform needed animated characters and cartoons to keep pupils entertained.
“That’s when I taught myself how to code. When I put my mind to do something I make sure to study and research about it,” he said.
Mokgalaka's innovative teaching method involved giving pupils the skills to programme lessons for any subject, instead of just reading material straight from the textbook.
He has even taught them how to programme robots, which won the school a prize during a robotics competition in the province.
“I see a lot of creativity from the kids. They even create much better content than I do sometimes. Creativity is the one thing that will take this country forward,” he said.
Mokgalaka plans to use his platform as an award-winning teacher to influence the government to change the curriculum, as the current education system does not equip pupils with skills that will help them contribute to the economy.
According to Statistics SA, youth in the country continue to experience the highest levels of unemployment, with the numbers standing at 63.9% for the first quarter of 2022 for those between the ages of 15 and 24, and 42.1% for those aged between 25 and 34.
According to Mokgalaka, putting the right skills in the hands of the youth could help alleviate many societal problems and ensure that less graduates end up jobless.
“The bigger vision for us is a country that is moving towards technology. In South Africa, for example, we teach children that a frog has four legs, but in China they give a learner homework to go and put a phone together,” he said.
Mokgalaka, who is also spokesperson for the ICT strategic committee in Limpopo, said the changes, including swapping textbooks for gadgets, were necessary but should happen gradually.
Born at Makhuvha village near Giyani, Mokgalaka, who is also an actor and musician, said he never imagined that he would end up as a school teacher as he had dreams of focusing on his music career.
After completing his matric at Magulasavi High School in 1991, he enrolled for a teaching degree at the then University of the Northern Transvaal (University of Limpopo) despite this not being his first choice.
He ended up doing a Bachelor of Arts in Education because of the bursary that was offered to him.
“When I started teaching I realised that I enjoyed it very much. It turned out to be the best decision ever. I think doing anything else would have been a mistake,” he said.
mahopoz@sowetan.co.za
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