EP 153 Building connection with South Africa's National Teacher of the yearThabiso Mathipa

"We need to be exemplary. A teacher should be a special person that practices what they preach." - Thabiso Mathipa Thabiso Mahipa has been teaching since 2015, starting as a pioneer teacher at a rural school and moving to the city in Limpopo after 3 years. He won the National Teacher of the Year Award and has some wonderful classroom management tips, especially since one of his classes has 48 students and the school population consists of students who speak one of 3 different languages. We discuss challenges in the South African school system, how they mirror the challenges faced by the education system in the USA, and his future plans. 01:19 - What is Thabiso teaching? 03:05 - Differences between rural schools and city schools 05:00 - Thabiso's classroom management tips 08:35 - Some important classroom rules 10:40 - How do you make sure everyone understands each other when your students speak 3 different languages? 14:40 - Teaching is a calling 15:40 - Challenges in the South African education system 20:00 - Great successes and goals to work toward