Bergvlam’s Louise Fullard achieves at National Teaching Awards

MBOMBELA – Louise Fullard’s approach to teaching is to develop each child holistically.

With her passion and enthusiasm it is little wonder that this grade 12 Hoërskool Bergvlam teacher recently achieved a third place at the National Teaching Awards.

Fullard teaches Afrikaans first additional language and is also the department head at the school. She achieved the honour in the category excellence in secondary teaching.

Fullard’s classes are fun.

“The general well-being of my learners is my primary focus,” she said. “My aim is for each learner to have a memorable ‘bookmark’ period every day.Children live in a technological world so I put in a lot of effort in planning lessons. What can be fun about Afrikaans for a fourth language speaker?”

She makes it practical. They sing and dance and make videos and set poems to music.
“My classes are organised chaos,” she said. “They will never forget it. I want to prepare them for life and empower them to be able to communicate and teach them respect for another culture.

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“You have to connect with the child before they can connect with your subject,” she added. “It starts with a personal relationship.”

Her classroom rules are first, mutual respect and then self-discipline.
With 26 years’ teaching experience, last year was the fourth time Fullard had entered the awards. It was the first time she qualified for nationals – after winning the district and then provincial legs.

Simply participating in the awards changed her life. Aside from the research required to enter, she grew and learned to think even more out of the box through her exposure to the other participating teachers. This network has been invaluable to her.

She is also continuing to study further with an advanced degree in special needs education and plans to start her honour’s degree in management which will help her assist the department she heads.

This is her calling: teaching, her children, her department and sharing her knowledge with them to empower them.

“The reward is knowing that you have made a difference in someone’s life,” she said. This year she plans to enter the awards again, to become more involved in the community and hopes to mentor a colleague through the process of entering the awards.

She thanked her husband, Johan, daughter Chandre, her parents, Japie and Betz Kruger, her colleagues and principals, the Department of Education and in particular Hazel Brukwe, Lomasontho Nkenjane, Ngobeni and Dr Mtetwa.

“This journey was for the honour of God for the opportunities and people He has placed on my path.”

To view and use Fullard’s lesson plans, visit bergvlam.co.za/study-material-resources.html.

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