Crawford’s beloved History teacher retires

Crawford College North Coast is losing a precious gem as their beloved history teacher of 15 years retires from his post, after a career of 42 years and seven schools.

Within a few short minutes of meeting Charlie Coetzee you will fall in love with his charm, wit and warm heart. Although mischief appears synonymous with this gentleman he has a kind, loving and gentle soul.

Coetzee’s is not your conventional “I always wanted to be a teacher” story, but a rather amusing tale. He planned on studying further after school but his family could not afford it. He dreamed of one day becoming a journalist. At that time the Transvaal education department was offering loans to study teaching but he remained uncertain. He tells an amusing story of how he came to change his mind.

“I was very naughty at school and I hated doing homework. I had a terrible German teacher who would walk down the rows of desks asking you one by one if you had done your homework. The punishment was three jacks on the backside. My homework was not done and she was walking closer. Next minute the principal’s voice booms over the intercom and instructs those who were enrolling in teacher training to come to the office. I closed my book and went to sign up,” said Coetzee. The rest is history.

Originally from Johannesburg, he relocated to the North Coast to take up a teaching post at Crawford. He now plans to return to Jo’burg to be close to his family. He holds Crawford North Coast in very high regard and he loved the pupils with all his heart, saying that Crawford is not just a school but a very special place with beautiful people.

“I thought after leaving teaching at my Jewish school in Jo’burg that I would never feel that happy again. But this place is unbelievable and I am going to miss it so much. The children looked forward to my classes. This means I had achieved my goal. I had nicknames for all the kids and if they did not have one they would ask me to please give them one. I knew when they were sick and I knew when they had problems at home and I am not a psychologist,” said Coetzee.

At his farewell gathering Coetzee appealed to the other teachers to look after the children.”Give them all your love. Genuinely love them with all your heart. Cherish them and they will return it ten fold.” His pupils say they will always remember him as a vivid storyteller who took them back in time on wild historical adventures.”Thank you for igniting in me a love for history inside me,” said Kelly Simkiss, grade 11 pupil at Crawford North Coast .