POLOKWANE – Recently-appointed principal of Christian Achievers Academy (CAA), Norma Grant (70) has 50 years’ teaching experience under her belt.
Seeing her slight figure laughing and playing among the learners is a common sight. “Looking back over 50 years of teaching I have no regrets, and the thousands of children whose lives I have been a part of has made my decision to never marry the right one. “If I was given the opportunity to do it all over again I would do it all the same,” Grant says.
She says she still remembers her best performing learners and knows their names, but admits that she sometimes has to pretend she remembers some of her former learners that are now well into their 40’s and 50’s. They often come up to her and still call her Miss Grant, as they speak fondly of the education she gave them, she says.
Living an active lifestyle is important to her and she still takes part in a few sporting disciplines. She enjoys swimming, squash and tennis and has also taken up the hobby of knitting doll’s clothes. “But children keep me going,” she says.
Her wish is for all children in South Africa to receive quality education. “It is not a privilege to be educated, but a right and we can never take that away from the children,” she says passionately.
She feels that God gave her the great gift of teaching, and she says she is blessed to be in such good health at her age. “I would like to teach until I’m 75 years old, but even then I would still be willing to come and teach as a substitute teacher when someone was on leave,” she says.
With her life revolving around the children she teaches, she has led camping trips, assisted at student Christian associations, done youth work at her church and taught Sunday school classes.
She believes in mentoring the children she teaches and would like teachers to develop their own ways of teaching, within the recommended guidelines. “I am constantly amazed at the creativity of other teachers,” she says.
She believes that principals must also assist in preparing children for life.
“My greatest reward will always be ‘my’ children, ‘my’ babies and sometimes I do forget a name and give them a new one like ‘my’ twins ‘Ping and Pong’ but they know I love them all the same.
“The reward comes when, at the end of your journey with a child you feel down-in-the-dumps and that little one comes and puts his or her hand in yours. That is what makes it all worth while.”
