POLOKWANE – After 11 years teaching at Northern Academy and Hoër Tegniese Skool John Vorster, Gert van Staden decided to start his own school.
He opened Veritas School at N.G. Bendor last year, and believes the Christian school treats all learners equally. “It is very important and considerate that we don’t let any learner feel like an outcast in our school,” Gert said.
The school is based on a model that not only focuses on optimal teaching and learning, but breaches a gap that is increasing in our country.
“Children need to enter the grown-up world but are not taught the proper emotional intelligence and everyday skills to make a living for themselves after school. They enter the world demotivated and uninspired, and believe there is no special place for them to achieve everyday work satisfaction. For the learners who progress to tertiary level, the mental challenges and emotional demand are very difficult to deal with and influences their studies negatively,” he explained.
Gert said because a lot of contact time was lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic, passionate teachers have been forced to complete the syllabus at a rushed pace. As a result, there is no time to develop the learners emotionally and ensuring that the subject content has been properly understood.
“I’m passionate about teaching but for me teaching is so much more than subject content coverage. The actual book knowledge is very important, but what real life skills are we teaching the learners? What can they do for themselves when they leave our classes and the books are left behind? That’s what we must keep in mind as mentors,” he added.
Gert has a deep desire to equip learners to be content and skilled humans, with the tools to take any situation they are in and ensure that they are successful. He wants to develop their character so that they contribute to the world around them.
“We ensure individual tracking. We know every learner; what their needs are, what their strengths are and which areas need more development,” he said.
The school only started with a Gr 8 group to ‘ensure they could establish a culture of integrity, honesty, respect, self-discipline and kindness in each learner’. In 2022 they will continue with Gr 8 and add a Gr 9 group. “We will continue adding a grade each year,” Gert said.
Ashleigh Mitchell said she loves the school because of the good education it provides. Fanny Kgwatalala said the teachers give them individual attention and give them the best quality work. “The teachers can also discipline bullies quicker than other schools with a lot of children,” Fanny said. Khumo Malele said she loves the school because they believe in Christianity. “We can study, write exams and tests in a quiet environment. The school is therapy for all of us,” Khumo concluded.
