Motivational speaker, Shaun Lee Oliver recently visited Saxonwold Primary School and delivered a powerful talk to the learners during assembly.
According to marketing manager at the school, Frankie Cilliers, he taught the learners that it is important to start with foundations such as hard work and dedication first – the reward will come afterwards.
In September 2009, after seven years as an educator, Oliver – founder of Transformer Youth Development – gave up a successful teaching career to focus on equipping young people with the necessary skills to successfully navigate the challenges of being a young person in South Africa today. This would be achieved through talks at school assemblies as well as leadership workshops.
Over the past 10 years, Oliver has positively impacted the lives of over 285 000 young people and over 70 schools across South Africa have entrusted Oliver to deliver life-changing messages.
“His focus was on emotional intelligence which is crucial in today’s world where we are so focused on technology. Technology is very important in teaching and at Saxonwold Primary School, we encourage the use of technology, not as a substitute, but using it to empower our learners. We teach them valuable skills like critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills through ‘bold and significant schooling’ to ensure that they are ready for all challenges in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” Cilliers said.
He added that emphasising emotional intelligence will allow learners to better manage themselves and will help them develop self-motivation and effective communication skills. All these elements will help learners to become confident, ready to thrive in their future professions. Cilliers said emotional intelligence has a far greater impact than what we realise on the surface, it assists with the holistic development of each child.
“Our learners really enjoyed his talk. It was very engaging and they really took his message to heart. The cups that he used showed learners the building blocks of the foundations needed to succeed – hard work, dedication, honesty, and so on. This is also in line with the school’s values drive where we have lessons based around values like respect, humanity, etc every term, showing learners how to incorporate these values in their own lives, at school and beyond,” he said.
Let us know what is happening in the local schools by email to naidines@caxton.co.za
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