WATCH: Great insight from Miss Inspire SA Women
Anything can be achieved through hard work, trying different strategies and supporting one another.
Miss Inspire SA Women, Amina Forouk, visited the Gold Reef Private School on February 27.
The recently crowned queen from Ormonde visited Grade Six and Seven learners to teach them about a growth mindset. Amina, a teacher at the school since 2015, still remembers some of the learners.
She started her talk by giving her background to the learners.
“In life, we need to respect one another. Respect me because I’m a person, and I will do the same. As you can see, I live with a disability. I lost my leg when I was eight years old in Grade Two.
“It was in 2004, coming out of the shops, a guy lost control of his car and drove into me. I remember glass shattering. I remember falling. An ambulance came, and I was taken to hospital.
“When I woke up, the psychologist told me I had lost my right leg, and the first thing that came to me was to find it. However, my parents explained to me that my leg was gone. It was amputated at the hip in Milpark Hospital,” explained Amina.
At that point, she said she realised that her life had changed forever.
“Can you imagine at that age being the only one disabled at school? Some of you have intentionally or unintentionally bullied someone because of how they look. You need to think of them and how they feel at that moment.
“People put labels on me. However, I never put those on me. Remember, if you see someone living with a disability or an ailment, be sympathetic, go to them and ask if there are okay or where can you help. Put yourself in their shoes,” she said.
She has a BA in education and BA Honours in sociology.
“My intention to go to education was to change the perspective of people that you can be what you want irrespective of your circumstances,” she said.
The learners were engaged in different topics, including knowing the difference between a growth and fixed mindset. They participated in group activities where they learnt to be supportive and positive.
Amina explained to them what happens when someone has a growth mindset. She said if you have a growth mindset, you are not afraid to fail, you love new challenges, you put forth the effort, you learn from feedback, you keep trying until you succeed, you love learning, you know progress takes time, you ask for help, and you get inspired by others.
