Teaching for change

She has been a high school teacher, lecturer and facilitator during her career as her passion for teaching and education developed over time.

She entered the profession because of the limited number of professions women could enter into a male dominated workplace when she was a young woman.

“When I left high school, there were not many professions that women could enter into; I remember the two main professions taking on women were the teaching and nursing professions.”

It was her passion for the English language and her students’ development of understanding in the language which inspired her to carry on teaching.

In her later years after leaving government teaching in 2001, her focus shifted to skills development and educating employees in the workplace to advance their skills.

“At the moment I’m facilitating the education of a cleaning lady and a maintenance worker, who work at a law firm, to get their matric. They’re both 40 years old.”

Her skills in fostering a better education for people does not stop at individuals, but has diversified into corporate settings.

“For corporate companies I conduct health and wellness programmes for people in the workplace. It started when my interest in HIV/Aids and how it affects people and communities grew.

“In 2001 people knew very little about the virus and due to government policies, many people died without getting the necessary help.”

For Pule it pleases her to know that educating people about the virus is at the point where in the present day, having HIV/Aids is no longer seen as a death sentence although the stigma of having the virus still exists.

Pule says that growing up during the 50s and 60s in South Africa, women were treated as second class citizens, due to a predominantly male managed society.

During that period and through history many women may have been purely seen as nurturers and their jobs, which became their careers, had undertones of the nurturing ability women possessed.

However, going into the 70s things changed.

“While doing my English degree at the University of the Witwatersrand, I saw the liberation of what it meant to be a woman and a realisation that equality amongst the sexes could be achieved and had to be recognised.”

According to Pule, the ‘bra burning generation’ ignited many women to protest against a male dominated society.

Today women face new and age old challenges in a globalising world.

Pule highlighted women’s pursuit of equality, and the various forms of discrimination they may still be experiencing in their homes or in the workplace.

“I can identify with the women of today of all ages. Through education I would like to teach men in our society to think differently about women and respect them as equals.”

She finds the rewarding part of education is that if you can change one person’s life through education, you can change a nation.

When asked what Women’s Day means to her, Pule cleverly responded, “It should be called Men’s Day, because a man must realise that if it was not for the woman or women in their lives, he would not have become the man he is today.”

Her vision for women in South Africa is optimistic.

“In 30 years I see wondrous, great things ahead for the women in this country, but this cannot happen if women allow men to get away with a demeaning attitude towards them, abusing them or controlling them in order to prove their manhood.”

Pule’s message to women is, “pursue your dreams no matter the obstacles, and celebrate your femininity while being a strong independent woman.”