Role Model-Edith Mamosebo
On our arrival at Ivory Park High School, the exciting atmosphere was contagious. Busy activity surrounded us while laughter and singing reverberated off the walls as we waited in the reception area. Mrs Mamosebo, clad in an apron, arrived to meet us a short while later, explaining that the school was very busy with preparations for a party for Mrs Elsie Simbine, the school’s former principal and a woman considered a mentor and real trend setter by Mrs Mamosebo.
Born and raised in rural Limpopo, Edith Mamosebo was a girl with a dream to serve and help others. After completing her matric at a local school in her village, Edith persuaded her father to allow her to attend a teachers’ college in a nearby town to get her diploma in teaching. At the time, her career choice was influenced by their financial situation – her first choice was to be a doctor! But, she confessed, she’s still growing and finding herself and somehow managing to mix her love for science, helping people and farming into a neat parcel that she enjoys!
Edith completed her teaching diploma and eventually had to leave her rural life to work in the city. After a few years of volunteering, she found a job teaching at Thuto Ke Matla High School, where she realised that she was still living her lifelong dream of helping others – not as a doctor, but as a teacher making a difference in the lives of the students she taught. Striving hard for excellence, she worked to raise the standard of her school and walked away with an award for best educator in Biology in the year 1997.
Willing to give her own time on Saturdays to help more children, she worked as a tutor for the Dimension Data programme teaching Maths and Science. Not neglecting her own development, she worked hard to be appointed head of department in 2006 and in 2007 she became deputy principal of Ivory Park High School. In 2008 she accepted the position of acting principal and was officially appointed principal of Ivory Park High School in 2009.
Her resilience and defiance of failure drive Edith to making a real difference in the lives of the students at Ivory Park – from raising money and seeking sponsors, to dishing up lunch for her learners, spending endless nights at the school, ensuring that the job gets done. Edith Mamosebo believes one door closing is an opportunity to find another entrance. “Giving up is not an option!” she says. “I tell my children all the time, I don’t believe in failing, you just have to try again.”
Her dream for her school is to make sure that every learner who leaves is equipped with the skills they will need to survive and make a life for themselves beyond the walls of her school. “I want all my learners to be computer literate and to be able to express themselves in a manner that is clear.”
Her wish for her teachers is that they are able to capitalise on the development of technology and use that to further enhance their methods of teaching.
“That I’ve helped people, and made a meaningful contribution to society – that is what I want my legacy to be. There is plenty of hope for our future; I see South African education taking a different turn which I am sure will be a good one. But, we need to make education a societal priority.”
Wise words from a truly inspirational woman!