“When you are a teacher you see the fruits of the seeds you have planted while you are still alive.”
This is what has brought 2019 Integrity Icon, Moshalagae Malatji joy throughout her education career.
Rinae Sikhwari was in conversation with this dedicated educator for the final installment of Accountability Lab South Africa’s, “Meet the Icon” webinars. The webinar took place on the 17th of December 2020.
The conversation was an inspiring and authentic exchange between Moshalagae and Rinae. Individuals who are both passionate about childhood literacy and education. Moshalagae’s enthusiasm for her job was evident throughout the entire discussion. She has had an exemplary career which she guided the attendees through.
The purpose of the webinar was to inspire aspiring educators and young people to join the public service. Moshalagae Malatji is a teacher who became a principal, then worked as a district officer. She has 15 years experience in the education field. She is now Head of Library Services at the Department of Education in Limpopo.
Rinae Sikhwari is a literacy rights activist, education consultant and project manager at New Leaders Foundation. New Leaders Foundation is a not-for-profit company that is committed to transforming South Africa education.
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Rinae started the webinar by asking Moshalagae why she became a teacher. Moshalagae responded by saying, “there came a time in my life when I realized the difference I could make by becoming a teacher.” She loved teaching and remained encouraged in her duties by, “seeing learners change”, as she stated. Often herself and her colleagues noticed how learners began to see life differently and this kept her fulfilled.
She always expected the best from her pupils. She recalled how when bumping into former students at their workplaces, she always told them their job was merely a starting point but that she taught them so that they could go beyond that and be promoted to managerial levels in whatever sphere of influence they were in.
Moshalagae moved on to library services because she has always had a love for reading. She explained that, “reading is a discipline, it moulds your thinking and writing. you learn a lot from it” She stated that reading has always been in her and it is a practice where one gets to sit with themselves and have the space to reflect on the way they treat themselves and others. She jokingly expressed how she always bought her children books as presents until they had a meeting to say, “mama, this is enough!”
Integrity Icon is a campaign run by Accountability Lab to celebrate and honour public servants serving with integrity. When speaking of accountability, Moshalagae asserted, “if you are serious about making a difference in people’s lives you really need to be accountable and know that this time is about these people and not about you.”
She urged aspiring educators to join the sector. She said, “being a teacher is amazing because you see the learners who pass through your hands grow. You get to see them from not being able to tie their shoes to being in different professions, changing their lives and that of their families.”
This is the definition of impact.