Stars in Education Awards: Giving credit where it’s due

On September 23, 2011, TEACH South Africa had the privilege of being invited to the Stars in Education Awards at Cape Town’s CTICC (International Convention Centre), where the organisation also had a representative among the illustrious bench of seven judges.

Background: The Stars in Education initiative, in its fourth consecutive year, recognises the role played in extra-mural school activities by teachers from all corners of South Africa.

The 2011 completion: This year, 60 contestants were shortlisted and trimmed to 13. Our (judges’) input was deemed necessary at the second level, where we were required to cut down the number to 10 and then select our top three. Simple it might sound but practically it was not. The project samples were of a high quality that made it a daunting task to choose one over the other. Projects included vegetable gardens, singing and cultural groups, poetry, charity, biodiversity and conservation to mention a few.

Conditions: The criteria asked for an assessment of the challenges of each project, their impact on society, the personal sacrifice and partnerships involved, as well as discretional input from the judges. Prizes included cash and bursaries. The first prize winner will attend a number of high-profile functions and have a documentary made on his/her project.

Comments and observations: Here was a case of teachers going beyond the traditional boundaries of the classroom and school confinements. From these projects the pastoral and leadership roles of an educator were clearly exhibited. It was interesting and inspiring to note that the majority of entries were from Limpopo. It showed that an individual setting couldn’t successfully come in the way of a determined effort. Well done, Limpopo. Keep shining the torch until the light falls on all dim parts of South Africa.

Female entries far outnumbered male. It looks like a trend, as it was witnessed in previous competitions. Females heading progress deserve to be recognised and lauded, and males should compliment their efforts. Nevertheless the few male entries were eye-catching.

I have learnt that judging is never value-neutral but, with a given criterion, common ground can always be reached. One good thing I observed was that the judges could always substantiate their reasoning, which made the competition very credible.

TEACH would like to thank Via Africa and Argo for the invitation, and commend them and their partners for recognising the good work our teachers do to uplift communities.