New year; new blood: Edu Inc faculty changes for 2023

Gershom Aitchison, host · [00:15]In this, our last podcast of 2022, I'd like to share some very exciting news about our faculty for next year and talk a little bit about what 2023 is going to look like. Edu Inc will never stand in the way of PhDs and love, and that's certainly something that's happened within our community in this last year. We have three faculty members leaving us at the end of this year, and one faculty member who is going on maternity leave in the first term of next year. It is with great sadness that we see Mr. Mudlia leaving us to complete his PhD, and if any of you manage to listen to Do You Really Want to Be a Math Teacher podcast recently, you would know that Mr. Mudlia has given us a year of his life while trying to do a PhD, and is at a point where juggling both the rigors of Edu Inc and the demands of teaching core maths and doing a PhD has just been a step too far. He's going off to be Dr. Mudlia, and we wish him well in the next few years while he attains his PhD, and he's still part of our community and available to Ms. Snow, who is going to be taking his position with an exile degree and experience in further studies mathematics. I know that his very large shoes are well filled. So the big question is going to be who fills the position of math literacy if Ms. Snow is filling the rather large shoes of Mr. Mudlia from next year. And Swasthi Maharaj will be joining us to teach maths literacy and the grade seven and eight maths. She has a BSc in genetics and microbiology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and is very passionate and excited about maths. That's certainly something that grade sevens and eights really need to feel as they're going into the FET phase of maths, be it for maths core, further studies maths, or for maths literacy.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [02:02]The second teacher that is going to be moving on is Ms. Brief. Ms. Brief has found love, and unfortunately not locally, and is heading off to Switzerland next year to marry the man and love of her life. And while it seems to be a little bit sudden, we are also in good hands with her replacement, Angus Lowe, who's currently studying his master's in Educational Management, Law, and Policy, and is an avid history geek. I'm quite sure he'll keep us all enthralled with his historical accounts of what really happened in certain places around the world. The last teacher leaving is Mr. Remneren, our beloved physics teacher, and it seems that the draw of the Western Cape, the coastline, the wine, I don't know what the appeal is of Cape Town or the Western Cape, but a lot of Gautengers seem to be drawn there these days, and he is emigrating to continue his career as a physics teacher in the IAB space in the Western Cape, and we wish him well on that journey. He'll certainly be supporting Ms. Masedi Mmonatau, who will be taking his position, and we're very excited to have her join our team. She has a master's in chemical engineering from Wits, and is very keen to share her passion for physics, chemistry, and all things engineering with the students. And then finally, Ms. Khan is due to have a child next year in the beginning of February, and while her absence is going to be missed sorely, especially with the kids battling with raspberry pies and the junior maths, We are very fortunate to have the very experienced Matt Matthyser come in and take over for her for the two and a half months. With an honours degree from Wits and lots of years of teaching experience in the maths field, I think that we are in good hands.

Jacqueline Aitchison, host · [04:00]The demand to be a teacher at Education Incorporated is very high, and this is generally because of the amount of emphasis that we place on the professional and personal development that our staff undergo while they are with us. It means that we've seen a great deal of CVs over the last three or four months, and it's quite a rigorous process that gets these candidates through the door. It's a two-interview process, and I have to say that one of the things that I've really enjoyed seeing over the last few months is the second interview that these people have gone through. This is an interview that they do with a panel of the current teachers, because The new person's going to have to work with the team. It's the team who picks things up if a ball is dropped. It's very, very important that they have a say in that space. And I can tell you something, I'm very, very pleased that I have never been interviewed by any of those panels, because they are pretty grueling. They've done their jobs exceptionally well. The feedback we've had from them has always been really on point. I have to say, I sat today listening to one of the panels and I was just, I just had a moment of feeling incredibly proud of our staff. The amount of agency and ownership that they have over the teaching space at Edu Inc is incredible to see. The strength of the team, the strength of this faculty is second to none. I keep being reminded of that when I watch these panels in action. So I have no doubt that we have chosen fantastic candidates for next year. I believe the strength of this faculty is just, it just continues to grow. The network continues to grow because people like Mr. Mudliar and Mr. Ramniran, they're not disappearing. We're going to see them doing guest classes. We're going to see them popping in, and I look forward to that. I look forward to this ever-expanding family that we have, and I'm feeling very confident that our kids are in great hands.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [05:47]It also amazed me when listening to Mr. Mudliar, the outgoing teacher, and Ms. Snow. The, the incoming teacher, although she's been with Edu Inc for a few years now, just talking about that process and how even two years, three years after her initial interview, that panel interview was something that was quite memorable for her, and that little chuckle from both of them at the end of the podcast when they wished the candidates well, knowing that it's a little bit like basic training in the army. It's something you don't want to do, but you have to do it, but feel really good because it was so hard and you got through it and are standing on the other side of it. So on that final note, I'd like us to extend a very warm Edu Inc welcome to our new faculty members as we go into 2023. I know that the Edu Inc community is a great community to be part of. I know that the teachers are going to really feel welcome and give their best. I look forward to seeing what they do for us, and I look forward to seeing the new energy that they bring into the school.