On public schools;The sacrifices:The teachers

Today's thought;I have been avoiding penning this thought all day,but it won't let me rest

On public schools;The sacrifices:The teachers

Because i am a product of public schools:Because someone put their best foot forward in spite of remuneration :and because someone saw the best in me even when facts said otherwise

I do not have much to offer except words of gratitude for the teachers who went an extra mile.Because i have schooled in names of schools which when said out loud,no one knows,and they ask,ke ko kae koo...I know the terrains of Maitengwe,have inscribed my name on the ground of its kindergarten,have woken up to a 1km walk to Masunga,Have sat on school chairs in Mogorosi,have had the honour of serving Kgatadimo junior secondary schoolars and have always met teachers who made us believe someday we would be somebodys.

Because a teacher somewhere chose to see beyond the boarders of our ruralness,beyond the confines of our habitants and because our imagination was stretched to think of an overseas we had only heard of:because they believed we too could be little Einsteins, Marie Curie 's ,Kofi Annan's,and yes Kofi Annan because once i played him in a school play ,and they believed we could be noble men,kings and queens who would cross boarders,sit in parliament,cure ailments,be honourable beings,strut courtrooms and bring order,feed nations,be entrepreneurs ,parents who could shape the world,be whatever our imagination allowed.

Because they allowed us to dream and dream,and they told us stories that left us burning with desire.and because when in standard four i said i wanted to be an astronaut and no one laughed but they all clapped and clapped and said yes you,you could be an astronaut.You could be whatever you want.You could be.Because they really believed education would be our way out of poverty and because we desired better, we believed with them,in them and they believed in our potential.To be among the stars.To be the stars.And we soared like eagles,we rose against tides and took strides of faith and put in the work with them.We dreamt with them.We worked with them.We excelled with them.

Because when they looked at us,they searched for our education hungry eyes ,,they looked at our longing hearts and took us under their wings,and taught us,because we were teachable human beings,they taught us and we learned.And we aspired to be better than we were yesterday.Because yesterday,teachers made us.They built us.They were priceless.More than value for their money.They were teachers.Real substance.

My heart says i should pay tribute to all my teachers.Among them the ever smiling 'Silos'', Mr Valentine Masilo.I have lost his contacts but wherever he is,i hope he knows he has a daughter he taught well,who thinks of him very highly.The late Mma Gaolathe who taught me literature and took me from a mere 30 percent to something great.Mme Mma Nare who made this Kalanga girl ace setswana,she had no time for myths gore hewe hewe Bakalaka ga ba itse setswana,Mr Moalusi..my guardian and many many more whom i wish i could personally write to,to say thank you folks...You made me.You made us.Every public school product you made us.And that folks is what teachers make....