I am Nhlakanipho
Knolege Mthethwa a student studying to be a teacher in the foundation
phase at the University of Mpumalanga. I was born in Mpumalanga in a little township called Elukwatini. This was not a busy township but in recent years
it has developed well enough to have attracted people of nearby areas to come
and do business, shopping and more. It has also been helped by the fact that a
new mine has been opened up nearby, opening the opportunity for business growth
and economic development. This town is made up mostly of a Swati speaking
people hence it closer to Swaziland.
All of my life I have
spent there and hence my education as well. My final year in school was in 2011
in a school called Takheni Secondary School. This school was a public school like
most schools in the area. I was enrolled in this school because it was the best
science school known to produce good results for its pupils. Indeed it was the
best as I have experienced it myself. Although at the time I thought it was the
best option because it was closer to home so I could walk there. Having the experience
of being left behind at the station by the bus in my primary school days was
one I wished never to experience again.
Amazingly my school never
had all the resources a science school should have but we passed. That being said we never had any form of technology that we used in our classes, accept for those who did CAT a computer subject. Our teachers
were brilliant, giving their time and effort to assist where possible even if
it meant spending their own money for us. It was there that I learned to make
do with what I had.
In my grade twelve
year I was in the science stream. I had been for two years for in our time we
chose streams in grade ten. This meant I had to spend lots of my time studying,
for this stream was not an easy one. But with determination and hard work
coupled with good friends and good teachers, not to mention wonderful and
supportive parents I had a good recipe for success.
We were also
encouraged to make study groups to improve marks and it worked. I also have to
say that it was difficult for we made a few different groups before we found
ourselves being a well-oiled machine. This was a perseverance lesson well
learned.
The science stream has seven subjects. SiSwati (Home Language), English (First Additional
Language), Mathematics, Life Orientation, Life Sciences, Physical sciences and
Geography.
It was hard, tough
and mostly tiring. But at the end I managed to pull through. For this pass I
had to sacrifice a lot of things I loved. To mention a few, I had to stop going
for soccer practice on a regular basis, practice piano less, play with friends
less and sometimes even church as we had to attend on Sundays. For this though
I managed to pass with an average of seventy to eighty percent average which is
pretty good if I say so myself, although I would have wanted to achieve more.
Because school is not
all about the formal education but also about the community and us as pupils
form a community in the school, I had the pleasure of meeting the greatest of
friends. Overcame some of the most terrifying experiences and challenges.
School was an experience to remember for sure!
