Educator extraordinaire Samkelo Mhlophe wants to be famous for his fun “edutainment” style of teaching life sciences.
Mhlophe went viral on social media after he shared a clip of himself teaching the development of a human embryo in his Grade 12 class.
The teacher said he began his journey into this line of work with the desire to help students as best he could in the academic arena.
He graduated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) with a degree in education.
Believe it or not, Mhlophe only has three years of experience in this career, but with his innovative ideas, he appears like a seasoned pro.
“I look like I have way more experience because I do a lot of research before my classes and always try to better myself,’’ he said.
He not only teaches Matric but Grades 10 and 11 at Makhumbuza High School in Umlazi, KwaZulu Natal. Mhlophe also teaches physics and coding.
@sammykaywhite 📥Teach them using their way of UNDERSTANDING ……📌 #SAMA28 #MrPriceEverydayViral #lifesciencestudent #tiktokteacher #RiseAboveTheNoise #umlazi #stitch #mzansicomedy #zulutiktok #zulutiktok #zulucomedy #duet #trending #umlazitiktoker #durban #durbantiktok #viral #tiktoksouthafrica #aka #sjava #mzansi ♬ original sound - TikTokTeacher
“I specialise in entertainment and education at the same time. I thought having this combination would make me stand out from other teachers and be recognised in the education system as I want to assist all over the nation.’’
Mhlophe also mentioned that he is frequently hired to host events, so he sought to incorporate elements of entertainment into his lessons to make them more engaging and fun for students.
‘’I believe in teaching learners in a language they will understand,’’ he said. ‘’So if they like amapiano, I will teach them according to the music genre.’’
The pupils were very receptive to his unique way of teaching, Mhlophe explained. He claimed that the average pass mark in his classes is 85%.
A busy man, he revealed that he gets hired by other schools to teach on weekends if he does not have any extra classes at his school.
“Everywhere I go, people respond positively. I go around KZN, but I would like to to widen my horizons to include other provinces,’’ he said.
Mhlophe advised other educators to remember that students are not all the same and that an approach that worked in 2022 might not work this year.
“As teachers, we must be lifelong learners as well for us to teach others. It’s important to brainstorm about numerous strategies. There are so many ways we can discover to help our students pass.’’
Mhlophe said he sees himself teaching life sciences on a TV programme in the future, to reach as many students as possible across the nation.
IOL Business