World Teachers' Day: Insights from Retreat's Anthony Mentor

His job is not to teach, but to help school learners become the best version of themselves. That is what 57-year-old Anthony Mentor had to say, ahead of World Teachers’ Day.

Smile 90.4FM sat down with Mentor to hear why he is a very popular educator at the schools he has worked at. Born and bred in Retreat, the teacher has been transforming the lives of learners for 33 years…and he is not planning to stop anytime soon.

world teachers' day — He was decorated by grade 12 learners, for DSK’s Matric Valedictory Circus

‘A MULTILINGUAL TRAILBLAZER AND MENTOR’

The linguist – who is fluent in Afrikaans, English, Dutch, German and isiXhosa – is teaching Afrikaans, Afrikaaps and music lessons to grades 6 to 11 at Deutsche Schule Kapstadt, also known as German International School Cape Town.

I see myself as a prophet. If you come to me, and say you want to follow a certain career, I would be able to envision you there and take you there. My job is not to teach. My job is to make you the best version that you can be via a syllabus that we have to teach

Mentor, who now resides in Grassy Park, has taught at a number of schools including; Livingstone High School, Windsor High School, Oracle Academy High School, Heathfield High School and the above-mentioned DSK.

‘A QUINTESSENTIAL JACK OF ALL TRADES’

Although he obtained his degree (in German, Afrikaans and Nederlands) at the University of Cape Town, he is also a fully trained Swiss air travel agent. Albeit he never followed that journey. In addition, he is a qualified professional photographer. When he retires at 65, he plans to focus on his photography business.

Some might call him a ‘jack of all trades’, because he has worked as the National Communications Officer of the New Apostolic Church of South Africa, and he’s a music conductor. As if his long list of job titles and accolades are not enough, he officiates marriages too!

‘FAMILY FIRST’

When he is not at school, the father-of-three spends every minute he can with his partner Bronwinn and their four-year-old bundle of joy, Brooklyn. His two sons are much older and are both married.

He shared his advice to teachers and those aspiring to become teachers:

“You must be able to separate your personal life from your job. That is very important. Family time is important; because you go home and that is your ‘soft’ landing, because you always give to other people’s families, so don’t neglect yourself in the process. Some of my friends do not even know I am a teacher because I never do my teaching work at home,” concluded the grandfather of five.

World Teachers’ Day is observed annually on 5 October. The theme for this year’s commemoration is “Valuing teacher voices: Towards a new social contract for education.”