Florance Vermeulen, a teacher from Lückhoff Secondary School in Stellenbosch has placed second in South Africa, for using dance to help inspire his students.
South Africa (08 November 2022) – Florance Vermeulen has placed second in this year’s Solidarity’s Teacher of the Year competition in the high school category. He was one of fifteen finalists and made his way to one of the top places for his unique and quirky teaching style.
Florance is gaining popularity for using dance to inspire his students. The fun teacher teaches at the Lückhoff Secondary School in Stellenbosch, where most of his learners hail from a community rife with gang violence and other social ills. This hasn’t stopped Florance from being a shining inspiration to his young learners.
Florance graduated from STADIO School of Education doing his Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) with STADIO via their distance learning model. He has also completed an Advance Diploma in Professional Acting for Camera and a BCom Degree in Management Marketing.
His high school teaching career began at Bishop Lavis High school in the Western Cape where he taught business studies and EMS before moving to Lückhoff Secondary School in Stellenbosch.
He has been using dance and music to teach business studies, adding a beat to the class work and helping his students flourish in the subject.
“I know that my learners are heavily influenced by music, especially hip hop so I have tried to use this to bridge the gap between content-rich subjects and barriers to learning” he explains.
That’s not all. His teaching contribution stretches far beyond his subject specialism with Florance being a mentor and tutor under the umbrella of the Cape Winelands Education District (CWED). Additionally, he is also an active member of the district professional learning community where he shares his knowledge and expertise.
“I am so honoured that my passion and calling for teaching and learning and the role that I play in my learners’ life has been recognised. I have always tried to focus on what is happening both inside and outside of the classroom so that I can use education and my subject knowledge to grow learners into holistic and responsible individuals who have a meaningful place in their communities. I firmly believe that everyone can positively change their life with the right support and motivation and teachers play an important role in inspiring and instilling values, dreams, and aspirations in their learners”.
Florance has inspired so many people and left the head of STADIO School of Education in awe of his achievements since graduating.
“It is so refreshing to see the amazing achievements of our graduate teachers like Florance who continue to inspire and excite the next generation. We are exceptionally proud to see Florance excelling as a teacher and wish him continued success in what we are sure will be a very bright and rewarding teaching career,” – Dr Leanne Browning
Take a look at the fun teacher dancing with his students below.
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