The Education Show

Episode 22 | Warrior Ric | Speaker, Activist, Educator, Inspirational

A motivational artist living his brand, and leading others by example, to be their best. WarriorRic (aka Ricardo Gressel) gravitated towards the limelight from an early age. He was born and raised in California, USA, and was an outspoken over achiever from grade school, culminating in his matriculation as valedictorian from Saint Mary’s High School. He subsequently graduated from Stanford University with an International Relations degree, and was destined to be an entrepreneur from the moment he stepped off campus and into his career.
His first venture was as designer and manufacturer of his very own leather apparel firm where he partnered with a colleague from Stanford. From his exposure to the world of fashion throughout the US, he became a model and actor appearing in television commercials and fashion magazines the world over, including South Africa.
Because of the timing of his assignments in South Africa’s unforgettable year of 1994 and his interest in the de-colonisation of Africa, he found himself more often traveling the country in support of galvanizing voter registrations for the ANC and enjoying outdoor political rallies led by Nelson Mandela, than working in front of the camera. Today, with over 17 years of marketing experience as a brand specialist for various agencies in the US and Africa building formidable brands, such as McDonald’s, Cell C and Kenya Power, to name a few, WarriorRic is now keenly focused on inspiring individuals and companies to achieve greatness by developing personal brand vision and mission statements for individuals, and aligning their values to the organisations they serve.
 
https://warriorric.co.za/
 
https://zibuza.net/
 

Episode 21 Lwazi Mankahla | Distell Development Trust

NB:  The email address in the episode is incorrect please use this one if you want to get in touch with Lwazi developmenttrust@distell.co.za
 
On this episode we chat with Lwazi Mankahla head of the Distell Development Trust. We find out more about his role and what the trust does.
The Distell Development Trust focuses on the following three strategic imperatives when deciding what initiatives to invest in. These focus areas are appropriately aligned with international, national and Distell Group focus areas.
Empowerment of black women in rural communities
Encouraging innovative initiatives that benefit rural black women and restore the dignity of communities.
Education and work-readiness
Improving basic schooling.
Assisting young people to complete their tertiary studies successfully so that they are better placed to get jobs.
Youth employment and entrepreneurship in townships
Working with organisations that help youth to develop suitable skills that enable them to find suitable jobs.
Helping potential or prospective entrepreneurs to start businesses and run them successfully.
The Trust has opted for an approach of “Doing a few things well” rather than trying to be “all things to all people”.
 
https://www.distelldevelopmenttrust.org.za/
 
https://zibuza.net/
 

Episode 20 | Dr Graeme Codrington | Futurist, Entrepreneur, Speaker

On this episode I chat with Graeme about his job as a futurist, his take on education and his message to teachers in these disruptive times.
 
ABOUTGRAEME
Graeme’s breadth of knowledge and expertise makes him highly relevant -  essential - in today’s rapidly evolving business world. Along with his formal qualifications and research credentials, he also has a wide range of personal experience and a deep understanding of how people and business work. Now add his vast experience working with business leaders the world over during the past 20+ years, and you’ll understand why he is the go-to resource for leaders who are gearing up for the future.
 
That’s why CEOs in 50+ countries insist on working with him, year in and year out. It’s also why he continues to lecture at leading business schools on three continents, and why he gets invited to speak to 100,000+ conference delegates around the globe annually.
https://www.graemecodrington.com/
https://zibuza.net/
 

Episode 19 | Wills And Testaments | We chat with Natasha And Rori from ENS Africa

On this episode we chat with Natasha and Rori about Wills and Testaments. We discuss why a will is important, what should go into a will and also where and how to get your will drawn up.
 
https://www.ensafrica.com/
 
https://zibuza.net/
 

Episode 18 | Jennifer Terry | Culturally Responsive Minds

On this episode I chat with Jennifer about the need for becoming culturally sensitive and aware and the importance of being culturally sensitive in order to become an effective global citizen.
 
 www.culturallyresponsiveminds.com
https://zibuza.net/
 

Episode 17 | Lisa Illingworth | Leadership In Times Of Chaos

On this episode I chat with CEO of Futureproof SA Lisa Illingworth about leadership and what type of leadership is needed in these uncertain times.
 
https://futureproofsa.com/
 
https://zibuza.net/
 

Episode 16 | Dr Yen Verhoeven | Educator, Entrepreneur, Rebel

On this episode I chat with Yen about teaching during the pandemic, we focus on self care for teachers and as always we have a little bit of revolutionary chat thrown in for good measure.
 
Qi Learning was founded on April 5, 2018 with a mission to edvolutionize the way that we educate by empowering teachers with the tools to help people learn. Although we are a young company, I have spent a lifetime developing our company’s vision. When I was 17, I received a letter from the mom of a student that I tutored in math. She told me that my tutoring gave her son more confidence and motivation. The experience had completely changed her son’s outlook on school and on life. The letter surprised me because at the time, I was only tutoring for gas money and I didn’t realize just how much teaching can change someone’s life. That insight shaped my future and set me on a path to positively impact the world one person at a time, one class at a time. One candle can light the world when each of us nurtures and spreads the flame.
Yen Verhoeven
https://www.qilearning.com/
https://zibuza.net/
 

Episode 15 | Candice Preston | Teacher, Learner, Entrepreneur

On this episode we chat with Candice about her lifelong passion for learning and the courses she presents to enable students to study and learn better.
Candice:
My focus has been around combining teaching and coaching to help young people achieve greater success in their lives. I love learning and believe that education transforms us in amazing ways. Society is shaped by our schools and how we develop our youth. As teachers we have so much power to create and destroy.
I met James Jooste who created Ascend Whole Brain Learning in the 90's and helped over 15 000 students improve their learning methods and results. Together we rebranded as studytothrive.com where we started offering the courses online as well as in person and we are focusing on expanding into other content and skills that the youth of today need to succeed sooner in their lives. (Such as financial education, social etiquette, relationship building, etc)
Our study skills methods are incredible. When I learnt them I wished I had learnt them sooner because they help you think about the material you are learning in a very different way and enable you to learn anything with ease. We combine education and academic coaching to empower students to achieve greater academic success. However, that is not the end goal. We use study skills courses as a vehicle for helping students develop vital soft skills that will give them the advantage in the new and changing world of work. 
Whole Brain Learning methods are focused on developing both the left and right hemisphere of the brain so that students have greater synchronicity between these hemispheres enabling them to learn more effectively and developing their higher order thinking skills (evaluating, analysing and creating new ideas). But it is not a one size fits all because we can look at each student's brain profile and use their learning style and preference to help them apply the methods in a way that suits them best. Every single one of our students has improved academically and as they do they feel more confident and motivated to spend more time studying and thus they get even better results. 
The education system is changing and what students are learning is changing but the point of education is still to develop students' ability to think and that is what our methods help students do. 
When students perform better academically and feel more confident in their ability to learn they start to enjoy learning and pursue more learning opportunities. As they do this they develop themselves and open new doors of opportunity to not only better their lives and their families lives but to contribute something unique and valuable to the world. 
Focusing on coaching students for ultimate success
Academic success leads to financial success but we need to learn how to manage our money and make our money work for us. Thanks to meeting and working with Kathryn I am able to empower students through financial education as well. 
Book
From Teen to Adult: The Real Stuff For Success
I wrote a book connecting teenagers with the key things that can help them achieve success sooner in their lives.
https://www.studytothrive.com
 

Episode 14 | Natasha Wagiet | Attorney at ENSafrica, talking gender based violence

On this episode we chat with Natasha about gender based violence and violence against women and children. We talk about what GBV is and how we as individuals can help to break the cycle of GBV in our country.
Natasha Wagiet is a Pro Bono Coordinator at ENSafrica in the Mitchell's Plain office, and oversees ENSafrica’s CSI portfolio.
Her experience includes advising on gender and child justice, human trafficking, liaising with various stakeholders from both government and civil society, conflict resolution, legal administration, and advocacy.
As ENSafrica’s Mitchells Plain pro bono coordinator, Natasha is responsible for screening pro bono matters and coordinating consultations with ENSafrica’s practitioners, as well as running legal awareness workshops.
Natasha has a particular interest in socio- economic rights issues, as well as intellectual property and traditional knowledge.

Episode 13 | Kathryn Main | Money Savvy Kids

On this episode we chat with Kathryn about her journey and her business Money Savvy Kids
Born out of the need to teach our kids that money is something to be understood and respected, Money Savvy Kids (MSK) is the beginning of the end of financial mismanagement and misunderstanding.
MSK makes learning easy through fun ways to teach kids money matters.
The MSK financial curriculum ranges from grade 0 to grade 7 and combines real-world education with easy-to-understand modules to further enhance the children’s learning.
MSK is not just a product. It is a pathway to developing mind-sets that will ensure South Africa’s children not only work their way out of poverty, but that they have the tools to stay out.
MSK promotes in youth the skills, knowledge attitudes and behaviours required to be financially independent. This is critical to South Africa’s future because each person’s informed financial decisions help shape the country’s economy into the powerhouse it has the potential to be.
https://moneysavvykids.co.za/
https://zibuza.net/