MARIENTAL – After almost four decades of dedicated service to education, Anna Katrina Philander retired as teacher, educator, school headmistress and community leader at the small village of Koës, some 140 kilometers east of Keetmanshoop.
“Education is a way of life. We all must live education. We must be passionate about it. It is a life-long exercise,” said Philander after her retirement last month.
“I served education for a lifetime. It was my life, my passion and a lifestyle. However, everything comes to an end. I believe nobody is indispensible. I have done my part and now is the time for me to say goodbye to the profession I adore so much,” said Philander.
After completing Standard 8, which is today equivalent to Grade 10, and spending two years at Augustineum Training College, she enrolled at the Perseverence Training College in Kimberley, South Africa for a special education course. She started teaching in 1976 at the age of 23 at Mina Sachs Primary School.
“Ever since, I never looked back. I realized education is for me and that was the best I could do to contribute to my country’s development. After all, education is the key,” she reminisced.
After marrying a teacher, the well-known 100-metre sprinter in the 1970’s, Adolph Philander, they together moved to the village of Tses to teach and also start a family. Today Philander is the mother of three children and two grandchildren.
Her advice to fellow teachers is: “Love your job, be interested in what we as teachers are doing. Love the children and treat them as if they are your own.”
Concerning her retirement plans, she says: “For now I will concentrate on my family life and to make ends meet. To all my colleagues: Teachers are lifelong friends and the profession is permanent. We have so much in common.”
By Hoandi !Gaeb