Roshnee – Moosa “Mosey” Moola was a giant in the education sector and his loss has hit hard those that knew him best. He was a guiding figure whose loss will be felt throughout the education sector.
There are many qualities about Moola that made him someone that people looked up to. His love and passion for educating the youth knew no bounds. His love and warmth radiated from him covering all those who came into contact with him.
He spent four decades teaching, molding the youth, instilling morals into them that would take them far in life. He has taught many students that have gone on to do great things in life. This was his greatest achievement, seeing his former pupils excel in life, said Prof Yousuf Dadoo, a retired academic.
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Moola – a caring teacher and principal
Students and teachers face a tough time reaching the expectations that they set for themselves. In a tough world, it is easier to navigate it when you have someone who cares for you unconditionally and takes time to listen to you. This was a unique quality that Moola had explained Hassan Saley, Principal of Roshnee Secondary School.
“The man himself, the humility, the leadership qualities, the counseling that he gave educators and learners was phenomenal. He would always be ready to listen to us and hear our complaints. In those years during the Apartheid time, principles were more authoritarian but he never showed that authority openly. He would always be welcoming to us. Listening to our problems, listening to the children’s problems and just made a mark of a good leader.”
The way he taught lessons was also unique to him. He was able to carry a lesson in such a way that none felt bored. Abdullah Sujee, Deputy Principal of Al Falaah College, described his experience being taught by Moola.
“When Mr Moola would come into a classroom, he would actually take over the lesson because he found it very interesting, you were never inundated with his message. You were never overwhelmed with his presence. You actually felt like a person who is at the water’s edge wanting to drink more. When he had to correct you, it was always in the privacy of his office and he did so with such calmness … Your mistakes were never something that he would shout about but he’d always nurture you. That is why today Mr Moola remains that teacher, that principal, that man who will forever be the emblem of what I would say is a great educator.”
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The lessons that were given out by Moola
Saley learnt many lessons from Moola but one that he always remembers and passes on to his staff is how Moola viewed his students.
“When I started teaching, he told me to look at the child’s face and what is written. I then looked at him stunned. He said, ‘It’s written there teach me and discipline me’ and I still use it with my staff today. I always tell them to think about this child. This child is crying out to us for help, and this is what is written. The second thing is, especially in today’s time it has more impact, do not take it for granted that the child knows everything.”
An example would be talking about the beach and the feeling of the sand. There are children who have never been to the beach. Just because we have experienced something, it does not mean the children have experienced it, said Saley.
Sujee also learnt what it meant to be a teacher from Moola. Moola’s wise words still linger in his mind every day. Moola taught Sujee that “as teachers you have to take huge tasks upon your shoulders, shoulder it and do something with it. He also taught us never to do things for show”.
One of Sujee’s fondest memories of Moola was when he drove from Roshnee to Johannesburg when Sujee became a principal for the first time. The advice Moola gave him at the time could be written “with a thread of gold” because of how valuable it was.
Teaching kindness and lessons of life
A great teacher is one who goes beyond teaching what is in the books. One who can teach their students about life and how to carry oneself. Dadoo experienced many life lessons with Moola including one that taught him to not judge a person because of one evil action they might have done.
“One day he brought out a plain white sheet of paper and he had a reasonable size black dot on it. He asked what do you see and of course we said we see this black dot. That’s the normal response. He said ‘You see. That is the human problem and the human failing. There’s so much more white on this paper. Nobody’s speaking about that white but that black spot. That dot on that paper people are quick to capitalise upon that and speak about that’. Evaluating people, we seldom pay enough attention to the larger white, the larger good that people possess but rather concentrate on that limited evil and wrong and negative traits.”
He went on to say, “We cannot have a clear understanding of our successes and our failings without some honest person who could act as a mirror for us to reflect upon our strengths and our weaknesses.”
Moola has left a legacy in the education sector. Not only did he manage to instill morals and create a generation of exceptional people, but he nurtured and created loving teachers. Those who met him felt blessed to be in presence. The teaching sector and the world has lost a giant which can never be replaced.
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