  Lodi van Deventer: the 4th most active curriculum website manager
Instead of surveying the 10 most popular sites we have decided to provide you with some background information on the ten most active Curriculum website managers for 2008 based on their logins.
Here we talk to Lodi van Deventer, manager of the FET Economics and FET Business studies websites, which received 15 080 & 23 658 hits respectively during this period.
You have dedicated many hours to managing your website. Why?
The positive communication from subscribers thanking me for news, curriculum documents etc. inspires me to update my websites regularly, but also reminds me every time that lots of people access my web-sites and that places a welcome responsibility on me to keep them relevant and current. It also gives me joy when I place photos of teachers in workshops on the web-site as I think that it will place a smile on their faces when they see themselves on the www. Finally, when I place a relevant document on the web that I know will definitely make the lives of teachers easier I feel happy!
What are your plans for your website in the coming 12 months?
I would like to put more photos on the website and also wish to get my advisers to make use of their editing rights in order to expand the calendar facility. They can also help upload examples from teachers of best practice.
What are you currently reading?
I study the financial newspapers daily in order to stay with the latest developments on the business and economics fronts: and what a year, with millions all over the world losing billions on international financial markets. Apart from that, I prefer living the life that others read about!
What was your favourite film the past 12 months?
Now you are talking – I am a Cinema Nouveau fanatic – I very recently watched two films on a Saturday at the Waterfront Nouveau: Caramel and a wonderful Japanese War film, that I dare not write the name of! Excellent movies that exercised my alpha brain waves!
People of your calibre are often driven, highly creative and/or have some secret formula for their success. What drives you and, if you have a formula or just some home-spun advice, please would you share it with us?
Many people know it - I saw the quote in a book and bought the book in 1997 The learning revolution, Dryden and de Vos and I realised that that was how I have lived my life from childhood: Passion + Vision + Action is the equation for success (Marilyn King – US Olympic Athlete).
When I do motivational speeches at schools to learners I use this as a basis, especially regarding Action: that success very often emerges when ordinary people do ordinary things extra-ordinarily well!
I also live to a quote my father taught me when he was my principal and teacher Grades 5-7 at Kommetjie Primary School: (I have also taught it to my sons since very small.)
The heights by great men reached and kept
were not attained by sudden flight,
but they,
while their comrades slept,
were toiling upward through the night!
Maybe I shall still get there ….
Other than managing your website, what else do you do for fun?
 Fishing and crayfishing out at Kommetjie, Gans Bay and Saldanha Bay – I own a ski boat – my wife and sons have been going on the boat with me from when my sons were 1 and 2 years old – we have enjoyed wonderful experiences through the years – out at sea nothing else matters!
On my glass is inscribed: “Even a bad day at sea is better that a good day at the office!” But that is only a joke: I have lived for my work my whole life – I enjoy making a difference”, and believe I have done so in the lives of my learners as teacher, principal of two schools, and now as curriculum planner.
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| J. Strydom |
2008-11-27 12:04:00 |
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