One Read, Every Month
THE EDUPLACE JOURNAL
The Coffee Conspiracy
Can you tell how long someone's been teaching just by their coffee order? We decided to find out.
We asked educators around the world one deceptively simple question: how do you take your coffee? The theory was that the order might say something about the years behind it β new to the profession, still finding your feet, versus deep enough in that the order's become automatic.
Aaliyah, two years in and freshly placed at a school in Furijah, hasn't landed on a "usual" yet: iced on a good day, hot on a cooler one, caramel if she's treating herself, vanilla if she isn't. "I usually go for iced coffee, caramel or vanilla lattes. If it's hot, then a vanilla latte or a coffee with milk is my go-to." Call it a menu rather than an order β still optimistic, still shopping around, exactly where you'd expect someone two years in to be.
Jai, further along, keeps it simple: milk and sugar. Tammy, three years into the profession, is even easier to please, and open to a bit of a bribe on the side.
"Milk please π β and if it comes with a side of a flight ticket to my next teaching job, I won't complain π€."Tammy, 3 Years In
Further along still, the order tends to simplify. Janine, an administrator, needed just one word: milk. Another respondent, staying anonymous, said the same. One administrator had graduated to giving orders, not just taking them β black, or with skim milk and a touch of…
Njam Eatery, Linden
Honest comfort breakfasts, Johannesburg
Teachers give so much and so rarely get thanked for it β Njam knows it, and this month they're doing something about it. Enter for a chance to win an R400 meal voucher, valid until 30 September 2026, on the house β every vote in this issue's Staffroom poll counts as an entry.
Njam is a Linden favourite built around fresh, seasonal ingredients delivered daily from local suppliers β brunch, small plates, and a proper deli counter in an airy, family-friendly space. Shop 7a, Linden Lanes Shopping Centre. Winner named β with Njam Eatery alongside β in next month's issue.
Visit Njam Eatery →From Bahrain to South Korea β one Eduplace teacher's story of chasing multicultural classrooms around the world.
Name: Jo-Danna de Klerk Β· Now teaching at: Poly Academy, Paju, South Korea Β· Family since: 2019
"I am a South African teacher with several years of international teaching experience in countries such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea. I have experience teaching English, literacy, and other subjects to students from diverse cultural backgrounds. I am passionate about creating engaging lessons, supporting my students' learning, and continuing to grow as an educator. I enjoy working in multicultural environments and bringing a positive and adaptable attitude to the classroom."β Jo-Danna de Klerk
Biggest surprise: "The humidity. It can be a bit overwhelming sometimes, but I've learnt from the locals that a mini fan can be extremely helpful."
One thing she wishes she'd known before moving: "To bring along my flip flops."
What she loves outside school: "South Korea's beautiful parks and scenery. I enjoy taking walks and exploring the picturesque streets and colorful buildings β the architecture and atmosphere are so charming it almost feels like stepping into a cartoon."
Her advice for other SA teachers considering the move: "Be mindful of local customs β it's considered polite not to speak or laugh too loudly in public places or on public transport, as people generally value a quiet and respectful environment."
Did you know? Paju, South Korea β home to this issue's Where In The World teacher β sits just a few kilometres from the DMZ, and is also known for Heyri Art Valley, a whole town built as an artists' community.
Term 3 Ends β 23 September 2026!
Here's what's standing between you and that countdown hitting zero.
← swipe →
Namaqualand's superbloom β 2026's rains mean the West Coast & Nieuwoudtville routes are still worth the drive.
Labor Day β a long weekend for anyone teaching stateside.
International Day of Peace β marked in classrooms worldwide.
π Term 3 is officially over! Go rest. (Also, happy Saudi National Day.)
Heritage Day β a public holiday, and a long weekend into the school break.
Mid-Autumn Festival begins β mooncakes and a rare few days off.
Send us a picture. Your classroom's first spring flowers, a student's drawing of one, your Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes, whatever this month looks like where you are. Straight to the editor β we may feature it in a future issue.
Submit yours →
1. Sooner than "just now," but slower than "now." 2. A South African unit of time with no fixed length, generally understood to mean anywhere from five minutes to never.
Thesaurus: shortly Β· presently Β· before long Β· in a bit Β· soon-ish
"I'll be there now now." β a South African, definitely not on their way yet
Last Month's Result
Braai broodjies won, 64% to 36%. Heritage Day's settled β for this year, anyway. Tjops supporters, we see you.
Is AI Taking Away Critical Thinking? Teachers Are Split.
Ask a hundred teachers whether AI belongs in the classroom, and the real debate is whether the tool is quietly doing the thinking for students before they've had the chance to struggle through it themselves. Some see a shortcut that skips the productive struggle where real learning happens. Others see a tool no different from a calculator, freeing up mental space for the harder work underneath.
Joy Koenig has a useful image for this, borrowed from a different context entirely: swap the "parking lot" β where an idea just sits, going nowhere, until someone reaches for the easiest answer available β for a "garden plot," where it's left to actually grow. (Koenig, LinkedIn) A classroom runs on the same soil. The risk with AI isn't the tool itself β it's a student parking their thinking the moment it gets hard, instead of giving the idea room to grow on its own.
Read the full story on the site →This Month's Question
Is AI hampering learning, or helping it?
This Issue's Prize
Every vote enters you into this month's draw for a R400 Njam Eatery voucher.* Winner drawn when the ballot closes.
*To view full prize rules, see our Policies section.
September, Yay!!! Nooo, Allergies.
The flowers are blooming. So, unfortunately, is everything else.
By the second week of September, Cape staffrooms split into two camps: the ones enjoying the wildflowers, and the ones who can't tell if they're admiring them or reacting to them. Spring here comes with a real cost β pollen, climbing fast through Gauteng and the Western Cape, hitting hardest in a closed classroom.
The hard part isn't the sneezing. It's telling allergies apart from something worth a real sick day:
Spot the Difference
Allergies
- Itchy eyes
- Sneezing fits
- Runny nose
- Feel fine otherwise
Actually Sick
- Fever
- Body aches
- Constant fatigue
- Stay home if you can.
If it's allergies, the fix is simple β just easy to forget until you're three tissues into a staff meeting. Survival tipKeep tissues in your drawer, antihistamines in your bag, and never trust a windy afternoon.
It's just a cold, it'll pass in a few days.
A cold runs its course in about a week. Still sneezing three weeks later? That's not a cold β that's the season.
Pack this, and you'll get through the month intact:
The September Essentials
- Non-drowsy antihistamine
- Eye drops
- Refillable water bottle
- Lip balm
- Tissues (more than you think you'll need)
- Coffee, because teaching.
Ticking most of the allergy boxes above most days? You've qualified for this year's bingo card:
Spring Teacher Bingo
- Sneezed while taking attendance
- Learner asked if you have a cold
- Forgot where you put the antihistamines
- Left the classroom windows open
- Eyes watering for no reason
- Someone said, "It's just hay fever"
- Drank three coffees before 10 a.m.
Disclaimer: This guide was written between sneezes. Eduplace accepts no responsibility for tissue shortages in your staffroom.
Let's take a pause.......Breathe.......Reset.
"I think I need a bigger TV rather than a bungee cord for the remote."
β Submitted anonymously
[Placeholder β swap in the reader's actual photo of all five remotes]
"I have a major problem and I feel this is a safe space to express it. I have a 50" TV and I've amassed five TV remote controls. I keep 'losing' the remote, then buy a 2-pack to replace it. Then the original turns up. I need help. I think I need to buy a bigger TV rather than put a bungee cord on the remote."
We considered the bungee cord. We do not recommend it.
A misplaced object is not, on its own, a storage problem. Five of them, replaced four times over, is a pattern β and a pattern of this kind is rarely about the object itself. What you are describing is a low-grade, recurring loss of control over a small domestic system, resolved each time not by fixing the system but by adding another remote to it. The bungee cord is more of the same solution that produced five remotes in the first place: a constraint applied to the symptom, not the cause.
The bigger television removes the underlying condition rather than managing it. A single, larger unit typically consolidates function onto one remote, or onto a phone you are unlikely to lose in a couch. This is not an indulgence. It is closing the loop.
There is a further, quieter benefit here. A new television arrives with exactly one remote and no history β no accumulated pile of failed replacements, no evidence of the old pattern. That is not nothing. A single object with no baggage is far easier to actually look after than the fifth in a series you have already given up on. Use the new remote well, and you will likely find you value it in a way none of the previous five ever earned.
The Rugby World Cup begins shortly, which we mention only because a deadline of this kind is, in our experience, the most reliable way to convert a rational decision into an actual purchase. Act on that.
"What do you want to read about next month?"
Stories from teachers abroad. What nobody tells you before you get on the plane. Confessions you're too embarrassed to say out loud anywhere else. This is your newsletter too.
That's September from us. Get through this week, then the next one.
β The Eduplace Team