Let's Meet Under the Tree - Tebogo Maneli on Indigenous Knowledge, Brave Conversations & What Our Kids Actually Need cover art

Let's Meet Under the Tree - Tebogo Maneli on Indigenous Knowledge, Brave Conversations & What Our Kids Actually Need

Let's Meet Under the Tree - Tebogo Maneli on Indigenous Knowledge, Brave Conversations & What Our Kids Actually Need

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About This EpisodeI'll be honest - I found today's guest because of a conference theme. And I know that sounds like a strange place to start, but when the theme is "Let's Meet Under the Tree," you just have to stop, don't you?That's what happened when I came across the Embrace Symposium, happening at St Benedict's College in Johannesburg this month. And it led me straight to Tebogo Maneli - history teacher, DEIBS practitioner, and great podcast guest :)This conversation goes deep... into Indigenous Knowledge Systems, what representation actually feels like (versus just understanding it intellectually), why language is one of the most powerful tools of connection we're currently underusing, and what it really means to raise children who know who they are.In This Episode We Talk AboutWhat Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) actually means - and why every single person in the room carries oneThe "Meet Under the Tree" metaphor, and why Tebogo thinks it might not just be a metaphorWhy she prefers the word educationalist over transformation practitioner - and how language shapes whether people open up or shut downThe difference between representation and transformation, and why Tebogo believes in one far more than the otherWhat happened when Jude worked alongside a woman in leadership for the first time - and the moment she felt what representation means, not just understood itWhy white teachers aren't being replaced, they're being invited into a bigger conversationThe real reason African languages aren't being taken by white students in South African schools (hint: it's systemic, not about difficulty)Why parents and teachers are partners in this ecosystem - and how a single positive message home can shift everythingA Moment That Stuck With Me"We don't know what we do not know. And this is where I think the tree metaphor lives - you didn't even know you were wounded before, right? Through experiencing her as a system, using her indigenous knowledge, you were changed. You were healed in a way that maybe you might not have been before." - Tebogo ManeliMentioned in This EpisodeThe Embrace Symposium 2026 Let's Meet Under the Tree: Using Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Pedagogy as Pathways to Social Healing in Education 📅 4–5 June 2026 📍 St Benedict's College, JohannesburgThis is not a sit-and-listen kind of event. It's practical, it's dialogic, and it's designed so that every delegate leaves with tools they can actually take back to their school community. If this conversation moved something in you, that's probably your sign to look it up.🔗 St Benedict's College - Embrace SymposiumAbout Tebogo ManeliTebogo Maneli is an Upper School History teacher at Lebone II College of the Royal Bafokeng, based in Phukeng village, North West. With over 15 years of experience in education across South Africa and Mauritius, Tebogo holds a Bachelor of Education from the University of the Witwatersrand and is currently completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Inclusive Education through UNISA.In 2023, her passion for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in schools was formalised at St Stithians Girls' College, where she became a DEIBS practitioner and went on to convene the DEIBS Cluster in Gauteng - bringing together transformation practitioners from private schools across the province. She has facilitated Teachers' Roundtables for the Apartheid Museum, presented on Girls' Education at St Mary's DSG, and spoken on innovative AI teaching strategies at the 2023 History National User Group Conference.Tebogo describes herself not as a transformation practitioner, but as an educationalist - and once you hear this conversation, you'll understand exactly why that distinction matters.Connect With TebogoLinkedIn: Tebogo ManeliConnect With Jude & Future Smart Parent🌐 www.tomorrowtodayglobal.com/schools📸 Instagram: @judefoulston💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/judefoulstonIf this episode resonated with you, please share it with another parent or educator who needs to hear it. And if you haven't subscribed yet - now's a good time. We've got a lot more conversations like this one coming.
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