Personal Data
Surname:Steyn
First names:Kurt Stephen
Identity number:-
Date of birth:6 May 1969
Sex:Male
Marital status:Single
Home Language:English
Other Languages:Afrikaans (fluent)
German (intermediate)
Korean (intermediate)
Nationality: South African
Contact Details
Present Address:
18 Liddesdale Avenue, Pinelands, Cape Town
Cell Number:
+27 061 -
E-mail Address:-
Higher Education
University attended:University of South Africa (UNISA) (1997)
Degree obtained:B.A. (Hons)
Major subjects passed:English Literature, Theory of Literature
Job Experience
1997 – 2000:
Location:Teacher at Village Waldorf School, Irene, Pretoria.
Job description:Founder teacher of the school; teaching with the Waldorf technique.
Reason for leaving:Relocated to Cape Town.
2001Artist, Cape Town.
Job description:I painted portraits and made crafts which I sold privately and at various markets.
Reason for leaving:Better job opportunity teaching in South Korea.
-:EFL teacher in Korea, including experience teaching K-12 at public schools, working at private institutes and teaching at Suncheon National University for two years.
NB notice re reasons for leaving:Korean teaching contracts are very seldom renewed after a year. This is due to the Korean belief in the benefit of exposing students to a variety of foreign teachers. Only in exceptional cases is a teacher asked to stay longer.
\-:
Location:Dong Shin University, Naju, South Korea
Job description:Foreign language lecturer for all majors including Oriental Medicine, Stewardess, Nursing, Engineering and Police Administration, as well as English majors.
-:
Location:R&R language institute, Gwangyang, South Korea
Job description:Foreign language teacher of English to school children, ages 5 – 15.
-:
Location:Song & Smith English Academy, Suncheon, South Korea.
Job description:Teaching conversational English to school children, ages 6 – 15.
2015, Jan. - April
Location:Cornerstone Institute, Salt River, Cape Town.
Job description:Part-time distance lecturer, Academic Skills and English.
Reason for leaving:The Institute decided to gradually change their mode of teaching to contact classes only.
2015, May - DecemberI continued to paint and sell my paintings privately. I taught two Korean students privately in Pinelands, and also landed a part as a featured extra in the ABC-produced series ‘Of Kings and Prophets’.
2016
Tutoring Korean students in Southern Suburbs. I help them with their school work and with their English.
Tutoring in a foster home in Masiphumele, run by the Home from Home organization. Students range from grade R to grade 4.
2017 Left the foster home in Masiphumelele to start a new primary school in Lekkerwater Road called the Work For Love School. It is a school for underprivileged children. The name has now been changed to Bongholethu Primary School.
2018Freelance writer. Contracts include creating content for online language schools, writing short stories, writing articles and blogs, proofreading and editing.
Teaching English online with Berlitz.
Achievements
Teaching: - In 1997 I was one of the founding teachers of the Village Waldorf School in Irene, Pretoria and taught there for four years. The School we started is very successful and still going strong to this day.
- From- I taught at various language institutes in Korea. I also spent four years teaching at universities there, as well as two years teaching at a public school.
- In 2017 I started the Work For Love School in Sunnydale, Cape Town, which has now become Bongholethu Primary School.
- In 2016 I helped to start the after-school program for a foster home in Masiphumelele.
- I have been teaching for 20 years in total.
Art:
I am an accomplished artist. I have been painting and drawing professionally throughout my adult life.
I specialize in portrait painting as well as in surreal art.
I have a passion for illustration.
I have exhibited at the Pretoria Art Gallery as well as at smaller galleries in SA. I also exhibited my art at the Gwangju International Community Centre in South Korea.
A portfolio of some of my work can be viewed at http://ksdonald.daportfolio.com/
See below for publications.
Editing, Proofreading
and Ghost Writing:Worked as a freelance editor for various publishers, businesses and private students, especially in Korea. Also work online doing freelance editing and proofreading. I have been employed by several publishers to ghost write stories and poems for them.
Publications:I have recently completed 35 illustrations for a novel called Die Oog by award-winning playwright, Anton Krueger. Poem published in Poetry Association of Africa’s anthology “Sincerely Yours” and a more recent one in an American publication. My illustrations have also been used on the covers of two books.
Music: I am a singer and a songwriter. In Korea I sang solo, and also as part of a band - Enderman Jones. We performed at various locations and events across the country, on invitation and otherwise and were well-liked by foreigners and Koreans.
Since my return to South Africa I have started working with some well-known South African musicians who are collaborating with me on producing an album. I am the lead singer and songwriter for Stone and Moss.
My strengths:
I have a very strong pioneering impulse. I have been involved in the foundation of two schools and one after school educational facility.
Creativity is very important to me, and I employ it in various ways in whatever I do. I acquire creative skills extremely quickly because I have a natural capacity for most things creative.
I also have strong entrepreneurial qualities and can work independently without much instruction.
I am an autodidact and have taught myself to paint, write, play guitar and sing.
I love art and its intrinsic, therapeutic value, which is to ‘say’ things that are commonly difficult to express, or to emphasize beauty in a harsh world.
As a person and educator I have learnt the art and value of patience and persistence. I see things through and dislike letting people down.
I get on well with people and enjoy working as part of a team.
