After finishing his studies at Fort Hare, Can Themba went to teach at the Western Native High School (also known as Madibane High School) in the Western Native Township. However, throughout his career he practised teaching and journalism interchangeably. These intertwined professions defined his career.

Themba started teaching at Madibane High School in 1949. His arrival at Madibane was anticipated as a momentous occasion. Among the students at the school who remembered this was one Stanley Motjuwadi, later to be known as ‘Black Stan’ during his days as a journalist for Drum magazine and Golden City Post. Motjuwadi penned an ode to Themba as part of the 1968 tribute edition of The Classic. In paying homage to Themba, Motjuwadi recalled his anticipation: ‘Like all the other pupils at Madibane High School in Western Township, I eagerly awaited the arrival of the new English Master from Fort Hare. More especially as we had been told that he was brilliant and had passed English with distinctions at the University.’

Upon arrival, Themba did not match up to the hype, certainly not in terms of his appearance; he did not even try to impress. In a reworked version of the same article, published in The World of Can Themba, Motjuwadi contrasts their level of anticipation with the actual outcome. Because Themba had passed English, the language of the colonial master and the British Empire, with a distinction from the prestigious Fort Hare, the scholars’ level of respect for the new teacher was already sky-high. But this changed when they were confronted by his unimpressive appearance: