Final weekly experience of a student teacher!

The final week of the teaching Practical!

When I woke monday morning I was just in awe of how quickly these past 9 weeks went for me. I still remember the very first day stumbling in the staff room awaiting to be greeted and seated by some teacher.

As with everything in life, things come to an end and I felt at peace with what has been accomplished thus far! The week although it was the last, felt like any other week and the focus was on the learners, academics and making sure that I soak up all other moments to learn.

As I'm writing(typing) this I'm thinking of all the learners I have met and formed a relationship with. Again reminded of how special young people are and I'm pleased to know that I could make a mark in the lives of young people that goes beyond the classroom. The learners were absolutely fantastic, they knew it was our last week together and they fully cooperated, which I truly appreciated.

One of the highlight's of the week was meeting with the principal and having a relaxed conversation about him regarding education and his personal journey. Talking with him felt comfortable and one could see his passion for teaching. His heart for people is truly evident especially in the way he engages with the naughty learners. We both agreed that a teacher's personality is of out most importance along with their subject knowledge. One cannot be a teacher and not have a warm, positive attitude toward people. Loco parentis is truly what a teacher should be striving to be at the school.

I know that is natural that there will be certain aspects miss regarding school, but I too feel the time has come to be back at campus. As mentioned before I miss Stellenbosch and I look forward to engage in thought provoking conversation that will challenge my thinking. I enjoyed being at the school and being the only student teacher after the CPUT students left for 5 weeks made often feel despondent. As I always wondered how this journey would've been if there was fellow class mates with me at the school. 

Ending off Friday was super special, a few learners wrote me letters to thank me for the time teaching them and reading it made me learn how valuable I was. I'm truly appreciative of this gesture and these letters I will forever keep in a safe place, to return to them when the going gets tough.

Was all in all a good week. All teachers were busy finishing their marking, here and there I could help out my mentor teacher with that. I must say I had one of the sweetest mentor teacher's. She has such a warm, kind heart and was at all times helpful and encouraging! 

Weekly experiences of a teacher in the making!

As the school term is drawing to an end, it was a full academic week. Not only are the matrics writing their preliminary exams, but all the other grades had test scheduled within this week as well. 

There was a few definite lows this past week, where I got to close to knowing what it feels like when a parent is disappointed in their child. Whilst teaching the grade 8's on Tuesday after break time, I noticed that there was a few boys acting differently than normal and I got a slight smell of marijuana. I proceeded with the lesson, but their behaviour became a problem as all the other learners knew what they did during break time. I stopped with the lesson and gave the class a good pep talk, because I have formed a good relationship with the class, they were listening and the guilt was evident on the faces of the boys involved. 
I however gave a general speech about how disappointed I am in their behaviour and how important it is for them to take care of their lives. I was real and honest as well and said that I know that there are a few learners high on weed. 
After talking to them I remained silent for a while. I could see how the silence in the classroom is getting uncomfortable for some learners. We eventually continued with the lesson, during this I had to hide my disappointed and carry on as normal and make sure that I still interact with the learners with great enthusiasm. After the lesson I asked one of the boys who I knew definitely smoked as could see on his face, his eyes to stay behind. He admitted to me. He didn't try to hide it or lie and that I appreciated. Had a good conversation with him about it and he kept on saying sorry, he is a good boy, always eager to answer in class, has good grades. Reminded him of how valuable and precious his life is. I unfortunately had to report to the grade head what I've learnt as it's a serious offence. Have to admit there was a part of me that didn't want to inform the grade head on black and white (if it's not on paper it's vapour) as I didn't want the learners to get into trouble, but of course this had to be reported to keep myself out of any trouble. The grade head then followed up on the situation, they got detention and with discretion the parents were informed and of course the grade head had to use language such as, "their might be a possibility", "we have heard" that your child smokes marijuana during school time. 

Another few lows were, learners that stole English question papers. This left the English department up in arms as the teachers learned about it very last minute, which meant new papers had to be drawn up. 

Interestingly enough, the high light of my week was with the grade 8 class mentioned before. The lesson was about "how do we see objects" in terms of our eyes. The learners were eager to learner about how the eye and it's different functions allows us to see. The learners were full of questions. They asked why we have as humans have different eye colour and I got so excited having to explain to them. It was good being able to use that which I've learned during my undergrad in the Genetics classroom to help learners understand better. Class was much more well behaved then the previous lessons. 

I've learned that although there is a scheduled followed, that it is okay to stop with a lesson and talk to the learners. To share life with them without over stepping any personal boundaries. I believe it is important for young people to know how special they are and it felt like that I've reached my own person goal, which is to inspire learners beyond just Science and Math.    
I've also spent more time this week observing lessons that is not my curriculum modules. Was great to see the different teaching styles of teachers, the interaction between the teacher and the learners or lack thereof.

Again I lost my voice on Thursday, it is really unfamiliar to my vocal chords for me to speak a lot, I think lol. As I've mentioned before, I'm generally the quiet, loner, observing kind. Thus speaking a lot takes some getting use to. 

All in all, week 8 was packed, but it was a wonderful week of learning especially about how the teaching profession gives meaning to my life.
One more week to go! Feeling rather bitter sweet!

The remedy I've been using to doctor the voice! Cup of rooibos with two honey and lemon lozenges! 

Weekly experiences of a student teacher drawing to a close...

This past week flew by so quickly and I'm starting to realise how this journey is drawing to a close. The feelings surrounding this fact is rather mixed as I terribly miss Stellenbosch, but I know for sure that I will miss being a student teacher at President High School as well.

There has been many things happening on our campus and throughout the week my thoughts have been with Stellenbosch and it's students. Times I wished I was there and not just see things on the news and read information on social media... But I also understood and accepted that this is where I need to be. 

Teaching this past week went extremely well and it started to feel more and more like second nature. When learners enter the classroom they know what is expected and they behave accordingly, thus the structure of one's lesson is important especially for the junior grades, but without falling into the trap of everyday feeling monotonous. This is where excellent planning plays a role. If one plans well, then the lessons will go well. I've learned over the course of teaching, that it is important to keep the learners occupied from the start to the end of the lesson. I'm in the fortunate position where I don't have any heavy workload in comparison to teachers. Thus I pay attention to them throughout the lesson. I often witnessed how teachers would give learners a class activity to complete, then they remain stationery at their desk, not to sit and do nothing, but to complete work. If you're firm with a class then this can work, as learners do need to battle with the content of a subject on their own. However there are moments where learners decide to do as they please, because they know the attention of the teacher is elsewhere. Again, this is where efficient planning and time management is key as a teacher and hopefully I will try and succeed at this to the best of my ability as a teacher in the future.

I've also had my second lesson evaluated for Natural Sciences as I didn't get a chance to present Natural Sciences during fish bowl. I was very apprehensive about the behaviour of the learners. They're grade 8 and is super energetic and struggle to pay attention, because they get distracted easily. I had to tell myself that I need to get rid of the thought that an excellent lesson is a lesson without any reprimanding or ill behaviour by learners. Nonetheless, the lesson went well, it was a great teaching-learning moment and the Evaluator was very pleased with what he observed.

The school has a youth worker and over the weeks I've formed a good relationship with him. We are the same age and could relate on many things. He is loved by the learners of the school. He deals with the learners and the struggles they face as young people. Every Wednesday there is a time after register class where he meets with the school in the hall, which is not compulsory, as he shares a message with the learners that is Christian based, thus it's not compulsory out of respect for those with other belief systems. A school having a Youth worker is definitely an advantage.

Looking forward the upcoming week! Will miss teaching the grade 12's, because they have started with their preliminary exams. Wish them all the best!

The learners gathering Wednesday morning, learning what is to be part of the youth today! The message shared by the youth worker, is relevant and hopefully it inspired learners to be greater!