Week 12 - The arrival of Teaching Practice - Professional

After an amazing two weeks of travelling the coast between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, Lynsey and I were pulled back to reality with our first week of teaching practice. I can generally say that my first week of teaching practice here has been less stressful than at home with less emphasis on long wordy lesson plans and rather a more logical abridged lesson plan approach – something which makes much more sense to me.

The subject which I am teaching is Life Orientation which is similar to Learning for Life and Work in Northern Ireland. The South African Curriculum states that Life Orientation is…

‘the study of the self in relation to others and society. It addresses skills, knowledge and values about the self, the environment, responsible citizenship, a healthy and productive life, social engagement, recreation and physical activity, careers and career choices’

Life Orientation is one of the four fundamental subjects required for the National Senior Certificate, meaning that it is compulsory for all grades. I have been given full responsibility of all grade 8 and 9 English speaking classes, while taking both English and Afrikaans speaking grade 11 and 12 for their physical activity aspect. I have already realised the great volume of responsibility which has been placed on me and with almost 20 hours of teaching per week I have a hectic schedule! Despite the 7:45am start, Lynsey and I are both appreciating the 2:00pm finish.

The classroom in which I have been teaching is somewhat different to my previous classrooms in Northern Ireland. With no access to technology, internet or even a white board, it consists of tables, chairs and a blackboard. I have had to learn to master the technique of avoiding the painful screech of chalk against the blackboard! Lessons here last 50 minutes, much longer than I had expected, particularly for a school with many ADHD and ADD learners – this week I have found that the attentions of learners drop if activities are not constantly changing.

Learners here have been in general very polite and respectful towards me and have accepted me as a member of staff. The support from both the staff and Principal has been great and I have been made feel at home in the staffroom. I have already been asked to take part in staff meetings which are held on a daily basis discussing topics such as behaviour, assessment, school events and school policies. There is a considerably higher percentage of male learners in the school in comparison to their female counterparts, perhaps reflecting statistics regarding SEN. The number of male teachers however does not reflect the pupil population and I think that many of the boys would benefit from more male role models - I hope that I can help fulfil this role.

After a number of days observation over the past few weeks it has been great to finally have the opportunity to teach. Learners have responded very well to my teaching approaches which are new to them. I hope that I can continue to benefit learners as I continue to teach here.

Glenn