Week 9: Reflection

My last week at the schhol was really busy what with having to cross my t's and dot my I's. I never really noticed how horrible it is to be the only student from the university at the school until the last week or so when I kept having to check and recheck what needs to be done. There was always something that I had overlooked or that needed further attention, what with all of that and finishing my last few classes I was very busy. The last week consisted mainly of teaching mathematical literacy. A few weeks ago there was a mix up about evaluations, and after I received the new information the learners started their test series, which kept my class very busy as they wrote in class time and then 4 or 5 periods were spent marking the test papers, added to that they had assignments that could only be completed in class so I really struggled to meet my quota.

I experienced a very frustrating mathematical literacy lesson during the week when I discovered that the reasin so many of the learners get wrong answers is because they do not understand the basic rules of maths, I had assumed that by grade 10 they would understand BODMAS but obviously not,  and I learnt a major life lesson, never assume anything! Always, always check your facts.

I was so busy the last week with checking and double checking all my work that I quite lost track of time and the end of my teaching practical was upon me all too quickly. Friday I set aside for any admin I may have missed and the day was bitter sweet, I found it incredibly difficult to say goodbye.  I absolutely loved my time at the school and I really will miss the people. 

Week 8: Reflection

This wek was very good, I learnt a lot and I gave lots of class and I had my lecturer crit.

On monday the day started without a formal assembly as the matrics are writing in the school hall, but we did have a brief informal one in which the principal wished the students luck for the upcoming week and spoke of perseverance and hard work. It was quite inspiring and gave me a little lift for the busy week I had ahead. The only clas I gave was for the grade 9s, it was all about gestation. The kids are very sweet and they get quite excited about the topic which makes me very happy and excites me as well. My mentor teacher did comment that perhaps I am too friendly with the students and treat them too infirmally and that I should strive to maintain a more professional distance with them. This bothered me a little bit, I don't want to be my learner's friend but I do want them to be comfortable with me and feel that they can come and talk to me or ask questions. I think that being more open to the learners makes you more approachable and encourages participation and creates an environment where learning or discussions can take place.

On tuesday I was in a tizzy,I stressed myself stupid about the crit evaluations I was to have the next day, I had already prepared but I'm nervous around new people. Lots of the staff at the school were very supportive of me and told me not to worry too much as I would be fine, with these comforting thoughts in mind I went to my grade 9 class to teach them about contraceptives and STDs. They were very interested and I thought it best to inform them when they are young to prevent mishaps later on, I also demonstrated the use of a female condom, theoretically, and wanted to pass it around but my mentor said no, and that I should keep my distance.

On Wednesday morning I was a bit useless, I was evaluated the first 2 periods and was so incredibly stressed,  luckily my evaluator was quite comforting and encouraging, my evaluations went very well so I was quite  cheerful for the rest of the day and gladly attended my lessons. The only comment that really concerned my evaluator was the amount of questioning I do in class, which I think is quite good and shouldn't be too difficult to improve upon.

Thursday and friday flew by, I knew I had 1 week left and I started pulling my portfolio together so that I could discover whatwas still needed. This ended the week on a bit of a rollercoaster with me screaming at the top worried about the height and speed of the fall. Besides the stress about my portfolio I also realised that I'm going to be very sad to leave...

Anyone sad about leaving?

Week 7: Reflection

Last week was absolutely awful, last period on Monday I had my first lecturer crit. The lecturer would not listen to reason or explanation and made me cry.... I don't cry easily. I just felt that he was so incredibly unreasonable and he could have paid attention to my explanations had he wanted to. He also did tge entire crit in Afrikaans. Although my Afrikaans is alright,  I feel that he could have made more effort to speak English. 

After Monday I was incredibly depressed and it took me a while to regain my normal composure and sunny disposition,  so even though I carried on teaching my grade 9 class last week and my gade 10 class, which I did enjoy, and attended my classes, I felt like there was a large black cloud looming over me, blocking out the sunshine and threatening rain. I shouldn't be so whimsical that I let a little thing affect me so much, but I've been unsure of the subject since the beginning and I just felt that even though I was doing my best I was failing.

That crit really unnerved me so I spent a lot of time last week reviewing the classes I gave and prepping for my crits this week.

Hope everyone else had a good week
Xxx

week 6: Reflection

This week was incredibly busy, besides the fight and struggle I encountered trying to upload my blog, it was also interschools the weekend so each day was filled with activities and absolutely hectic!

Monday started off with assembly which was beautifully done, and the principal offered an encouraging speech about sportsmanship and hard work, it was inspirational.  From there we went straight to first period, many of the teachers were absent so I dd spend a little time sitting toesig as well as teaching my classes and attending others.

Tuesday was funky tie day! In the name of school spirit the learners wore all kinds of strange, colourful and downright silly ties, cravats, bowties and ribbons. They all looked quite smart, unfortunately I wasn't able to gather some learners to take a picture.... besides the ties, it was a pretty normal day and I presented and attended my classes. I loved teaching my grade 11s and I was nearing the end of my section with them so I started to feel a little bit sad...

Wednesday was funky shoe day and the kids arrived in all kinds of strange shoes, it was really funny to warch! I began teaching my grade 9 class about sexual reproduction, it was exhilarating.  The class is adorable and they are so interested in all the different aspects and topics, we had an absolutely amazing class discussion with questions,  answers and arguments flowing back and forth. They are just so inquisitive and eager to learn which makes me so positive! I had thought to finish with my grade 11 classes today unfortunatelythe period was just too short due to the extended register for singsongs. The singsongs is amazing the kids are so enthusiastic and full of school spirit! It makes me proud to be a temporary gymmie! In the evening we had practice for the staff concert, a fun little concert to show our school spirit as well as get the learners excited for interschools.  The concert is going to happen on Friday.

Thursday began with an assembly so the the RCL candidates for next year could present themselves and a speech for consideration. I spent most of the day sitting toesig, but it did give me time to work on my own classes and lesson plans. So in between finishing off with my grade 11 classes and having a lively discussion with my grade 8s, I managed to do my planning for my lecturer evaluation on Monday.

Friday was incredibly busy!  Before first break we had the big brag and the staff concert. The big brag went well and was incredibly impressive, the school hero worships the sport teams and are so proud of them, it's heart warming. The staff concert also went well and I think the kids really enjoyed the support the teachers and "proefies"showed by acting ridiculous to get them stoked!

Saturday was interschools against De kuylen (spelling?) And it all went well, our second teams were the stars of the day and won us the cup! I am so proud of all the learners that participated!

trots om 'n gymmie te wees!

Matrics 40 days

Sorry it didn't post before

Week 5: Reflection

Ok so I've been trying to upload a recording for 4 days and I have given up. The amount of time it has taken to try and figure it out with absolutely no results is definitely not worth it, and it has also made my blog post extremely late. So if anyone knows how to post a recording, let me know.

So the last week has been pretty chilled, I gave the grade 8s a class on electrolysis and I've been busy teaching the grade 11s about the respitory system. I absolutely love teaching the one grade 11 class, they are the larger class. There are 32 of them with only 3 english students, but they are so much more responsive than the other class. It really is like night and day, they are inquisitive and delighted whereas the other class is sullen, broody and just plain uninterested.  I suppose that loving all my classes would be too much to ask for, but I would at least like to like them.

The whole week was generally very quite, I was no longer teaching mathematical literacy  which I plan to begin again this week, so I had a lot of time to focus on the science classes. Which was quite nice. I'm not really enjoying the mathematical literacy,  I find it incredibly frustrating to teach and mind numbingly boring to prepare, but its too late to drop it now and with my assessment coming up on the 2nd, I really need to get back into it.

Friday was 40 days for the matrics so the whole school was quite excited, and the matrics underwent a sex change to mark the occasion by doing a uniform swop and cross dressing, there should be a photo in an earlier post.

Overall my week was very good, but I was sick the whole week and am still sick now. The doctor has said that I have developed asthma and allergic rhinitis which I never had before, I've never even had hay fever before! So I really am starting to feel like Worcester is killing me, andi get more certain with each wheezy breath, how is everyone else?

My two mentor teachers, teaching my grade 10 classes, they have taught me so much and inspired me to do more!

Week 4: Reflection

Good morning!

So it is now monday, and I'm posting late once again... I spent the entire weekend sleeping off the flu. I think I was also just exhausted from the busy week I had, there was teaching, painting and finally the school musical!

My week started just like any other and I jumped straight into my teaching again, although I didn't give as many lessons last week as the previous week as I had my final class with grade 10 life sciences for that topic and don't see the grade 8s very often. I did however teach some mathematical literacy classes throughout the week, which I found incredibly difficult. I find it very hard to explain the maths to them on their level, I don't understand how they don't grasp the concepts and I can get quite frustrated when phrasing and rephrasing work in many different ways. Luckily my mentor is quite nice and often jumps in to help when asked. He never interferes which is awesome but rather will offer advice afterwards or provide me with a different approach to the work which is incredibly useful.

On Tuesday I attended the final dress rehearsal of the play before they went to Montague on Wednesday where they did very well. I am so proud of those kids, and all the amazing talent they have. They are captivating and often engage me to such a point that I feel I'm a part of the story. Their acting often leaves me breathless! I also painted some masks on Tuesday when one of the teachers had a mini crisis about the musical starting on Thursday.  But it all wrked out in the end!

Thursday was the big musical, I spent the school day sitting toesig for my mathematical literacy teacher and helped and advised all of those classes, and also had a lesson with my grade 8s! I didn't mind sitting toesig for my mentor as he had to set up camera equipment for the musical, and it gave me a chance to manage some classes on my own as well as see some other classes. I spent the rest of the afternoon preparing some work and then I was on duty at the musical from 6pm till 11pm shushing the learners, although they specifically said not to ssshhhh... them.

Friday morning I was up bright and early and ready to end the week, it was a depressing day, as almost of half of our proef studente had finished and were leaving. Our number went from 13 to 7. It was quite emotional for me to say goodbye to my new friends, and they will certainly be missed, but at least we had a nice free period together to enjoy lunch, and each others company.

Overall a busy, tiring and surprisingly emotional week that has made me realise just how much effort and stress the teachers put into pulling together a production to showcase the school's talent and get the learners involved, but when you look at the excitedly nervous faces of the learners and feel their proud buzz afterwards, it all seems worthwhile.

XxX

Week 3: Reflection

The last week was both incredibly uplifting as well as stressful. Monday began with me giving class to both grade 10 life sciences classes as well as grade 8 natural science and mathematical literacy for the grade 10's. I'm finding it difficult to jump between the classes but I realise that perhaps I just ned more practice and time. I really enjoy most of my classes, the little grade 8s are full of curiosity and wonder and love listening to all the fun facts and stories I tell them that relate to the work we are covering, they are just an incredibly sweet class, although a rather large one, and I feel absolutely amazing after giving them class, I feel confident and proud and so happy!

My grade 10 classes are another matter entirely, I have a few of them for both of my curriculum studies so I am quite familiar with them, but there are a few rotten apples who try to challenge me each lesson and assert their dominance but so far I have manged to keep them in check without losing control of the class or myself. On the plus side I know they are paying attention to me, as the one girl has taken to counting how many times I say ok each lesson, I'm improving! I went from saying it 45 times last week to 95 times today... *facepalm*

I'm also loving my extracurriculars and am going to be sad when they end this week, I have been painting sets and masks for the school's musical this week as well as attending play practice for a seperate production. The teachers involved in it have really opened up to me and welcomed me, they are both incredibly nice, and as SU alumni understand exactly what I'm going through and are quite supportive. Play practice at 5pm is the crown of my day and just ends it on a good note.

Overall I must say that I've had a great week,  the lesson evaluations I have completed have been positive and well received with valid and wanted criticism. I am taking all these notes into account and improving with each lesson! In total this week I have given 17 classes although I only evaluated 2 (someof the teachers left me with the classes), and I must say that teaching is quite exhausting,  anyone else tired?

Have a great week!
XxX

Week 2: Reflection

Hi there!

Firstly I would really like to apologise for the late entry... I am having technical difficulties and the signal here does not seem to be getting any better.

The past week was very busy for me, I gave atleast one class a day and was really getting the hang of things, my learners were incredibly well behaved and supportive although it did take  few lessons for them to warm up. One class in particular was very difficult but when I finally got through to them and they opened up to me and asked questions and were basically just INTERESTED in what I was saying I felt so ridiculously happy. In the past week I've come to realise just how much effort it takes to give a class, especially to give class to learners that don't care about the topic, but I also realised that breaking that barrier is extremely rewarding. 

I have also come to the conclusion that I need to work on my Afrikaans, giving a bilingual class is no joke, and many kids get lost in translation. So with that in mind my goal for this week is to focus more on the Afrikaans side of things and try to improve because I reallywantmylearners to understand the work.

With all this in  mind, and my apologies, I'll be signing off. Have a great week!

Week One: Reflection

Week One

The first week at my school was both enormously stressful and invigorating. Getting to know the teachers and other practical students has been fun and everyone has been incredibly helpful and nice. I really feel welcome there and the busy atmosphere as well as the friendly attitudes of both learners and staff make going to school a pleasure.

Attending classes has been so interesting that it has inspired me and given me great ideas fro the classes I am planning to give, my first two are tomorrow.

How did everyone else enjoy their first week?

Problems and solutions

Week One

Day Three

The last two days have been quite busy, early starts and late working nights are beginning to take their toll. On the plus side a lot has happened and I've learned a lot. On Tuesday I made it my mission to find myself mentors for my other subjects. This may not seem like such a big deal, but for me to gather the nerve necessary to approach strangers and essentially ask a favour is quite a big deal. For this reason I really feel that the last days have helped me grow as a person and become more assertive and outgoing, something I will no doubt find incredibly beneficial in my teaching career.

I have also puzzled out how the subject Natural Science is divided between the teachers. What originally seemed strange to me I have come to think of as a relatively bright idea as it means that the learners have the benefit of teachers highly knowledgeable in their subject fields.

After attending an extramural activity yesterday afternoon I was touched by how amazing it is to watch people who work with passion work. I attended a play rehearsal held by one of the teachers and she was incredibly lively, comfortable and happy in the company of the participating learners while still maintaining her position as a teacher. On reflection I would love to be the kind of teacher that is so at ease with their students that I don't always feel the need to be stern with them, and to have the confidence to know that the students will listen to me.

Not the only one...

Week One
Day One

When I woke up this morning I was both incredibly anxious and oddly excited, today was the first day at my placement and I had no idea what to expect...
As I stumbled my way into the office (Yes stumbled! I tripped in the doorway...) for the 7:15 a.m staff meeting I found myself in the midst of a rather large group of other placement students, from many other learning institutions. A total of 14 of us would be there this term. This helped assuage the anxiety somewhat, I was no longer alone...

After a rather lengthy school assembly we shuffled back to the staff room to await further information, it was there that the liaison teacher assigned us our mentor teachers. After which I proceeded to set up a time-table, no easy task! I was assigned a Life Sciences teacher but as this only covered one of my subjects, I had to find myself teachers for the others.

My assigned Life Sciences teacher is extremely nice and has already given me useful tips and advice, he also pointed me in the direction of a Natural Sciences teacher whose classes I may be able to attend and teach during my stay, she further directed me to another science teacher. They have split the Natural Sciences so that the classes see different teachers on different days. I'm still getting to grips with this concept and will need to gather more information in that respect tomorrow.

Hopefully I will also manage to find a Mathematical Literacy teacher to take me on, as many of the students placed here do Mathematical Literacy and the teachers appear to be in short supply. Tomorrow I will attempt to gain entry to one of their classes and gain permission to teach...

All in all I felt very welcome and had a pretty good first day, and I hope you all did too! :)