absolutwillie

Month: September 2013

  • Let’s revisit that last heading…

    … aaaaand Murphy’s Law strikes again.

    My iMac crashed. Again. After being fixed by an authorized (read: expensive) Apple technician.

    So I took it to the shop. Again. Trying not to screech like a wounded banshee.

    They better not charge me (again).

  • Up and running again

    After sleeping off most of yesterday, I got off to a good start today. Not only did I update my iPhone to iOS7, I actually made it outside! At this very moment, I’m sitting in a coffee shop (drinking a cup of coffee for the free wifi) with Andreas and Bernadette – working on my Portfolio! I know, right?

    I’ve decided that my brief episode of narcolepsy was just my body relaxing after two months of stress. I didn’t exactly realize just how much stress I was under until now. That’s something I will have to prepare myself for, and get used to in the near future. Teaching isn’t for sissies. At all.
    Before we get to that though, I’m still hoping to do my B.Ed. (Hons) in Language Education next year. I’ve applied for the HB & MJ Thom Bursary, and am working on other applications for scholarships for next year. My application for the actual program has been acknowledged and is currently being processed. Acceptance into the program is 98% in the bag, so everything depends on wether or not I get funding. Without enough of it, there is no way I will be able to study further. (Yes, I have considered part time studies and full time work – but high school teaching just does not allow for postgraduate studies.)
    Now it’s back to reflections for the portfolio.
    Catch you later!

  • Back in Stellenbosch

    What a trip it’s been!

    Driving back into Stellenbosch this morning felt a bit weird. Something akin to Schrodinger’s cat – not quite new yet not quite familiar either. It was a bit of déjà vu thrown in reverse and tripped over. Decidedly odd.
    I’m glad to be back in Stellies – and ecstatic to be back in my little room with its firm mattress on a solid bed-base. It’s good to have some semblance of broadband again, and it is fantastic to be able to work on my iMac again!!
    But I will admit to missing my roommates, most of the kids, and the staff. Also the food! Despite anything the scale might say.
    It is a little unsettling to have a bit of free time, actually. Perhaps the packed teacher’s lifestyle has overwritten some of my prior schema?
    Whatever the case may be, I’d better get my act together if I want to get my average up above 75!

  • And it’s done

    Today flew by a lot faster than I would have liked it to.

    It was surprising how many staff members asked when they would see me again! On the flip side, it was disappointing how few learners asked the same question – or even said goodbye. (One.)I guess this is the nature of school visits: we are but fleeting cameos in a foreign tele-novella. Some of us may be slightly more memorable than others – but once the story arc is completed, we’re out.

    I’m going to miss this school…

    Time to head back to my other life.
    Mr. Knoetze, out.

  • The last Thursday

    And so it came to be that we all made it to the last Thursday of our school visit. Seven of my colleagues rose to the challenge and shone like the brilliant stars they are. One slunk away in the shadows, and one proved himself an ass. Every family has one.

    During the free moments in our schedules, each of us bobbed and weaved between our mentors, portfolios in hand, obtaining the necessary signatures and reports necessary to successfully complete this module. It was impressive to see how much we were capable of given our time and resource constraints!
    Looking back at our time together, I can honestly say that the good experiences far outweigh the bad ones. The frustrations I had to deal with along the way were definitely legitimate, but the joys both outnumbered and outshone most all of the negative experiences. (Those not outshone, have been pardoned, but not negated.)

  • Wicked Wednesday word-wars

    “Familiarity breeds contempt” someone once told me. What transpired this afternoon partly confirmed the validity of that claim. I say only partly because, to a large extent, today’s fall-out wasn’t necessarily founded in familiarity. Probably the larger contributor to this situation was that of growing disappointment and a touch of resentment. Here’s what happened:

    After seven and a half weeks of working together on our practicum, some of our colleagues have grown quite weary of those who had not contributed, engaged or done their part. This manifested in a heated exchange of words on our WhatsApp group, when a meeting to compile our group assignment was convened. Those who had been slinking by in the shadows were represented by statements of impropriety as to the “suddenness” of this arrangement, while the diligent faction responded by pointing out that participation throughout the practicum period would have negated any perceptions of “suddenness” and “unfair treatment”.

    In the end the Slinkers slunk away, and the worker bees did the work.

    Lesson: Work hard with those who work hard, and reap the rewards.

  • Chewing on a testy Tuesday

    So there I was thinking that the mini-exams would be on the dreary side, when all of a sudden I encountered a genuine learning opportunity. One of those where real life threw you a practical bone in terms of your theoretical training. It went down as follows:

    I was assigned to a Gr. 8 class today, that was writing Life Sciences at the end of the day. The learners were to make use of the preceding periods to study for upcoming papers, and review their work for the day’s examination. Simple enough as long as they keep relatively quiet. Not so simple when one of the learners has need branded as probably suffering from ADHD…
    Now I don’t believe in ADHD, much in the same way as atheists don’t believe in God. I might have flashes of despair which seem to confirm the alleged condition – but in my core I don’t believe it exists. I’m firmly secured in Sir Ken Robinson’s camp on this topic (amongst others). As Sir Ken Robinson suggests, I believe that learners are wrongfully diagnosed with this made-up condition simply so they can be tranquilized with medication, in this way making it so that nobody has to “deal” with them. Adults have grown too distracted and “busy” to have the time (read: desire) to work with these exceptional children.
    Yes, I believe them to be exceptional. Be they incredibly gifted, kinesthetic learners, simply blessed with higher levels of energy and curiosity, or all of the above. The point is that these learners are merely bored (out of their skulls) because we do not know how to effectively keep them interested and busy while working with “the rest of the class”.

    Today I had the opportunity to test out this theory, and even though I wasn’t exactly prepared for such a situation – I was eager to try and see what could be done to engage such a learner.
    I had noticed earlier that he had brought a rubber finger cover in the hope of helping to hand out the exam papers. The teacher in charge had a different approach though (sending the learners out of the classroom in order to place a copy on each desk before letting them back in), meaning he couldn’t participate as he had hoped. This gave me an idea:

    Once the specific learner had finished writing the paper and reviewing his answers, I asked his assistance in preparing for a project. First, I asked him to count the sheets of writing paper that was lying in a nearby stack. Once counted (I was making this up as I went along) I requested that he divided the paper into stacks of three sheets each. The particular pile of paper rendered eight stacks and two sheets to spare. Having counted the learners in his class before, I requested that he counted out additional sheets from another pile until there were 27 piles. One for each student. I tried to create the impression that this was of great help to me and my work. The kid was happy as anything, and took his task very seriously. Once he had finished, I thanked him for his assistance. The time allocated to the test had run out, so I asked him to walk up each row of desks with a stapler, fixing each learner’s answer sheets to the test. He beamed again, and made sure that each set of papers was stapled neatly, quickly and quietly.
    I was pleasantly surprised by the change this exercise brought about in his behavior and demeanor! Where he had previously been unruly and a bit of a disruption in class, he had now turned into a model teacher’s assistant.
    I hope to prepare for such scenarios in future, and to keep testing out theories and finding better ways to engage all my learners in ways that speak to their individual requirements.
    (I’d better invest in a few Rubik’s cubes in case I can’t come up with suitable “projects”.)

  • Hiccups and CO2

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IjzAIwGbjw?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata&w=320&h=266]

  • Monday marks morning of mini-exams

    The mini-exams started today, which meant that school started a little bit later, and ended a little bit earlier. In between these remarkable events, learners were expected to study in class or write their exam papers. Naturally this could not happen without adult supervision – which meant that I spent the day watching over a somewhat studious Gr. 8 class while they were “studying”, and invigilating their two exam papers.

    From what I can tell, this week is a week of admin through and through – for learners and faculty alike.

    It needs to happen sometime!

    (I’m afraid that if something excessively interesting doesn’t happen outside of classes today, there won’t be anything interesting to write or reflect about.)

  • Lead by example

    Precious few people seem to realize a fundamental law of adult life: Children will listen.

    While it is true that all people (and not only parents) should pay heed to their influence on each consecutive generation – this fundamental law should be the foundation all teachers build from. We are, after all, right there. In front. Teaching.

    All. The. Time.

    School came out an hour early today, in order for all of us to prepare for the “TussenOnsFees” – an annual festival here in town. This year, our school was responsible for the food and drink at the festival. I was on the Braai Team (braai = mega bbq) with some of the other male teachers today, and had a lot of fun seeing these men more relaxed and jovial. We were also joined by a few learner volunteers. Obviously getting free access to the festival grounds worked extremely well as an incentive for them to want to help out *chuckles*.

    Soon the crowds started growing and the festival kicked into gear. Entertainers sang, merchants plied their wares, cars were showed and lots of food and beverages kept everyone fed and happy. It wasn’t the largest festival I’ve ever been to, but it was fun!

    And then it happened:
    As the day grew old and the beer tent grew full, I grew restless as I saw what the children saw and heard and felt: Grown-ups getting stupid, with parents and family misbehaving as the inebriated do.
    The kids were watching, listening and learning.
    They were learning from their elders.
    They were being taught what they were to be taught against
    come Sunday: “Do as I say, don’t do as I do.”

    I wasn’t in the position to do anything about these people acting the fool in front of their own children, but I was able to show that there was another way of doing things. Living sober is not the easiest choice to make all the time – but it is the only choice worth making.

    This has to be my mission outside the classroom:
    to do as I say, so others may do as I do… should they choose to.
    I believe all teachers should lead by example.

    All. The. Time.

    http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/hiTaDJ9E1I0&source=uds