absolutwillie

Tag: life truths

  • Shadows and light

    In a classroom that darkened my heart, I found a light today.

    Knowing that it is good to be exposed to various styles of learning, and wanting to obtain experience in different class groups and grades, I observed another English teacher’s class today. The lesson was on a South African drama that I did not know too much about. This lesson was also for a Gr.12 class that I had been warned about, but had not encountered yet. Call it morbid curiosity if you will, but I needed to know what I would likely encounter in future.

    It was horrifyingly mesmerizing to see just how unruly a senior class could be. I would liken it to watching a horror movie: it scares the life out of you – but you just have to see how it ends! I could not fathom how any one of those learners could have the foggiest clue of what was going on in the drama. Or anything at all, for that matter! And that’s where a pinprick of light surprised me.

    I was asked to put a question to the class, and could only draw from my limited knowledge of the drama, my own framework of the period (which I had lived through) and the reading that had been done in that lesson. I decided to look for evidence of subtext-sensitivity, and asked for additional themes that ran through the text – expecting the usual stock answers of love, betrayal, friendship etc.

    One boy, at the back of the class, bowled me over when he picked up on “the trouble with freedom”. There was a kid with a brain, an understanding, and a willingness to think further. Even in the midst of a cacophony of apes.

    This solitary soul showed me that there is always a fleck of sanity and hope in the midst of anarchy.

    Always look for it, nurture it, and find peace in it. Because if it is not about lifting up the few, how can it be about uplifting the many?

  • Sharing is Caring

    I love conversations. I love having them around the dining table, on bicycles, in busses, at home and with friends. I also adore having conversations with learners. And this, I feel, is a good thing in subjects like Life Orientation.

    The problem with class conversations, is time. As time flies when you’re having fun, it does while I’m working. I just need to be careful that time doesn’t  run out mid-lesson! Now thankfully I usually finish on time, but on occasion we tend to hit gold in our class discussions, and following that vein to where it leads – hitting “flow” as a group – can steer you way off course as far as your lesson plan is concerned. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, in my humble opinion – on the contrary – but it devours time like nothing.
    Today I hit such a vein in my L.O. crit class, and while I’m certain that my mentor enjoyed the class immensely, I do worry that I didn’t do enough. Part of this worry comes from the deviation from the lesson plan (that is critiqued as part of the whole) and part of it has to do with how much I want these kids to learn something about themselves. I just want to take the time to know that each of them finds joy in themselves, that they learn to accept themselves and others as the wonderful creatures they are, and that they fall back in love with the beauty of life.
    Usually we can only hope that some little thing we try in class ends up helping somewhere. When you strike gold though, and you can see those souls shining, it’s a drug that fills the entire room. That is when magic happens all around you. And that is why I love what I do.

  • Subject advisors in the continuous tense

    English came first today.

    I started off with the 8E class that I had to present on poetry (similes and metaphors), then got commandeered to substitute Gr.10 and 11 classes in language revisions (concords etc.) while their teachers were with the departmental subject advisor (“inspection”-ish). Although I prepared some really amazing media for the class – I was met with a total technology “fail” at the start of the lesson. None of the electronics were responding as they should, so I switched gears and took to the blackboard. I must admit to being a touch on the flustered side of the spectrum – and that old survival habits ( blabbering on) kicked in to compensate.
    The truth is, my preparation was not up to the task. I had put everything together with such a fixed vision of how the class would go, that I very nearly didn’t find the resolve to go on when things went awry. I’m not convinced that the Gr. 8 class learnt the concepts and definitions all that well. In retrospect, I should have spent more time on the definitions of and differences between similes and metaphors.
     Planning is essential – and one should try to plan for all sorts of eventualities!

  • Opportunity knocks

    I had to be a bit of a policeman today, when one of my colleagues came in late, and stomped his way across the staff room in the middle of morning prayer. As visitors to the school and representatives of our University, it is expected that we respect the traditions and values of our hosts whilst maintaining a professional attitude and demeanor. In this case, habitual tardiness has developed into disrespectful nonchalance. Having addressed the issue of tardiness in a friendly manner before, with no effect, I stepped it up to a stern talking-to. Here’s hoping for improvement tomorrow.

    I got to sit in on some other English classes today, and was delighted to see a class of 10th Graders fully immersed in poetry! Especially the jocks! There is hope for the future!! That particular teacher invited me to sit in on one of her Matric classes tomorrow. Woohoo!!
    In one of my English Mentor’s classes, whilst working through a memorandum with the class, I was surprised (delighted) at the large extent of participation, and positive attitude I received from the learners. I’ve seen these kids in action before, and generally one would be tempted to label them as a tough crowd. There is no way that I can claim this as a feather in my cap, as I am by no means a super teacher (yet). I do suspect that getting a “clean slate” in class, with the chance to be viewed through a stranger’s perspective, motivated some of the “more difficult” learners to sit up and try harder.
    Four days into the first week of our school visit later, I finally got a chance to sit in on a Life Orientation class! Some of the learners in that class were faces I remembered from the Eisteddfod. I might have a shot here! If I can get to know at least some of the learners outside the classroom, I might be able to present successful lessons to this class. 
    Colour me surprised when the Eisteddfod kids asked me wether or not I would come watch them again tonight. Obviously I couldn’t say no – and despite all the protestations my body could come up with after lunch, I went back to the Eisteddfod. And boy am I glad I did!! At the venue, I was surprised to find several learners from my English classes – including some of the roguish boys! And when I saw how their eyes lit up when I walked in, something clicked. The mere act of me showing up meant something to these kids. Instant connections were being made left, right and center, and I experienced a sense of alchemical transfiguration.
    I wonder what tomorrow will be like?

  • Help me finish my PGCE!

    As many of you know, I’m working hard to complete my Postgraduate Certificate in Education this year. Following various jobs, projects and labor – I had managed to save up enough funds to pay for tuition. Woohoo!!! 

    But I didn’t count on the “additional” expenses (accommodation, insurance, groceries and fuel) – which have now eaten through two thirds of my tuition money. At this rate, I’ll be broke and homeless by April. With the PGCE program being such an intensive, one year program of full-time study, getting a “day job” didn’t work out. Successfully completing this program leaves little time for sleep, and no time for distractions like romance or employment.

    Out of pure desperation, and with a few moments to spare on this Sunday, I’ve decided to go for the only option left to me: to just ask for help.

    Please help.

    Contact me through the comment section (moderated) for details, or support my GoFundMe page:

    Help me finish my PGCE!

    Thank you!

  • The Serenity Prayer

    God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.

  • Serving notice to the IttyBitty Committee

    I’ve decided to take some of the money I’ve saved for tuition, and pay for a visit to the psychiatrist. Starting my bipolar meds again.

    I don’t know how far my savings will stretch to cover my meds, required medical aid, tuition and rent for 2013… but a functional life is worth more than money in the bank.

  • It Isn't Your Town – It's You

    Compliments Worth County Times
    Grant City, Missouri
    If you want to live in the kind of town
    Like the kind of town you like,
    You needn’t slip your clothes in a grip
    And start on a long, long hike.
    You’ll only find what you left behind,
    For there’s nothing that’s really new.
    It’s a knock at yourself when you knock your town.
    It isn’t your town – it’s you!
    Real towns are not made by men afraid
    Lest somebody else gets ahead.
    When everyone works and nobody shirks
    You can raise a town from the dead.
    And if while you make your personal stake
    Your neighbor can make one, too,
    Your town will be what you want to see.
    It isn’t your town – it’s YOU!

  • For Love, I'll quote the world.

    ‎”Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.” – Steve Jobs

  • From Paulo Coelho's "The Devil and Miss Prym"

    When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.