absolutwillie

Tag: week in review

  • Another week in the wall

    Teaching, grading, learning and living in and through all the different subjects, aspects and levels of schooling is quite all-encompassing. This realm I’m in has all the potential in the world to BECOME the world. This is something I must never allow to happen, for if it does I will become irrelevant and useless as an educator. There is – and should be life beyond the classroom!

    Life beyond the classroom. That is after all why I want to teach, and what I want to teach to. That is why communities entrust their children to us. Life beyond the classroom is exactly why the classroom exists.

    We need to remember that education is about preparing children to live full, self-realized lives in the vast realm of possibility that is life in the outside world. Our purpose is to nurture independent, strong and healthy individuals who are able to think and act for themselves. We should be cracking open the boundaries that keep us from reaching our full potential – and we should definitely not build ever stronger, ever more constricting barriers, boxes or cells… because

    we don’t need that kind of education!

  • Two and a half fortnights in

    … and only one and a half left to go! Where did the time go? And what happened?

    Standing in for my English mentor all of last week gave me a good idea of what life as an English teacher – particularly the one running the drama-related extra murals – was like. Honestly, I don’t know how one manages two compulsory curriculums at FET-phase. Very few people do, it seems. It is a bit of a frightening prospect that one could be employed with the expectation of managing three or four!

    This past week was also a personal trial on many levels. Not only did I have to deal with my own issues of having to deal with colleagues who don’t seem to be as passionate about our work as I am, but I also had to try and find a way to help people see outside their own cages…

    It was also a week of lovely highlights, affirmations and good old fun!
    This was a week I will have to hold on to in days to come.

    It helps to know why one teaches, and even more so to feel appreciated for it.

  • A four day week

    Four furious yet fabulous days of found fortitude and fulfillment!

    This is how I choose to think of the week that has passed. Although it is true that there were terrifically trying times – where time itself was an issue alongside temper-teasers and tiny tots playing at tyranny. At the weekly end of the everlasting eddies in the Euphrates of education, everyone eases into either joyous entropy or enlightenment.

    In other words: It is undeniably necessary for both teachers and learners to reflect, rethink and resume our days and weeks in peace – and with blank slates. I cannot harbor grudges or disheartened opinions against the kids I encounter at school. School is both a changing and a changed environment. As are the people within it. It is meant to be a place of learning and growing, and these processes include making mistakes, testing choices, relationships and barriers, finding our truths in ourselves and, hopefully, changing the world for the better.

    If I am to be successful at teaching happy, healthy people – I need to be one, and love them all equally.
    Come what may.

  • A week in review, take 2

    This second week seems to have gone by a lot faster than the first week. I suspect it might feel this way because we are being given more responsibility, both during and after school, and we are being exposed to more classes.

    The novelty of our placement has passed, and we are beginning to buckle down and work a lot harder. They say it takes new teachers 3 years to find their feet in a school – I suspect it takes student teachers 3 weeks to come to grips with everything that is expected of them.
    I will admit to a certain sense of apprehension concerning all the paperwork that needs to go into the portfolio for University. Especially worrying, is wether or not I’m doing the evaluations right (lessons are really reviewing opportunities for test/exam preparations), and how I’m going to manage to present the required amount of lessons in each of my subjects. At least I’ve managed to work out a timetable that focuses mainly on my subjects – but also allows for taking in other classes. And what a timeous achievement that turned out to be, as I’ve been asked to take over some of a staff-member’s classes, who is going on tour with the school orchestra this week. Hopefully I’ll get more lesson plans prepared, presented, critiqued and signed off!

  • A week in review

    The first week at HTS Drostdy was dedicated to the orientation of the visiting Stellenbosch students. Having been assigned mentors for each of our specializations was exciting to most, and less so for some. I was extremely fortunate to be assigned to Mrs Lambrechts for English ( EFAL) – who also steered extracurricular activities relatd to the arts. I was also afforded the great honour to be assigned to Mr. De Lange – the Senior Deputy Head of the School – for Life Orientation.

    Focusing on Eglish lesson allocations for the term were more successful than those for L.O. That being said, it has to be noted that I was only allocated one English lesson during the first week, and two during the second. Thankfully, the first was critiqued by my mentor, which fills me with hope that I will make my required number of critiqued lessons in English. I hope to be allowed to be more involved next week!
    In L.O. I was only assigned one lesson for next week. At first I was a bit demotivated by this, but being able to observe a week of Mr. De Lange’s classes turned out to be immensely valuable! Experiencing how this subject was handled in practice cleared up a lot of my questions and concerns. On Friday, I managed to schedule a meeting with Mr. De Lange, where he informed me that he was going to depend on me a lot during the coming weeks, as his other duties promised to take up a lot of his time. I was both excited and concerned about this, as it meant that I would be allowed to be allowed to dive into the curriculum quite extensively. My concern, however, is that my mentor in L.O. might not be able to critique the required 8 lessons. Perhaps I could arrange for other teachers to observe my lessons?
    Colour me nervous.
    As far as extra-curricular activities were concerned I hit the proverbial jackpot! I was invited to join Mrs. Lambrechts’ activities, and welcomed to join in with the School Orchestra as well as the School Newspaper: Die Aambeeld.
    Overall, I am extremely excited about the coming term!