26 July 2017

Yesterday was my first day doing extra curricular activities. I assisted with chess, cheered for the 2nd hockey team and finished it with the debating practice. Was able to leave school at 18:45, which made it a very long day.

I introduced creditors to the Grade 8 EMS learners today. We covered only 5 transactions involving creditors but I feel like I'm getting through to the majority of learners.

I still find it unbelievable that some of the learners just do not take in what you teach them. At least they are starting to guess the answers. Might just be because I do not take "I do not know" as an answer while being willing to take time to get them to answer.
The teacher commented that my method of writing down the incorrect answers as provided by the learners and then having the class correct the answer is a good way of teaching, since the learners are doing the work and I'm not "thinking for them".

We also had our first official staff meeting after school.

The school is probably on the forefront of technology use in a school environment, since the teacher responsible for technology in the school also teaches other teachers how to use technology in their classroom on behalf of the WCED. We learned how to use Kahoot in the classroom. I've witnessed how excited the grade 8 to 10's get for the chance at playing it and cannot wait to try it myself.

I was also able to pin down which Math Lit Grade 10 & 11 papers I need to compile as well as the classes I'll be teaching, starting Friday. Lots of additional work I'll need to get done after hours, especially since tomorrow will again be a late night.

Back 2 School

On 18 July, 2016, the third school term started and with that our PGCE practical training.

Monday was picture day at the school and as a result, there were not really any formal classes. This worked out well as it afforded me the opportunity to introduce myself to most of the girls with whom I'll need to interact in the classroom. I was amazed with the diverse talents and interests of the young ladies as there seem to be a girl excelling at almost anything imaginable.

An all girls school took some getting used to. Friday was really different, especially the grade 9 girls who talk excessively. It is miraculous how they can go from dead quiet to shouting in less than 3 minutes. I timed it. What is evident is that they are remarkable since none of them are afraid of eating. They are all healthy and seem happy. It truly is a wonderful school and I'm lucky to be there.

I got to teach Grade 8 EMS, which is not one of my specialisation subjects, but covers the basics of business forms. At first, the girls were scared of giving a wrong answer, but eventually they overcame their fears of being wrong and started to partake in class which in turn stimulated their curiosity. What I find incomprehensible is that these young ladies are from families where their parents are more fortunate than most, yet they appear to walk blindly through life, accepting any reality as it is conveyed to them on their electronic devices. Fortunately there are some of them whom have sparked an interest in the topics taught /discussed and one can just hope that it sticks with the other girls as well.

In my second Grade 8 EMS class, I changed tactics. I nominated a learner to answer a question. If other learners volunteered to answer, I would give them time to answer, but then returned to the original learner until I received an answer. I encouraged them to answer regardless of whether it is right or wrong and even to guess if they did not know. The second part of this change is that the learner who answered first got a chance to nominate a learner who then has to answer the next question.
The effect was that all the learners need to listen. They tend to not nominate the same learners so everyone gets a chance to answer, especially if you continue the practice over extended periods.
Secondly, the learners get comfortable to provide an answer, even if it is incorrect. It also cuts down on the ridicule of wrong answers because any outburst can result in the learner behaving badly being nominated to answer.
I have implemented this practice in all my subsequent classes and although it takes extra time for the girls to get used to, I am of the opinion that teaching and learning was more effective than my first Grade 8 EMS period.

I did feel really proud when I got a girl to voluntarily partake in a class discussion while using the above method, since her teacher said she never pays attention. Might just be that I'm the new face.

This coming week is math week, I'll start participating in Chess, some extra math classes and the newly launched reading lab. Just need go get sleeping patterns right because this past week was extremely tiring.

The staff are helpful and accommodating. If I could choose a school to become a permanent part of, this school would definitely be on top of my list. I enjoyed my first week of teaching, although the classes feel really short and it feels like school pace is much slower than what I'm used to.

All things being equal, I am looking forward to next week as I will be taking on more responsibility and be teaching more classes pertaining to my subjects.