Wake-up Call!!!

Wow. All that I can say is wow. I had been to supervise at my father and mother’s schools before so I had an idea of what I was to expect, but then I got to school and could see the vast difference there is between primary school and high school. I was told to prepare myself for the kids who are sassy, hormonal, clowns, and hard to get into gear. Heck, when the teacher told them that it was time to work I felt that same sinking feeling I used to feel when I was in school and my laughter and fun was abruptly cut off by that four letter word, “work”. Not something any kid wants to hear when they’re clowning around with their besties or chatting about how “I was sick and so I gave it to Kyle” – in reference to how a grade 10 girl was talking about her transmitting the flu to her boyfriend, via kissing is the best guess I could come up with (I might look like I’m not listening but watch out for me, I’M A MASTER at dropping eves), but, I digress.

On my poegie I arrived at school and the teaching body was very friendly. I saw quite a few younger teachers which was slightly comforting in a way, knowing that I wouldn’t be working with a whole warehouse of old geysers was refreshing! (I joke!). I must say that after today, all the respect I could have ever had for teaching has unquestionably quadrupled. I was allocated a teacher who is in her second year teaching and she and I seem to be getting on very well seeing as the age gap isn’t too large at all. Since the school is relatively new in terms of English Home Language being offered to learners, the grades only went up to grade 11, no matrics.

Class after class I could see the distinct difference in grades and their general rapport. I noticed that the grade 8s and 9s are ridiculously childish and will laugh at a bag of potatoes if allowed. They were terribly hard to get into order and into the mood of studying. They generally lacked manners and the ability to take the work- or themselves seriously. The respect they had for their teacher was minimal if judging from the standpoint of their behaviour. Their ability to be influenced by others in their class was through the roof, and off the charts. I have never seen this domino effect in full effect until today and boy, is it infectious.

I felt that as a student teacher I had to remember my place in a class and not say anything unless asked to contribute, because after all, the class and all its contents is under the dominion of their teacher, and in giving random inputs I felt I would be out of place. However, the one class of grade 8s just brought me to saying something. I regretted it afterwards. Not because of it being wrong or me saying something horrible but because I felt like I was being “that teacher” who tells kids to be quiet. The one the kids don’t like, and it is quite sad that I still somehow find myself wanting their approval in some way. I need to work on that. The teaching style of my mentor I found to be questionable at times. Though I am in no position to judge, not having had a single class to teach in my life, I must add that perhaps writing down memos on the board for a test they had written in June exams wasn’t the best way of dealing with their mistakes. Some girls asked for their papers back so that they could see what they had done wrong, which the teacher chose to not return to them yet. I would have rather discussed the paper with them and have them write down the corrections as they came to terms with the mistakes they made than have them spoon-fed answers, like robots. She did not always look very prepared for her classes as she looked to be searching in the text books for things they could read. This left a lot of time for the children’s minds to be idle and for the talking and disruptive behaviour to take flight. I feel that when it comes to younger children, their minds need to be kept constantly busy, which is something that she didn’t really excel at in doing.

The grade 10s and 11s were notably more organized, though there were a few learners who were class clowns as usual, to the point where I had to take a long stick from one of the boys. I saw they were vying for my attention as they were continually looking for my eyes when they did something they knew was wrong. The grade 10s were very engaging and the grade 11s had a whale of a time talking about Orwell’s iconic piece: Animal Farm. Although they digressed immensely at times I could see that they were interested in the subject matter and were having a good time, being quirky and pushing the boundaries with their teacher, inch by inch. The teacher offered them extra classes and told them that she was always available, something that I found to be wonderful.

All in all, I had a good day. I could see that it was the first day after a holiday and the kids were bursting from their seams! Hopefully tomorrow will be better, calmer and more productive.                                                             

- Nicole