Last day of my school visit

My last week at School X has come to an end. This was undoubtedly the saddest day of my teaching practice experience. I was praying for this day to come, but I did not picture it to be this way. Academically this has been the most difficult and stressful week for me. I had to present seven evaluated lessons in one week, which was hectic. At times, my lessons followed immediately adjacent to each other, so I had no time to look through my lessons again. I learned that as a teacher, you should always remain calm, especially in difficult situations. Teaching is based on improvising a lot and this is what I had to do this week. Even though you write a thorough lesson plan, the lesson will never go exactly the way you planned. What I also learned is that teachers should be able to improvise when learners put them on the spot by asking difficult questions. This is something I experienced a lot this week. One cannot be prepared for the questions that the learners are going to ask. It is also difficult to actually think of an appropriate answer since the learners expect feedback immediately. I handled the situations the best way I could and the teachers applauded me for that.  On Tuesday invigilated a test and I had to supervise a Xhosa class where the learners had to practice their orals.

Assessment in the school was done by means of orals and tests. The grade eights and nines had Xhosa orals for the first time with their new teacher, so they were all quite nervous. The entire school wrote tests on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Monday’s assembly period was used as a test period and on Wednesdays the school has a fixed test period. The grade 8 also wrote a History test, which took place in class time. The grade 9 learners missed a few classes due to the ANAS examinations. The grade 12 learners wrote their preliminary examinations, so they did not attend school this week. The grade 11 learners had an English essay to hand in.

The school is in the process of expansion so certain parts of the school cannot be reached. The construction workers removed a few trees in order to make the ground level. The noise was disturbing at times; the building site is right next to the hall where the matric learners are writing. 

Overall reflection of school visit

 

Reflection of the full school visit period

I cannot believe that I am done with teaching practice. The nine weeks flew by so quickly. Teaching practice was such an enriching experience and I grew as a teacher. However, I think that nine weeks is too long, since you have learned how the schooling environment works by the fifth week.

Practice teaching is challenging and I think that once you have completed your teaching practice, you should be able to determine whether teaching is the occupation that suits you the best. I have definitely become wiser and some of my character traits changed.  I am more mature and patient but most importantly, I am less judgemental. I see things from a different perspective and I am also more aware of what I do in public.

Before I started with practice teaching, I knew that it was going to be challenging, but I did not realize to what extent it is going to be challenging. I never realized how much work educators actually do and why they are always tired. Once I stepped into their shoes, I could comprehend the above mentioned factors. Even though teaching is more challenging than I thought it would be, I still want to become a teacher. One never really understands why teachers are always tired, but once you are placed in their shoes, you realize that a teacher’s responsibility does not end in the classroom. A teacher is also not just a teacher because you have to be a mother figure, psychiatrist and caretaker of the learners. The teachers are also involved in extra mural activities after school, which make the teacher even more tired.

Before I started teaching practice I could not picture myself as a teacher. I knew that I wanted to become a teacher but I was too shy and self-conscious. Each lesson that I presented took up so much of my time because I planned even lesson thoroughly. I started gaining self-confidence when I received good marks. The advice that the teachers gave me really improved my teaching and the quality of it. I experienced tremendous growth in the nine weeks and I have grown so much as a teacher and a person. No university can teach you what you learn during practice teaching. Thus practice teaching is the most important part of studying education (PGCE). The only limitations I experienced was the English teacher who prevented me from language lesson during the first 8 weeks of practice teaching. I do not think that I experienced other limitations, since I am a very flexible person. I have full confidence in my abilities as a teacher right now. By being able to control a class of 35 grade nine learners, I knew that I could do anything. I am able to do anything I also realized that I am the authority figure in the classroom, so I should not be scared to speak my mind when the learners are not behaving.

The most valuable aspects of my school visit were the fact that I grew close to the learners. I realized the importance of staff meetings and now the discipline learners. I also realized that the lesson never goes as planned on the lesson plan. Lastly, the teacher taught me that I should always assume that the learners know nothing. Firstly, the teaching practice has given me an insight into the schooling environment, since you are in school with real learners. This experience prepared me for the teaching profession, since I now know how a school environment works. I stepped into the shoes of a teacher and I got first-hand experience. I had the opportunity to teach alone for 3 weeks, so I felt the pressure that real teachers feel. I do not agree with people who say that anyone can become a teacher. You really have to be a compassionate person if you want to be a teacher.

There is not really an aspect of the teaching practice that I did not find valuable. Teaching practice was good learning experience but I think the extramural activities should be reduced based on the number of specialisation field studies you have. I did not learn anything from the other extramural activities, besides the activity I took part in. 

If I could do the teaching practice again, I would do it. I wish the teaching practice could be longer, but then the number of lessons should remain the same. Teaching practice was the best experience ever. I think that the university should however prolong the teaching practice and reduce the theoretical aspects of PGCE. The theory I learned during the first two terms did not really help me during teaching practice. 

           

Lesson observation Xhosa

Lesson observation
Xhosa

Today the teacher started the noun classes of the isiXhosa language. I do not think that people understand the importance of noun classes in Xhosa. The learners complained that they are grade nine, but they are not able to construct sentences in Xhosa. The teacher and I then learned that the previous Xhosa teacher did not do noun classes with the learners. If you do not know the noun classes and their rules, you will never be able to construct a Xhosa sentence. The learners responded well to the lesson, but they are utterly confused. They do not yet understand  the noun classes, but this will came with time. The learners were able to construct sentences with the nouns. The learners will present this lesson to the grade eights as well, so that their foundation is right.