Week two - Reality Check

I quickly realised that the first week was relatively fun. 

The main reasons for this being that learners are happy to be back; to have routine, see friends and even some teachers. During this week learners were mostly on their best behavior, the principle was very strict (I realised to set the standard for the rest of the term). The large amount of student teachers, about 12, may also have caught them off guard, thus leading to their best behavior.

Entering the second week, a lot changed. The learners changed their attitude towards almost everything about school. Their behaviour in class changed, their attitude toward the school work and especially toward student teachers. They were now out to making our lives difficult (that’s how it felt). There is one class, grade 10 D, which I have for all three of my subjects. They are a large class of 40 learners, and having attended class with them for one whole week now, I was seen more as a part of the class than a teacher. This had its benefits as they scared and were interested in talking to me, however whenever I had to observe them and keep them quiet it was pretty much impossible. 

They used their size against me, almost like using it to fool me. I would be at one side of the class when the other goes wild, when attending to the other side the first side would be chatting vigorously. What makes keeping the class quiet even more of a challenge is the accepted amount of chatter allowed in classrooms. Learners are not to talk at all, even when having an off period they are expected to work and not whisper. These learners struggle with the word “whisper” and its definition.

There was one day in particular which I had two amazing periods, taking two classes for economics. These classes where both grade 10 but the discussions which we had differed immensely. In the one class we ended up having a debate about genetically modified food and in the other discussing different kinds of sheep, which the learners did not know existed. The last mentioned class made realise the different backgrounds that me and these learners have, thus that there is so much that we can teach each other. When asked where wool comes from, from which sheep, the one learner replied; “from the white sheep”.

But unfortunately after having enjoyed two lessons, the D class came and they were just completely out of control, this was a horrifying period! Fortunately, I had netball after school, which restored my faith in the learners.

This was a very challenging week. At the end of this week, I saw the learners as little devils in disguise. Putting up a nice face outside of the classroom until you’re in the classroom with them.