WEEK #1 (18-22 July 2016)

Lückhoff 

It feels like I barely blinked the holiday and all of a sudden there it was, week one of student teacher practicals. As I was placed in Creative Arts for the first week (at Lückhoff High) and didn't need to give classes (I am giving all my visual arts classes at PJ Olivier Art Centre) I just observed with a hawk eye. I found one big troubling problem, the learners were incredibly disrespectful of the teachers desire and endeavours for them to work together and work in an orderly fashion, or just co-operate at all. I found myself trying to figure out how I would manage a classroom like this, would I even be able to? Well, I'll have to figure it out cause I feel passionate about being a teacher. I felt bad because the learners seemed to be taking advantage of the age of the teacher and did not seem to care at all how chaotic and loud and disrespectful they were being. Many times I felt like standing up and doing something, but I found it was not my place and I wouldn't even know where to start. At one point the teacher did leave the class in an attempt to take one really out of control learner to the headmaster and I was put in charge of making sure they stay seated and worked. Not a minute past and a bunch of boys were up from their seats discussing something and being loud at one table, I went to them and asked them to please return to their seats as their teacher requested they need to be working. They informed me they were busy with a very important discussion to which I replied that the only important thing right now is their work and they can continue the discussion after class. They returned to their seats but not a few moments after returning to my area behind the desk (but standing up in an attempt to make my watchful presence known) they were up and around again talking ever louder and being very rowdy. I decided to try something I saw the teacher did, take the black board eraser and hit it against the black board loudly, louder than them. They all looked at me with wide eyes. I said in a loud but friendly yet I am about to flip my switch on you if you do not cooperate tone of voice  that they must all PLEASE return to their seats and continue the work as their teacher asked so nicely. Everyone sat down, albeit not always in their seats (some did get detention later for being in the incorrect seats), BUT, I felt this was a big enough victory for that moment and I would in future keep trying to have them actually go on with their work, or sit on their correct chairs, for that matter. But for now, I was proud when the teacher stepped in and they were all at least seated.

Some troublesome things I witnessed which I really need to think about and ask, maybe others have some good tips, were boys teasing girls to such an end girls hit the boys and the boys then hit back. A boy teasing another learner with a lighter, putting the flame right by their face and kept going with this cause the teacher was on the other side of the classroom. A boy continuously yelling "Jo-HAN" out the window loudly and relentlessly with no respect at all for the teacher trying to conduct a class. Boys and girls out of their seats endlessly and not respecting the teacher asking them to cooperate. Learners doing what the teacher asked only until she turns her back or moves on then continuing with with their antics.

I was so emotionally drained from a few days of witnessing this. There was of course one or two classes that behaved themselves, apparently one was the strongest academic class of Gr 9 and the teacher told me that they place some learners whom previously failed in this class and have noticed many times significant improvement, which one assumes comes from the change of peers or group dynamic around them.

One thing I have thought about is that the teacher arranges the learners alphabetically and the class is organised in clusters (presumably so they have bigger tables to do art projects on and allowing group work to happen easier), this practice she advised makes handing out work and receiving it back easier and more efficient according to her. But I wonder if it is worth it, because sometimes (more often than not), somehow the alphabet chose a few very rowdy learners to have surnames right next to each other and it just causes chaos. I would just move them around, away from each other's bad influences so at least I could try get some order and quiet.

PJ Olivier

At PJ Olivier learners just received briefs for the next painting project and we discussed how we can incorporate parts of the journal work into our lessons (us two student teachers there). I was upset to find out that I won't be able to give a photography class as was the plan discussed with the headmaster (our lecturer) all through the first semester. All of a sudden it was as if it would not fit in with the teacher's scheduled lesson plans. I understand up to a certain point, but do feel that learning how to teach art at an art centre where even the learner have to specialise from the very beginning is a bit of a downside to our education, because in a regular school under normal circumstances you have to be able to teach everything in art, and therefore surely we have to be able to practice teaching art in the broad context. Not only 2 specialisations and theory. We are also only restricted (for some reason) to teach only Gr10, which makes scheduling and making sure everything fits in to the time you have there very tricky - also especially for me because my due date for my human is 12 September and 2 weeks before then I need to go on "maternity leave". 

I found a dramatic difference in the behaviour of the learners as opposed to that of Lückhoff. I think it may be partly due to the smaller groups, and also perhaps what we talked about in, well most of our subjects, like Diversity and Inclusivity and Philosophy of Education and L&L... their cultural capital is different. Also I am speculating, but their home lives I think are worlds apart, and the type of support and input they receive at home also may be vastly different. 

The Friday I gave my first lesson, in Drawing. I was very nervous, but enjoyed it immensely. I gave a lesson on gesture drawing. At first I felt like I was repeating myself a lot and also that I was getting tongue tied. But after the class the teacher let me know I was very comfortable around the learners, which was great to hear. I think being the first class I gave it went by in a blur with the nerves, and you aren't really sure afterwards how it went. But it helped a lot getting the feedback from the teacher, and also the learners, who I could see were enjoying themselves and also thanked me afterwards for the fun class and said that they enjoyed it a lot, which to me is vital in teaching art, more on that later. 

I gave the Drawing class the second hour of classes there, during the first I was substituting a teacher's Grade 9 class. The headmaster said it would not count because it is Grade 9. I still think I will add it to my portfolio as a substitute class. The teacher was away and I needed to tell the learners what they needed to do and make sure they do it and give guidance where necessary. There was one learner, a boy from Paul Roos, that kept distracting his friends and also playing PokemonGO... I had my day with him, but I think I managed it well. I didn't just ignore him, and I tried motivating him. He seemed annoyed at me, but also he seemed annoyed at life itself, if that makes sense? He didn't get as far as he could have gotten in that class. I think he is another type of case where he also has struggles at home, albeit different than the kids from Lückhoff. A kid from a private school can also have struggles at home.