Back to School, too...

Reflection – Week 2

Mid-Week Mayhem

So, we kick off the Second Week of the Term with High Hopes…

From first glance, it would appear that there are less Students at the Gate than last Week. This was to be confirmed, as many of the Teachers made it known that their Grade 12s are also staying away from School now. While it is common, that the learners sometimes take a ‘while’ to come out of hibernation, having only 10 to 12 learners in the Class is dis-heartening… The Matriculants are writing their first National Paper for LO on the 4^th of September, 2015… Yet, many have chosen not to attend School.

The School has made it into the Mainstream Media (Radio and Newspapers), and the Community Members are very much on edge. Some (angry) Parents have started showing up at School, demanding to see the Authority Figures of the School. With Reports from around the Country about unrest, related to Education, this does not bode well for the Teachers… Students… Workers and the Community, at all…

The Staff Meetings are also starting to be the Scene for some ‘heated conversations’ among the frustrated teachers. This Week started off with the Staff not having much more Clarity on the Situation, regarding the School. Decisions will have to be made about whether the entire School will have to be moved to a different location. No Clear Answers from the Department of Education, causes a sense of abandonment among the Teachers. They are frustrated and disgruntled, since they still do not have an Answer for all the Parents and other People calling at the School, to get to the Crux of the Problem and The Solution!?

One has to 'break down'... 

...in order to 'build up'...

Empty Playground...

Two Dates have been set however…

A Meeting with the Parents and Community of Scottsdene on Wednesday, the 29^th of July, 2015…

And a Meeting with the Community of Eersteriver on the 30^th of July 2015, to get permission to use the New School as a Temporary Solution.

Needless to say, all the Drama at School and not getting proper Classroom-time, has started to take a toll on my sunny disposition… Sitting in a Frozen Classroom can make a Sunshine-Child quite despondent.

With no Grade 9 to 11s at School, I took it upon myself to attend some of the Grade 12 Classes. This Week, I started off with the Grade 12 English Home Language Class. Home Language, not necessarily meaning the Language the Learners speak at Home… Most of the Learners are either Xhosa or Afrikaans Home Language Speakers, but they chose to be in this Class. The Teacher presented a Lesson on Poetry. The Poem, by Wilfred Owen, was called Futility. I found this quite ironic, given the current situation…

Although we had only a Partial Class, many of the Kids were not present on Monday - Aluta continua… The Teacher worked at quite a speedy pace and the learners had to keep up… It seemed to me, that the learners were not afforded ample time to absorb the information presented. The Teacher appeared to spoon-feed the learners, many of whom were not even writing down any Notes. From the meaning of Foreign (French) or New Words (Futility) to the explanation of the Imagery used in the Poem… All of the Teacher’s Questions were answered by himself… Given, not a single learner put up their hand to volunteer an Answer… It appeared to me, that this was the expectation?

At the end of the Lesson, the Students were asked to take out their Notebooks and copy (write down) the slides, that the Teacher has just presented to them… As the Teacher left the Room, shortly after, not a lot of writing took place though. The Grade 12s are considered to be Semi-grown-ups and able to take responsibility for their own efforts in their Education. However, I do think that they need a little bit more HELP and Guidance (coaxing) in getting there???

The Grade 12 Classroom has a very Jovial Atmosphere… The Learners are very ‘playful’ – not too concerned about the looming Exams, but very much concerned about their Social Lives… The next Class (what was supposed to be a Tourism or Geography Lesson?), was spent discussing the Matric Jacket or Jumper and Hip-hop Music. The Students became so excited that their raucous behavior afforded them to be reprimanded by the Teacher next door… Even though the Teacher was seriously upset, the murmurs among the learners and back-chatting would point to some issues of discipline and respect for their Teachers…

What also saddens me, is the lack of Vision and Future-plans among many of the Learners…

Tuesday’s Life Orientation Classes, was a ‘Talk’ by a Representative from a Tertiary Academy. The Learners were not very interested in what was said, or what information they could gather from it...

From the commentary by the Kids, not a lot of them have thought about making plans for Life-after-School. The Grown-up Life is still too far in the distant Future to be concerned about today…

We first need to get through the next couple of Cold Days at School…

Back-to-School...

Reflection – Week 1

Back to School

My first Week at School has had a Bumpy Start…

At our first School-assembly, on Monday, all the Teachers were called into a Staff-meeting upon arrival. Three Members of the Education Department were present, to inform us, that we would face some delays of the start of the new Semester. We were told that the Learners would have to be sent back Home that morning, due to concerns of Safety…

The School-buildings are under Construction and the Engineers have some concerns about the Structural Integrity of the Classrooms. After an Initial Inspection, they deemed neither the New Buildings nor the Temporary Structures SAFE for Use and Occupation by the Students and Staff. Further Inspection was required…

After a Brief Explanation of the Dilemma by the Principal, the Students were excused and instructed to disperse in a calmly manner…

The Staff had further Meetings to discuss the situation. During one of these subsequent meetings, on Wednesday, I started to get a better insight into the Circumstances that the Teachers and Learners at this School face on a daily basis.

The School is located between an Informal Settlement of shacks and other types of informal housing structures and low-income apartments – in the Local Tongue, The Skiem (Scheme) or The Fletse (Flats).

Many of the Students come from broken homes – Single (or Zero) Parent Homes, living with extended Family Members or Friends or on their own and assuming the ‘adult-role’ in their ‘household’…

The Neighbourhood is riddled with Drugs and Gangsterism. Street-fights and Gun-shots are an all too common occurrence in the Streets surrounding the School. Many of the Learners are affiliated with these Gangs – under duress or by choice. The Gangs offer somewhat of a Group-cohesion / Family Structure and in order to survive (and for Protection) it is better to be on the inside, than an Outsider…

Hoop en Bendegeweld - Eerste skooldag by Hoërskool Scottsdene

				Hoop en Bendegeweld - Eerste skooldag by Hoërskool Scott...
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It became apparent, that getting a ‘sound education’ is not at the very top of every learner’s priority list.

Fear, Danger, Hunger and Public Perception of their Image (Street-cred) are of a bigger concern for many of the learners.

I believe, this will be my biggest challenge – how to connect with the learners with compassion and understanding… Yet, not be such a ‘Softie’ that I am to be taken advantage of?

From some of the informal conversations I have had with the teachers (some of whom have been at the School for Decades), I have been cautioned about being manipulated by some of these ‘sad stories’. Kids will always try and test the Teacher, to see how much they can get away with… Sympathy is a Gift???

Be Stern… But, be Fair – judge each Situation by it’s own merits.

I might not have had actual Teaching-time or much Contact-hours with the Students, this past Week, however I did have a good learning experience. I am impressed at how the Staff pull together as a Team to deal with Adversity and how they manage it. Less Complaints, more Action…

I am excited at what the coming Weeks have in store for us…

A.     Some of the Temporary Classrooms – positioned on the Sports/Playground.

B.     Concerns that the Strong Winter Winds might lift these Rooms off their Foundation.

C.     Brace yourselves… Winter is coming…