Life of a teacher

How did you cope/manage to complete the three days of ''Life of a Teacher''?

The three days of compiling life of a teacher was a truly wonderful experience and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment. I found the three days very manageable and the learners felt comfortable with me. Thus, I will always remember these learners as they crept into my heart and I know I made a difference in their lives which makes me the happiest. By completing the three days of ''Life of a teacher'' I realised that this is something I will enjoy doing on a daily basis for the rest of my life. Furthermore, relationships were forged, between myself, the students, teachers and my mentor teacher. In addition, my mentor teacher taught me many aspects that I can utilise in my classroom one day and one of the aspects that stood out for me and what helped me through the ''life of a teacher'' was ''Tyla believe in yourself, because if you believe in yourself and all that you are, you will know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle''. Furthermore, I was able to and managed to complete the three days of ''Life of teacher''. I cannot wait to have a classroom of my own to inspire learners daily.

How did you feel taking on all the responsibilities of a teacher?

Throughout the three days of ''Life of a teacher'' I felt happy to take on a responsibility of a teacher and rather privileged to inspire and mould young lives on a daily basis. Furthermore, I enjoyed the variety of duties and responsibilities to be fulfilled as a teacher on a daily basis and I feel that I can contribute holistically to the lives of each learner. In addition, watching/supervising the learners play on the playground is an amazing sight to see as you watch learners develop their gross motor skills through the exploration of their environment as well as their daily interactions. Furthermore, each morning I had to take on the responsibility of a teacher to sign in all learners through ''door duty'' whereby on each class list from grades 1-5, they all needed to be signed it with the exact time of arrival for admin purposes and this also allowed to me make relationships with the learners as they felt a sense of importance when I knew their names. In addition, by taking on all the responsibilities of the teacher, made me feel exited for the journey laying ahead of me. Furthermore, during the administering of an assessment was a bit challenging as I thought I would not be able to do it as it was literacy (English) and Mathematics. However, I was able to do it and I had just doubted myself. The learners had to complete their assessment packs for their report, and I had to review the learners understanding on place value for Mathematics as well as vowel digraphs 'ae' and 'oe' for the English assessment. The learners achieved well in their assessment as they were actively participating and concentrating. Therefore, overall taking over the responsibilities over the full three days felt rewarding as I was able to witness the learners growth and love and passion for work/subjects occur.

Which activities did you find most challenging? How did you overcome these challenges?

Throughout the three days of ''Life of a teacher'' the activities I found most challenging was appealing to the ability levels of all the learners and always keeping them engaged and interactive. However, this was overcome through the implementation of a group system which allowed for all learners to be interested and engaged at the same time. Furthermore, another challenge was maintaining a disciplinary standard by the clear demarcation of work and constructive play time so that all learners felt the ability to have fun but also with disciplinary boundaries put in place. In addition, on a Tuesday and Wednesday there are extra-murals whereby on a Tuesday there is soccer and Wednesdays there is athletics. However, all learners are only allowed to participate in the extra-murals with consent from their parents and should the parents not respond in the requested time frame the learners are unable to participate in the extra-murals. Thereby, some learners were very emotional and cried due to the non-attendance of extra murals and as a teacher I was unable to help as the head of department has the communication with the parents. However, I was able to overcome this challenge by proving to the learners that I do not make the decisions and that they should tell their parents to respond to relevant communication regarding the extra-murals.

Analyse the results of your self-evaluation survey, where would you rate yourself higher?

Within the beginner teacher competencies I would rate myself higher on ''Newly qualified teachers must know who their learners are and how they learn; they must understand their individual needs and tailor their teaching accordinly'', as I rated myself as proficient. However, during this experience I believe I had enough time to understand and know who the learners are as active individuals as well as how they learn with regards to the ability levels. Therefore, I should have rated myself higher to ''distinguished''.

''Newly qualified teachers must be knowledgeable about the school curriculum and be able to unpack its specialised content, as well as being able to use available resources appropriately'' as I rated myself as ''proficient''. However, during this experience I believe I am knowledgeable of the school curriculum and used the correct learning materials/resources to make the teaching and learning process innovative and exciting through the utilisation of ''out-of-the-box'' teaching strategies to catch the attentions of the learners to allow them to be an active participant. Lastly, ''Newly qualified teachers must understand diversity in the South African context in order to teach in a manner that includes all learners'' as I rated myself as ''proficient''. However, during this experience I believe in included all learners in the teaching and learning process as I provided all learners with the same learning materials/resources to learn in the lessons. Whereby, those learners identified with a learning problem, I made sure to work closely with them and being a ''guide on the side'' wherever needed to allow them to understand the learning content taught.

Justify how you have improved these competencies through this experience?

I have improved these competencies through this experience as I have gotten to understand how each individual child learns therefore, I could adapt teaching strategies to suit all learning types. I have learnt to maintain an all-inclusive classroom and have learnt to adopt the relevant teaching styles to meet the needs of all the learners as well as if any additional assistance is required for a learner, the educator is seen as the ''connector'' as he/she must facilitate it and encourage additional assistance from outsiders for example, occupational psychologist. In addition, from guidance from my mentor teacher I have learnt new and innovative ways to interpret and deliver content to the learners taking all ability levels into consideration. Furthermore, diversity is a strength as it teaches learners from a young age to celebrate differences rather than separate people. Thereby, by managing a classroom effectively and taking learners differences into consideration it ensures a conducive learning environment that promotes diversity. In addition, I have learnt to take results from learners and I have utilised that information to better myself as a teacher, so that my instruction is more effective and innovative that I was able to engage with all learners on a level that they can comprehend and understand.

Comparison of exit level outcomes and final comments of mentor teacher to the initial self-evaluation in the beginning of teaching experience?

With regards to the exit level outcomes, I obtained a 5 (distinguished) in all 4 outcomes such as, ''demonstrate sound subject, curricular and pedagogical knowledge through the practice of teaching'', ''identify and adapt teaching methods to the unique needs of learners in diverse settings'', ''use and develop reliable methods of assessment to assess learning and improve teaching and learning'', and ''reflect critically on practice, skills and ethics to enhance professionalism in the teaching profession''. Whereby, in comparison to the initial self-evaluation in the beginning of teaching experience, I have grown as an individual and teacher as for the understanding of the individual needs of the learners I rated myself a 4 (proficient), and with sound subject, and knowledge on curriculum I rated myself a 4 (proficient). Furthermore, the growth is perceived in two of the key exit level outcomes. Furthermore, I am very proud of myself with regards to how hard I worked in achieving these exit level outcomes.