When I decided to take a post at
Lebone for 2013, I was filled with a mix of excitement and intimidation. I
couldn’t believe how lucky I was to stumble across a school with such beautiful
facilities, passionate teachers and clever students- and that they also wanted
me! Yet at the same time, I was intimidated by the challenges that lay ahead. I
had had a variety of short-term teaching experiences at different schools in
recent years; however, the context of these schools was very different. Each of
these experiences landed me in inner-city or township locations; the schools
were low achieving with very few resources, very little school culture, and
comprised of students who were years behind academically. The challenges in
these schools were plenty, but they were very rarely “academic.” Daily hurdles ranged anywhere from school
being cancelled due to service delivery protests, to helping the Philadelphia
police break up fights in the hallway, to pregnant girls throwing up from
morning sickness in your Grade 9 English class, to a mere 3 out of 20 students present
in your lesson (a different 3 from yesterday’s register, and surely not the
same 3 that will be present tomorrow). I
learned a great deal about discipline, the challenges faced by low-resource
schools, and general chaos through these experiences, but I realized upon
taking the job at Lebone, that I had never really been challenged academically
by students or co-workers as a teacher, and I was scared. I always did well in
school, and I knew in my head that I was “smart,” but I had never really had the
opportunity to put that knowledge into practice in my teaching because of the
context of the schools I had worked in. What I loved about my visit to Lebone
was the way the students challenged each other and their teachers- it was so
clear that they were taught to think critically and to question. But it was
this same excitement that caused my anxieties. I hoped I could rise to the
occasion of preparing content, lessons and standards that were challenging for
them, while still having some fun (or “organized chaos”) in the classroom. Additionally, I never held the role of a
“proper class teacher” in any of these past positions, so in January of this
year, I walked into Lebone as a wide-eyed first year teacher.
I could not have done this year
without Sarah and Caitlin. The housing/Rustenburg/Lebone gods were on my side
when they kept that third bedroom available for me in Platinum Place no. 8. The
two of them took me under their wing from the moment I arrived in just about
every way imaginable. In my first few weeks, they helped incorporate me into
the Lebone staff- they introduced me to a flood of new faces, then subsequently
had to remind me who was who and what role they played. They answered all my
questions about Lebone and the South African schooling system in general. They
taught me about Rustenburg- where to go to eat (it’s usually in the mall), the
best way to navigate town (including the fact that stop streets are usually
optional), and the fact that there’s not much more to know about Rustenburg. They
corrected my sloppy American table manners and I can proudly say I now hold my
fork and knife properly and eat even difficult dishes such as salad and
scrambled eggs as the South Africans do. Caitlin and Sarah showed me the
importance of not only friendship, but of having young mentors when moving to a
new space. Without any sort of “organized” mentorship, and without ever once
complaining, they walked me through all the same pleasures and pains of their
first year of teaching, and I am beyond grateful for the dear friends and
role-models they have become.
I also could not have survived
this year without the support of my fabulous English department. It’s hard for
me to believe that I was ever scared of teaching in a school like Lebone after
working with such a wonderful group this past year. The constant collaboration,
sharing of ideas and regular encouragement made it easy to work hard and as a
result, to grow professionally. I felt the perfect balance of support and
challenges this year- for example, I was given a lot of help, advice, and past
papers when setting my June exams (I had never done anything like this before).
By December, I was on my own, partially because of the chaos at the end of this
term, but also because I felt I had the skills and confidence to set my papers
on my own. While there were weeks that felt overwhelming, I more often felt my
challenges were manageable, and I think I would have felt far deeper underwater
if it wasn’t for the “happy family” of our English Department.
What I think stands out most to
me, and this is not limited to my department, is that the teachers of Lebone are
cared about as people first. It is incredibly comforting to know that your department,
co-workers, and administrators have your back when you need it. The fact that
New Teacher’s Cafe even exits says a lot about the school and its attitude
towards its teachers. While I learned a lot this year about lesson planning,
classroom management, and Teach Like a
Champion techniques, what I learned most is that a school is a school
because of the people inside of it. I have many areas to improve on when it
comes to my teaching methods. I could pass back papers more efficiently, I
could improve on my classroom management, I could differentiate my lessons
more; but I have faith that all of this will come with time. Being surrounded
by such positive, passionate people allows me to be a happier, more energetic
teacher, and as a result, to improve on these smaller teaching techniques
daily. I am so grateful the support I have received this year, and look forward
to next year when I can return the favour to new teachers, as well as continue
to grow and develop in my own classroom.
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