This is my story... Joe Cossa

My story began in 2008. The dream of building Lebone to what it’s becoming was still fresh. I was initially employed to help with teaching the marimbas as the music department was still new. Of course I could teach music because it is something that I studied and something that I could do. Because Lebone is a particular type of school, with its different models of doing things, I learned that I was not making a good teacher. I was encouraged to enrol with UNISA for my PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) which has helped me to realise what teaching meant, not fully though. So there was still a thorough development to be made.

My journey of self discovery as a teacher continued. I was first introduced in a formal teaching setup (class teaching) through teaching class music which was different to the way I used to teach marimbas. Teaching marimbas was easy for me because it was more practical, which means I would still play music with my students, so it made teaching effortless for me. The only time I would prepare a lesson was listening to different music, while driving in my car or maybe chilling with friends at home. If I heard a song that sounded good I’d try it for my school band. This worked so well.

The introduction of class music was my learning curve. Through teaching it I could see that even though I knew the content, the problem was in transmitting it to the kids. That year should have been my worst, but the school management saw a need to start a forum meant to support new teachers like me. The New Teachers Cafe was formed. It helped me a lot because I was able to meet with other new teachers, who were maybe not as confused as I was. This helped a lot.

We were encouraged to share our experiences as new teachers. There is nothing as relieving as hearing that you’re not alone. This encouraged me a lot. We learnt a lot like lesson preparations, classroom management etc.

I was invited again this year which I think helped because we learnt quite a lot. It was another year that I will always remember as a teacher. I learnt a lot from my fellow new teachers.