I came to Lebone as a new
teacher coming into the profession. I was aiming to learn as much as I could from
the other teachers and use the knowledge I have in class. My first year of
teaching has been difficult in many ways and it included all of the following
feelings:
- Fear - of being a failure, and intruding in someones space
- Pressure - always aiming for perfection as a teacher
- Stress - wanting to impress my mentor and HOD as I felt that they were always watching my every move
- Pain - not being given enough teaching opportunities (specifically wanting to teach Setswana - more involvement - and Grade 1)
There were times when I felt
like I was not cut out for this. It seemed as if I couldn't do anything right. This
is when I was exhausted mentally and physically because of the pressure I was
putting on myself.
The difficulties I
experienced as a first year teacher are:
- Discipline -
- Classroom management -
- Conflicts -
What helped me get through
the year?
Teaching at Lebone has it's challenges, but with the
support of New Teacher's Cafe, and some of the Foundation Phase Co-Teachers, more especially
having someone to talk to without judging and criticizing, helped a lot. New Teacher's Cafe also helped by giving us some time to reflect on our teaching
and think about what we were doing. Other teachers' experiences were an
encouragement. At a later stage I was blessed to work with the Co-Teachers
who are determined to continually refresh their practice, and put the interests
of their students first, all the while helping the newbie down the hall. I have
tried to learn from them as much as I can.
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