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.
