Online school

I have changed careers about six times in the last 11 years and the one thing I have always found consistent is that every new job makes me more tired than the last. It’s like I can’t get enough sleep. So as I’m falling asleep last night the hostel bell rings to announce to the learners that it is time to go to bed... go figure. Around 2am every morning my mosquito buddies come and pay me a visit - really, really annoying! And then, at 6am the bell goes again... no need for an alarm.

On the school front, I teach grade 10, 11 and 12 and so far I have a total of 8 kids in total.... really hard work. But then again the upkeep of this network is a little more intense than I thought-this is real hard work. The headmaster wants a school that is the leader in technology-so tomorrow I have a meeting with him to discuss this. The primary form of communication at the school is BBM and email. So in order to get this school to the top I’m going to propose an intranet system for teachers and learners to communicate. There is a section where parents can log in and check the progress of their child and even check what homework the child has. The teachers can put tasks online; communicate with learners and with parents. Lastly the learner can log on and have a work page where they jot down notes from class, check the teacher’s notes, check their daily/weekly/monthly planners etc. so I will pitch this with good intentions... Please send me some ideas...

Welcome to the year the world will end.

This is not a fake cry from Delilah but 2012 doth be upon us! Anyway I am not a good blogger, I lost track and then become distracted...sigh. So what’s new? I accepted the teaching post at CBC in Kimberley and as my last post understated-it’s HOT!

Okay lets jump around a bit. I have acquired a nice little toy, the Samsung galaxy tab... Yes the 10.1. So here I sit trying to type my first blog entry on a touch screen. The ANC turned 100yrs yesterday and had, what seemed to be, a bit of a flop in Bloemfontein. The reason I’m telling you this is because I saw this awesome Jet fly over Kimberley, where I now live, it’s called a Gripen, made allot of noise I tell you.

Sorry this is the smallest pic I could find, so apparently this Gripen was in charge of the air security. However, comrades, the people started leaving this Bloemfontein ANC gathering as the president came up-very rude and so did the Gripen, decided to check out Kimberley quickly for any threats. So while he was in Kimberley the President and the big 6(not Julius Malema) decided to toast to 100yrs of ANC-ness. And so aptly the president started cutting from this huge cake and handing out slices of cake to all members on stage from tallest to shortest... remind you of something? No? Our present government? No? A nice little metaphor nonetheless.

So the people were filing our by the tens... apparently they expected 120 thousand people and only 120 pitched... I lie, but it was somewhere down there. The News reporter in all her wisdom then says that the people must be leaving because of the heat. mmmmmm. So did I mention that is piping hot in Kimberley, the professional people at the weather service tell us its only 38 degrees. My thermometer reads 44 in the sun and 38 in the shade. What’s this world coming to when everyone is just lying?

Some teachers in Kimberley warned me that the classes might be bigger than usual this year, to which I responded: "what do you mean by "bigger?"" to which this lovely lady said she expects about 10 learners per class. "Ten hundred" I asked nope, just 10. Lady, do you have any idea what bigger is? The school I come from had 43 learners per class and this year they will have bigger classes apparently around forty eight. Anyway the High school only has 150 learners, you heard me right-not per class-IN THE WHOLE SCHOOL-- bless their souls. Unfortunately I gave up the position to be in heaven first when I left Randfontein high and for what? For immediate comfort...pfffft.

This morning the headmaster came and did the welcoming and then he used a metaphor which I have heard before but which is still beautiful. The metaphor goes like this: life is like a river and most people just jump in and tread water, Tony Robbins said this beautifully. He said, people jump in and get caught up by the current, current affairs, current news, current life... and when they get to the waterfall now they want to grab an oar and start peddling. The headmaster said something slightly different, he advised us to start swimming the moment we hit the water... and sometimes when we not swimming hard enough we will just stand still but even that is better than going downstream... in the famous words of Dory in Finding Nemo, Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming, swimming.

Schools start officially on Wednesday. Let’s analyze the positives: I have an air conditioned classroom, with an uncapped internet line... the classes are terribly small…I have a swimming pool in my backyard, yes I do live on campus so everything at the school is now my backyard. Okay I think that’s enough random talk for now.

So why the title? the world will end 21.12.2012-read all about it: http://www.endoftime2012.com/

HEAT!

When its hot we complain and when its cold we complain... so difficult to just find that middle ground... kids are running wild with the water and throwing water at anything that moves! In the mean time we need to teach and try and drill something solid into their heads in this heat.

We're doing film study at the moment on Hoodwinked(The Red Riding Hood Story) think its too upper level for these kids. Anyway, lets try and focus on the last two weeks of grade 8. The great thing about teaching is that the terms go so quick.

All Joburgers, keep hydrated and use sunscreen!

last Term

Here i sit in an empty classroom. thinking about the teacher somewhere in the sixties that hung himself in this very school. i am told his ghost still marches through the corridors at night. i usually don't stay that late to actually find out. But i do know what could drive a teacher to that... a teacher's life is simple, the problems are few but they add up and sometimes too quickly. Today was one of those Monday's when I almost ended a child's life with a flying kick. this is what happened, i was talking to child A and asking him why he felt the need to talk while the school anthem was being sung. child 'e' (called this because it will be his highest achievement at school-if he's lucky) butts in and says I'm blind... to which I prepared the flying kick but never launched it... should've though. Anyway i left him with enough insults to have a negative effect on his grandchildren. again if only we could beat the demons out of these kids.... i digress.

Tonight we have a Valedictory Ceremony for the grade 12's and we have to be here in toga and all... So i got my Toga today just need to be here and try and look alive. I shared my overseas experience today with one class and after that i told them what their futures are most likely to end up like i.e. watching pirates and Chiefs fight it out week after week month after month, where we pretend to really be into this soccer thing but in essence all we are using it as is an excuse to drink... surely if one soccer team beats another three times in a row... it should end... why would they want to fight it out year after year... generation after generation.... its not even a league anymore. I also told them that people from Randfontein were generally narrow sighted, they either don't go to Keywest mall because there's too many 'boers' or westgate because there's too many blacks and the rest of the malls is just too far. the parents who do have money take the kids with them when they gamble or they spend December's in Durban... majority of them, though, have not seen the sea. I try to tell them that there is slightly more to life... i hope 1 kid out of the 260 take me to heart.

Some people say I should share the gospel with them. which I do when I get a chance but this is a tough bunch pretty much set in their ways the way their parents are... there is no winning with them. The greatest part of being a teacher by calling is that you never cease in trying, you will force and force until they leave the school. many teachers are here just for the money, which is not much i may add but money is money when you have nothing.

So this is enough from today's ramblings... I will try and direct more thoughts to write something more specific next time!

Is this what you call a dictator?

1. There is no electricity bill in Libya; electricity is free for all its citizens.

2. There is no interest on loans, banks in Libya are state-owned and loans given to all its citizens at 0% interest by law.

3. Home considered a human right in Libya

4. All newlyweds in Libya receive $60,000 Dinar (US$50,000) by the government to buy their first apartment so to help start up the family.

Is this what you call a dictator
Traditional wedding in Tripoli, Libya

5. Education and medical treatments are free in Libya. Before Gaddafi only 25% of Libyans are literate. Today the figure is 83%.

6. Should Libyans want to take up farming career, they would receive farming land, a farming house, equipments, seeds and livestock to kick-start their farms – all for free.

7. If Libyans cannot find the education or medical facilities they need in Libya, the government funds them to go abroad for it – not only free but they get US$2,300/mth accommodation and car allowance.

8. In Libyan, if a Libyan buys a car, the government subsidized 50% of the price.

9. The price of petrol in Libya is $0.14 per liter.

10. Libya has no external debt and its reserves amount to $150 billion – now frozen globally.

11. If a Libyan is unable to get employment after graduation the state would pay the average salary of the profession as if he or she is employed until employment is found.

12. A portion of Libyan oil sale is, credited directly to the bank accounts of all Libyan citizens.

13. A mother who gave birth to a child receive US$5,000

14. 40 loaves of bread in Libya costs $ 0.15

15. 25% of Libyans have a university degree

16. Gaddafi carried out the world’s largest irrigation project, known as the Great Man-Made River project, to make water readily available throughout the desert country.

Which other dictator has done much good to his people

Empty Classroom

So here I sit in this empty classroom reflecting on the emptiness of the common grade eighter's head. This was a rough week... I say again man was not intended to educate 43 kids in a classroom. 43 personalities, 43 different ways of thinking, 43 different homes, 43 ugly faces....aaaarrrggghh! I'm just so annoyed today, I spoke to a parent who asked me if it was her responsibility or mine to discipline the child... the cheek! Anyway I am currently trying to teach them 12th night... all I can say on this topic is trying. They understand that the book is orange... the pages are white and the writing is in black... they understand the page numbers... these are the things i can vouch for..... the rest... nah!

I had a visit from the department on Monday and they were quite peeved that my files were not up to scratch, let me say this, if you do a file in 2 hours on a Sunday evening, what do you expect... especially if this file is supposed to reflect 3 terms of work....

The exams are starting next week and some clever jack put down English test 3 times on the time table... what the goal is with this little exercise-I don't know! Anyway onto more positive things... I now live only 4kms away from school yipee!(NOT) nice little old age-home-type area.

I spoke to someone today who got so angry that they want another job... I asked her, how could you want another job when you only work 8 months out of 12.... needless to say the daggers she shot could have seriously injured me.

Let me move on to my next class and attempt once again-THE IMPOSSIBLE!

Quote of the day: There is none so dumb as they who resist learning.DD

Corporal punishment contd.

So last week we had a very busy week... weed smokers and the like. What I don't understand is why teenagers feel the need to smoke at school... you can smoke before school or after and no-one would bother you... at least no-one from the school. Last week I snapped. There were cops all over the school, some kids trying to beat each other to death... is this what school is all about? This is definitely not what I studied for. I remember sitting in my classes at Varsity talking about group work and adding meaning to learner’s life, I never imagined this. I must commend the teachers who deal with this on a daily basis and still feel led to come back to school and teach regardless of the criminal elements in the school.

So I decided to address my issues with one of the cops and he agreed with me what these kids needed was a solid hiding... something to wake them up from this paralysis that happened somewhere in their junior phase... thinking they're untouchable. This attitude gets carried right through school and right through life, the display by the ANCYL last week is a fantastic example of exactly that.

But back to my feelings, I AM SO ANNOYED by this. Nothing in a school ever affected me so much. We don't get a danger allowance; we don't get to walk around with guns or weapons so why should we teach when learners are allowed to come to school like this. My proposal is this: assign 3 teachers at the school with corporal punishment rights, send letters out to the parents asking them for the right to beat their kids if they misbehave, every time the kids get a hiding then the slate gets wiped clean again. Else if the parents disagree with this then we follow the three step plan proposed by the people who sit in offices and don't know what is really going on at the schools.

I'm out for now but watch this space... there will be more!

Corporal punishment still in schools

Johannesburg – Corporal punishment is still common in

South African schools even though it was banned more than a decade ago.

Recent research showed that up to 70% of primary school and 50% of high school pupils were still subjected to corporal punishment.

Gerhard Olivier, vice-principal of the Eendracht Primary School in Pretoria, was recently awarded his Master's degree at the University of Pretoria. He did research on teachers' perceptions of corporal punishment and the reasons why they still administered it even though it is against the law.

Six teachers who administered corporal punishment at three Pretoria schools with different cultural backgrounds were involved in the study.

The study showed that teachers were well-informed about the consequences should they administer corporal punishment. They felt, however, it was acceptable if done reasonably.

They were frustrated and believed corporal punishment was an effective way of maintaining discipline in over-crowded classrooms. Many still viewed it as an effective "classroom aid".

The research showed some of the teachers didn't think other methods of discipline were as successful as corporal punishment. Some of them had tried other methods but had limited success with them.

Teachers also believed the department's poor support on how alternatives for corporal punishment should be applied, contributed to the ineffectiveness of these methods.

They claimed the abolishment of corporal punishment was forced on them too quickly while they were not trained in other methods. The teachers said they were not consulted when corporal punishment was scrapped in schools.

The teachers said they had over the past decades done many workshops, seminars and training sessions but seldom received information on different methods of disciplining children.

The main reasons why teachers still administered corporal punishment, appeared to be difficult to control, over-crowded class rooms. Language problems were also cited as reasons.

Apart from these, poor morale under teachers, limited work satisfaction and high stress levels made efficient teaching and learning impossible.

Teachers were convinced that corporal punishment educated children, improved the quality of teaching and academic achievement.

The study found that although corporal punishment damaged the rights of pupils, the practice continued because many teachers saw it as the only way to maintain discipline.

Olivier in his research pointed to another South African study done between 2003 and 2006 under pupils of 16 and older in which was found 51% had received corporal punishment from a teacher or principal.

Olivier said he regularly encountered the view that corporal punishment should be brought back. He believed teachers should accept that it would never again be legalised.

His recommendation was that smaller classrooms and acceptable alternatives for corporal punishment that were realistic to teachers' working conditions were looked at.

read more:

http://langbulang.blogspot.com/2007/10/corporal-punishment.html

Riots

Riots everywhere. Watching the riots in London made me think of the little story that happened in Stephen Kings book Under the Dome. There is this one bit in the book where a riot breaks out and people start looting. Their excuse is obviously that everyone else was doing it so why not us.... there was someone else in control though who allowed this to happen so that he could exercise more control over the town people, basically use that incident to show everyone that 'now can you see why you need extra security?'

Anyway be that as it may... Back to school matters, I spent 3 hours out in the bitter cold yesterday collecting funds for the RACA. I managed to steal away for 15 mins to watch our school's 15minute minimum, it was mmmmmmm how shall i put it? it was both good and original, unfortunately the parts that were good were not original and the parts that were original were not good.

Before I forget, I went to see Planet of the apes on Saturday and i must commend the director it was excellent!

Slightly Perturbed

Okay so the topic of the day is disagreements. What is it about disagreements that upset us so much? Shouldn’t disagreements be a natural thing? After all aren’t there going to be people that do not share your opinion? Why are so easily angered? Is it because we feel belittled, ashamed or insulted? I’m asking because there must always be an underlying factor. In every workplace there are always fights, bosses with employees, employees with employees… a constant power struggle. I know I might be approaching this very vaguely but let’s just say I don’t want to implicate any specific situation or people. This morning on the radio someone was extremely upset because the words “previously disadvantaged” refers to the greater community of black people and thus he called it reverse racism… I wondered to myself what this persons views were during the apartheid regime? Did he call in to radio stations to announce his disagreements? Or was it just because he was affected now? It seems to me that when we get upset we ask all the wrong questions… the first one of coarse being; “why did this upset me so much?”

Camp 2011

I had a really great time at Deo Gloria this year. Firstly, it was very cold, Secondly, it was very cold... We had a good few services and workshops, not forgetting the fun and games ofcoarse! Late nights and early mornings took their toll on me and now I have a swollen eye and a scratchy throat... but it was all worth it!

The topics dealt with over the weekend ranged from Adoption, marriage counselling and ofcoarse "better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof... and lots lots more.

I think next year I will definitely take my own heater and electric blanket because, lastly, it was very cold!

Randfontein Arts & Culture Academy

Discipline at schools

In this morning's times newspaper Prof Jonathon Jansen raises an important point WRT the other side of the principal beating the learner half to death. No one can really understand the pressure of teaching unless you're a teacher and parents are quick to jump in defense of their near perfect children and yet they leave them in the care of someone else for a minimum of 6hrs a day for 12 years-OFCOARSE discipline will be an issue! but the working parent who only gets to see his beloved child over weekends overlooks the imperfections of his child and would rather take a teacher to court than try and solve the problems at hand.

Next let me take you to page 2 of the Sowetan today, where two teachers thought they wouldnt beat the child to death instead they would do the sensible thing, the first world thing, the right thing and visited the parent of a disruptive learner. the parent being a traffic officer told them they are more than welcome to come but when they arrived he cuffed them at gunpoint and nearly beat them to death with a knob kierie... (http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2011/08/04/traffic-cop-father-beats-up-teachers)

Someone is going to be beaten to death the question is, who?

Parents and Teenagers

This is a topic I will again address at a later stage. Right now my girls are very far from being teenagers although Eden talks about it a lot. Anyway here is what happened, yesterday one of the girls in grade eight was taking too long with her hair, her dad got over excited and pulled out the clippers and shaved her head clean off... now that is unacceptable behavior. The poor kid is so embarrassed and has to walk around with a beenie all day, shame. Anyway with parents you always want to do the "right" thing which sometimes ends in being the wrong thing because we tend to forget what it was like. the reason i want to approach this topic at a later stage is because there is doing too much and there is doing too little and we all know "those" parents who allow their kids to call them by their first name and we also know those parents whose kids look like they're in the army... so where does one draw the line?

Anyway this weekend we are attending a youth and young married couples camp so I will be providing feedback as soon as I can.

Black to move. How can Black save this game?

Another Tuesday at school

Okay someone just vomited in my class. Its the 5th period of the day and the kids have just returned from break and as you can imagine the energy levels are high, i have given them work to do so I can quickly update my blog. I have revived the chess team at the school and am looking forward to coaching the learners to new heights.

The lesson for this week in my English classes is poetry, so I'm trying to teach the learners about different types of poetry, the rhyme scheme etc etc. boring stuffs. With one class I did sonnet 116 and the other sonnet 8. Obviously this was higher grade to the grade eight's who can just about handle ring a ring a rosie.

Last night we were handing out reports until 7pm so the day was very long, so today I'm planning to be out of here by 2 not a minute later. I still need to complete my prep for 12th Night which is due next week so wish me luck.

That's all for now

I am Back

Okay i am back. i hope i will make it good this time. anyway heres the thing. I got swallowed by the Facebook craze, updating my life there as if I'm some kind of celebrity. So here's the deal: i was working in I.T. until September 2010 and now I have returned to teaching... this is mostly what i will blog about and my travels for now... lets hope this goes according to plan this time!