Africa Aids Education Series is an OBE, integrated series of books that aims to ensure that one of the government’s indicators that will be used to measure ‘how much progress is being made in the fight against Aids” is met. This indicator is stated as ‘the proportion of children leaving primary school who are fully […]
Outcomes-based assessment asks teachers to make their expectations for learners up-front and public. To assist teachers in doing so, the Department of Education’s assessment guidelines provide some useful step-by-step instructions for designing assessment rubrics. They ask teachers to think carefully about what good learner-work looks like, and then to write the descriptions as assessment criteria. […]
It is such a tragedy that nowadays touch is banned from classrooms. I know why, but still I will continue to touch my learners. They need it. But ‘touch” has become a dirty word. And touching someone appropriately requires sensitivity. Children need appropriate touching at the right time. Not just the little ones. When a […]
The plight of Paula Niel and her four children (‘Daily struggle denies children a future”, February 2003) reminded me of an old man who I drive past on my way to work every morning. He wears a long black jacket and other tattered garments; has a long greyish hair and beard. He walks with bare […]
I have something to bitch about. As a student teacher with two first-class English degrees from the University of Pretoria and with experience working in schools, I desperately wanted a job in an underprivileged high school, preferably in a rural area. I moved to a farm in Mpumalanga, and approached several schools in my area. […]
Will somebody do something about insensitive teachers? My son goes to a pre-primary school. Firstly, the principal called me at work to remind me that I had ‘forgotten” to supply details of my son’s father in the application form. As if that was not enough, my son came home one afternoon demanding to know why […]
At the beginning of the school year, Life Orientation for the Grade 7 class was one of the learning areas allocated to me. I usually enjoy teaching very much at this rural primary school, but this was a real challenge. The most challenging part was that I realised I was going to have to teach […]
A friend when days were dark May 5, 2003 By: SG Khumalo, Piet Retief There are times in all our lives when things are tough and we find out who our real friends are. A teacher who worked in a nearby school in my community was once very badly treated. He was ill, and the […]
It was a day like any other. I woke up early in the morning and got ready for work. I was in a good mood because an NGO had helped us by donating four classrooms that we had desired for quite a long time. School started at the usual time and the lessons went on […]
Taiwan is not the first place that comes to mind for most South African teachers seeking greener pastures, but adventurous graduates with student loans (or similar financial incentives) are arriving here in increasing numbers. At least, there are enough South Africans here to make it worth the while of one Taipei pub to have added […]