Being an ambassador at Siphamadla High School

I always wanted to be part of the social involvement programme at Rhodes University, which entailed teaching mathematics and physics at local high schools in Grahamstown, but never actually got the time to give it the full attention it deserved.

I still remember the day (in 2009) that I saw a TEACH South Africa advert outside the dining hall at the Steve Biko building on campus, which prompted anyone interested to write down their name and email address. Soon after that I received an email directing me to the TEACH South Africa website, where I submitted my application. At the time I was assisting a group of grade 12 learners with maths and physics after my lectures, and enjoying it very much. I formed an idea of doing this on a full-time basis, so when I saw the advert, I thought, “This is it.”

The first class I attended was at Bulumko High School (before switching places with one of the ambassadors at Siphamandla). It was a grade 10 maths class, and the learners were all over the place with excitement, with some questioning the young teacher who stood before them. In return, I was feeling extremely nervous and tried to calm myself. But once I started speaking to the students, everything was OK.

I then switched to Siphamandla High School, where I had to start all over again. But on this occasion, I wasn’t as nervous. In time, I became comfortable with the school, colleagues and learners, and I am now a finely tuned teaching machine.

My learners know me as someone who has an opinion on everything. This provides a great atmosphere in the classroom as most of them cannot wait to hear what I have to say; it also provides a relaxed environment before the beginning of each lesson.

My level of preparedness has resulted in the learners having a great deal of confidence in me; every time I walk into class, I make sure that I am well prepared for the lesson and the topic at hand.

The most important thing about teaching, for me, is for the teacher to be well versed in the subject he/she is teaching. I am very comfortable teaching maths and physics, and the learners can see where the lessons will take them, from the grade they are in to beyond high school.

Last year, I was given a grade 11 class with students who had not passed mathematics the previous year (i.e. they had achieved less than 30%). By the end of the year, 60% of the students were passing maths, and one particular learner was the top-performing student for all grade 11s.

This year my grade 12 maths class achieved 88% and 78%, respectively, in the first and second terms. This, I have been told, has not happened in a very long time at Siphamandla. I am hoping that we keep this up until the end of the year.

The mentorship programme provided by IMSTUS (Institute for Mathematics and Science Teaching, University of Stellenbosch) has helped me a lot. Mr Cerenus Pfiffer has been a great mentor to me, and the workshops provided are of a high quality. They give fresh ideas on lesson presentation and how to approach different topics. The ongoing support, as well, has been useful.

Workshops such as Lucca Leadership have helped me grow as a person and teacher. Further, meetings at which we present our challenges and voice our frustrations have also been quite helpful. And the former and current support managers have been a revelation for some of us.

Life after TEACH South Africa is fuzzy at the moment: the school has indicated a great deal of interest in attaining my services, but we will have to wait and see how everything goes.