QUESTION 1

Read the given passage below and indicate whether Ms Optimism acted professionally or not. Give three reasons to support your stance. (10)

As a teacher in the school with a dual medium instruction, Ms Optimism was comfortable because she could communicate proficiently in both languages. The medium of instruction in Ms Optimism’s school were English and Afrikaans. However, in 1997 the demographics of her learners started showing some shifts. The learners’ language of communication increased to ten different languages. Of the ten languages she was proficient in only two languages. Her concern was that she could not cover the needs of the entire class. As a learner, she always felt isolated and marginalized because she believed that she never had a teacher who truly saw her. Thus, she always wanted to cover the needs of every learner in her classroom. She felt that she could not accomplish her goal due to lack of language proficiency of the other eight languages.

Furthermore, more of his learners come from different communities. Some learners drove their cars to school, others walked while others used a bus transport that leaves very early in the morning without allowing the learners to have their breakfast. The learners who used the bus transport were always tired and sleepy in the class. These learners also felt that they were tolerated and not welcomed in the school. I order to cope with the new environment they assimilated and adopted the school’s culture and tradition. Learners who drove cars to school often looked down upon those who walked or used a bus to school.

It was at this point that Ms Optimism turned to the community and other teachers for assistance in her teaching. She felt there was lack of equity in resources provided for the learners in the school. Ms Optimism wanted to support the learners the best she could. Through her tireless initiative the school moved away from a dual medium to a parallel medium. Her initiative made all the learners felt welcomed and valued in the school and the community.

QUESTION 2

Read the given passage below and identify the seven (7) different roles that Miss Nice displayed. Give an example of how Miss Nice displayed each of the roles. (28)

Secondary school teacher Miss Nice sees her career as an investment in a more equal future for rural area kids who might be interested in pursuing careers in agriculture and STEM.

“Kids can sell themselves short out here,” Miss Nice says. “I try to empower them and make sure they don’t feel limited by anything.”

Miss Nice, who teaches grades 7 to 9 in a rural school, is passionate about introducing her learners to new technologies and encouraging them to pursue their interests.

She recently applied for and brought an iFarm, a fully computerised and interactive farm science research station, to her school.

“Opening their eyes is so special,” Miss Nice enthuses. “When you show them something new and you see them light up with excitement, it is so worth it.”

For Miss Nice, it is important for young learners to see women succeeding in agriculture.

“There are a lot of young female learners I teach that are so passionate and clever when it comes to agriculture,” she says.

This year, Miss Nice’s learners were gifted with two beautiful ribbons after participating in the School Merino Wether Challenge, an annual event which educates learners and teachers about the merino industry. These ribbons serve as a daily reminder for Ms. Nice of how she is inspiring her learners to follow their passions and making an impact on her learners’ lives.

One of Miss Nice’s learners, who wants to work in agriculture, told her that the challenge was a great learning experience.

“It is such a privilege to witness your learners growing in their confidence, engaging with current industry leaders and being inspired to make a difference,” Miss Nice says.

Recently, Ms Nice asked her learners what they wanted to be when they grew up. She was moved when one of her learners piped up, “I think I’d like to be a Miss Nice.”

“It meant so much to me to hear that,” she explains. “I had many wonderful teachers throughout my school years, and it has always been my mission to make sure my learners felt they could look up to me the way I looked up to my teachers in the past.”

She adds, “Being involved in young learners’ education is a privilege, and one that constantly challenges me to never stop learning and be better than I was yesterday.” For Miss Nice, the two ribbons remind her of this privilege every day.

Trinity Secondary School is a non-paying fee school situated in the Gauteng Province. There is no security system in place and the school fence was cut in several places because the community use the school as a short cut to a taxi rank. This resulted in some classes being severely vandalized. The school has
26 teachers over 600 learners from Grade 7 to Grade 12. The school had been classified as a poor performing school in the Gauteng province based on the learner performance for the past three years in the Senior Certificate Examination (Grade 12). Apart from the physical concerns on campus, the school was plagued by serious disciplinary problems and a governing body that had been ineffective since being elected. On daily basis, the principal was overwhelmed with interviewing parents and learners relating to disciplinary issues. It appeared that the principal was not coping with poor learner discipline and uncooperative parents. The principal alone had to resolve recurring school- based violence among learners, teachers and learners coming late to school and he had to attend to learners who refuse to do their homework. The district had received numerous complaints from parents and other members of the community about the learner performance and discipline at Trinity Secondary School. The enrolment had declined steadily over the past three years.

QUESTION 3: TEACHING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

INSTRUCTIONS:

i. Engage with different readings to answer the question.

ii. Read the abstract above regarding the quality of the schools in South Africa. iii. Read and understand the assignment question.
iv. Words should be between 350 to 400 words.

3.1 What does quality mean in the context of the above scenario? Base your response on the quality of the environment. Your discussion should focus on the following aspects:

3.1.1 Physical elements (10)

3.1.2 Psychosocial elements (10)

3.1.3 Service delivery at schools (10)

QUESTION 4

4.1Reflect on your experiences regarding the use of Moodle (Learning Management System) during your period of studying BPT1501. State and discuss the challenges and solutions in your reflections. (State 4 challenges and 4 solutions)

Answers to Above Questions on Teaching

Answer 1: On the basis of analysis of the given case scenario the stance that I have taken is that Ms optimism has acted in a professionally way. The three important reasons supporting my stance are:
1) it is evaluated that Ms optimism has acted in a professional way by way of following the principle of inclusivity and equity in education. This is evident from the fact that she has considered the need for including all the 10 languages spoken by her students despite the fact that see only knows two of them.

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