A Positive Difference
August 21, 2018
An Intern’s Reflection
August 30, 2018
I am Buyiswa Monakali teaching at Ebongweni Public School at kwaZakhele in Port Elizabeth. I have been in the teaching profession for 25 years.
I joined Edufundi as a mentee in January 2018. I was reluctant to join the programme but I was motivated by attending the workshops and seeing development with previous mentees at the school, now I can say loud and clear that I don’t have any regrets about being mentored.
I appreciate the support the organisation has continued to give me and the way my mentor encourages and motivates me. Using the techniques from Edufundi my confidence and self-esteem have improved and my morale has just doubled up. These little changes I have implemented in my class have made a big difference as my day starts with order using Entry Routine and Do Now. I have moved away from shouting in class, raising my voice unnecessarily, focusing on clever learners, using chorusing and moving up and down when giving instructions.
Getting 100% before doing anything and using strong voice became a medicine to me as I introduce my lesson without any disruptions now and having a structure to follow for a lesson has also made things easier for me. I am proud now to show people how I plan my lessons. Learner engagement and learner centred lessons never had a meaning to me before, since I thought I was already doing it. When I became involved in the programme and started using the Double Plan which encourages learner centeredness the meaning of this became clearer to me. Different techniques like All Write, Show Me, Popcorn Reading, Cold Call and No Opt Out have assisted me a lot in my class in developing the concept.
Without contradicting myself I don’t see any reason not to continue implementing these techniques in the absence of my mentor. These are life lessons and they are of great value to me and my learners. Thank you Vuyo! And little did I know that I can apply Name the Steps in my Subject. I am proud to call you my mentor and thank you so much for investing and always being there for me.
Written by Buyiswa Monakali
