The 2017 TABSA team was the third team I have been lucky enough to join. Each year, I learn so much from my teammates and our African colleagues, not only about the content (sometimes I learn brilliant and fun ways to teach material with which I am unfamiliar, and other times I gain deeper insight into topics I will bring back to my own classroom), but also about the teaching profession in general, and myself in particular.
This year, we spent two weeks working in East London in the Eastern Cape and one in Bloemfontein in the Free State. So many teachers we worked with started the week discouraged. Skutta, a Senior Phase teacher in East London, came up to me and Kristine at the beginning of week 2. She had heard from her FET colleagues that the TABSA workshops in week 1 had been great and she was excited about what the week held for Senior Phase. However, she wanted us to know what their conditions were. She told me that she knew that individual attention was the most effective way of helping her learners, but she was frustrated because she was unable to give most students that type of attention. She had multiple classes with 70-80 learners. In one class, she had 98 students crammed into one room. How could she possibly reach all of them?
It’s no wonder the teachers are discouraged. Many of their students do not seem to care about the material and some of that attitude comes from their parents, people who grew up during apartheid and therefore had limited access to education. These parents are unable to help their students with their homework and the culture in the rural areas does not value education. Fighting against all of that is exhausting, particularly when they have minimal support from their administration and the ministry which keeps increasing class sizes and throwing them into teaching new topics. And yet, these teachers spend their winter holiday with us. Some even split their days between teaching in Winter School and coming to us. A fourth grade teacher joined the Senior Phase group even though he did not teach any of that material because his colleague said he might benefit. These teachers truly care about their students. They often left the workshops reinvigorated and empowered.
Teaching is a profession that tends to attract people who care about young people. Because we care, we give our time, energy, and so much of our emotional bandwidth. It can be overwhelming to do so and can leave very little to give to others, which is why so many teachers burn out. I was feeling on the verge of doing so last year. The 2016-2017 school year was a rough one for me. I bit off almost too much to chew in the winter. With all of my responsibilities on campus, I was stretched too thin and my body began to tell me it was too much. By the end of the year, I found myself wondering how sustainable my job was for me and how long I would be able to keep doing it. In short, I was discouraged. TABSA allowed me to spend the summer reflecting on how my situation is idealized in so many ways. This is not to say that I did not have my share of challenges, but rather that those challenges were put into perspective. I came away with a greater appreciation of the environment I have for teaching and interacting with teenagers. I still need to work on finding better balance this year, but my South African colleagues reminded me why I love teaching. Their passion inspires me. I think this will be a good year!
Figure 1: A courtyard at the school where we held workshops in the Free State