MY REFLECTION ON THE BLOGGING EXPERIENCE.

To have your own blog isn’t so scary; it’s kind of nice to know that somebody out there is reading your thoughts and suggestions. When we’d received this assignment I didn’t had a clue about how to be a blogger. I knew that people usually blog, because during my first year of studies we had to go look up a fourth years student’s blog for notes on one of our subjects, Education. Around that time, who would’ve known that one of these days we all, as first year students would have our own blogs.

For me blogging and this assignment were kind of nice. Some people are scared of sharing stuff on the internet, like me of course, but when I had got the hang of it, it was nice and I’d feel much at ease. Blogging can take up some time especially when you’re planning for this perfect blog but if you know what you wants to write about, you won’t even realise how much time you had spent writing it cause while you were busy typing your blog you think carefully about what you’re typing but you also enjoy it. That’s my experience when I’m busy with my blog. It’s just a pity that we’d get so little time to blog. To top it all off, our lecturer didn’t even show us how to get starting on blogging, just explained in clear, simple instructions on what to do.

So yes, I’m proud to say this is my blog which I’d figured out all by myself thanks to our lecturers who’d guided us. It was great doing this blog and if I would’ve been given a chance to do it all over, I wouldn’t change a thing. While I was sitting in my room, thinking about what to write and how to communicate it on my blog, according to what the assignment requires of me, I realise that by writing these blogs I express how I really feel and what I’d went through during this year. So by doing this blog, some memorable moments had arises. Moments which I’ll never forget and wish I could experience it all over again. All thanks to my blog I can share it with everyone. Yes, I would say blogging is nice but you must know where to draw the line and not get too personal otherwise I don’t think you’ll enjoy it.

Hereby I want to end this post by saying huge thumbs up for my two English lecturers for letting us do this assignment. I think it would have been nicer if we had started with it earlier in the year, like maybe after teaching practice during the third quarter seeing that part of the assignment is where we must decide if the teaching practice had play a role in our views of a good teacher. This assignment is done and dusted but hey, don’t think I’ll stop blogging. I want to thank all the role-players, which I’d mentioned in my previous blog posts, for letting me experience such good memories. Without you I wouldn’t have had such a good blog. So THANK YOU!!!

Social media in the classroom

Hello everybody, today I’m going to give my opinion about if it is necessary to integrate social media in the classroom or not and how I can use some of the forums to be a better teacher. Earlier in the year we did an assignment about the different technologies in the classroom during specific times. The class were divided into groups and each group were given a period to do research on and come and present it in the class. Me and my group were lucky, seeing that we had to do the period in which the internet, interactive whiteboard and YouTube were. So now you can see why I say we were lucky.

Seeing that technology grow so fast nowadays and that almost everybody, even schoolchildren, got access to the internet but specifically social media I don’t think it’s necessary to implement social media in the classroom but it would be a great benefit if it would get integrated. There can be advantages as well as disadvantages when it comes to social media in the classroom. Social media can encourage learners to attend classes because learners are nowadays crazy about social media or sometimes they don’t like how a teacher is giving class but then social media comes to the rescue. A lot of subject knowledge can be covered through social media. It also helps students but also teachers seeing that they can communicate across the world with other teachers and students and asks or gets help from them.

Some of the disadvantages are that students can get like addicted to social media, so if they know that they won’t be using social media, they will just stay absent for that day. In other words they get too much dependant on social media when it comes to their schoolwork. Another disadvantage of social media can be that the knowledge on the social media can sometimes be inaccurate. One last disadvantage that I want to share is that both the teacher and students get so dependent on social media that the teacher, him-/herself, don’t deliver such great classes when they actually teach again. They get sloppy in their work.

So now the question is: how can I, as a prospective teacher, use these forums to be a better teacher. First of all, I would use these forums in my classes but I won’t be using it so regularly. Maybe once a week or every second week and also only if they prove to me that they’re actually learning. And then I won’t be using it on the same day each time. The reason why is because I don’t want to follow a pattern so that learners can pick up on which days I’m gonna be using it. So my strategy would work like this: I start a topic using social media and see what they got to say about it. Then during the next few days I’ll be giving my lessons and at the end of the topic I do a short assessment to see if the learners understand it and had actually learned something. At the end of the topic, just to make it exciting for the learners we can communicate through social media with other teachers and learners to hear what they have to say about the topic and how they’d experience it. I think this strategy will motivate the learners to learn cause if they prove to me that they didn’t learned there won’t be any social media in the classroom anymore.

So teachers as well as prospective teachers, be carefull of how you want to implement social media in your classroom. It can be fun for the learners but they can also get addicted to it as you had just read. So my advice will be to don’t let social media get the upper hand but use it wisely.

TEACHING PRACTICE, DID IT INFLUENCE MY IDEA OF HOW I SEE MYSELF AS A TEACHER OR NOT?

During the first four weeks of the third school quarter I was experiencing being a teacher in front of a whole class, or actually a school. Yes my first teaching practice and I must admit at first I was feeling scared but after my first day at school, I had a good feeling. Good in a sense, knowing that me and my other two fellow students received a warm welcomed. The teachers and rest of the staff were and still am very friendly there. They’d give us the necessary guidance how to be effective in front of class.

With that and all the knowledge that we’d received at campus up till our teaching practice, I think, or let’s say I know I had a great experience during my teaching practice. There can be some improvement in next year and the following year’s teaching practice but for someone who went out on his first teaching practice it was GREAT.

Now the question remains: “did teaching practice change my idea of how I see myself as a teacher?” If someone had such a great experience, do you still think that it would have had changed me and how I see myself as a “GOOD TEACHER”? Of course not. In fact now I know that I didn’t make a mistake by wanting to become a teacher. I was able to teach the learners, they as well as the teacher had showed respected towards me and we, me and the learners had a good understanding and communicated well with each other (even those who were punished by teachers because of me). So I think if I would’ve been appointed that I would make a perfect teacher-parent who would take good care of the learners. I AM DEFINITELY ON THE RIGHT PATH.

 So all thanks to the Almighty God, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, the staff of the school where I did my teaching practice, my family for their support as well as my fellow students for their support and last but not least myself of course who had to have the courage and strength to do all this.

THOUGHTS OF ME BEING A TEACHER

At first I was scared to become a teacher because I thought I had to stand in front of a whole class and then I still got to teach them. What if they don’t listen to me? That’s the question that was freaking me out mostly. Then my sister, who’s about seven years younger than me, complete her education degree, also here where I’m studying right now, in 2012 and got a full-time job in 2013.

So after her first few months as a teacher I thought if she could do it, I can also become a good teacher. In the beginning of my teacher’s career I might find it a bit difficult especially if there’s a colleague who’s going to be giving me a hard time. But I doubt that will happen. I see myself as a good teacher that everyone will love and have respect for. My colleagues and the children shouldn’t be afraid of coming to me for advice or just to chat.

Then in my class I don’t think I’m going to struggle teaching my children the knowledge, especially in the subject accounting. If I must teach them other subjects as well, as it is in the case of many teachers, I’ll put in extra effort to know everything about the subject and what I must teach them. I’ll be an example for the children so that they can look up to me and follow me.

I probably won’t be THE PERFECT teacher but my aim will be to strive and become a perfect teacher.

A GOOD TEACHER according to me

As I’d mentioned before my first career choice were to become a chartered accountant. It didn’t work out for me, so I was thinking long and hard about what I can become in life and also enjoy it. My thoughts were: “I love doing accounting and in what other profession will I be able to do accounting”. And it came to me, a teacher. I wouldn’t just do accounting but I’ll be able to learn others also about my knowledge of especially accounting. So yes, it’s all about accounting and be able to teach others about this wonderfull subject. That’s actually why I want to become a teacher.

According to me, a good teacher is able to work with children no matter what the circumstances are. The teacher must teach the children as well as listen to them. A teacher is actually more than just a usual teacher seeing that the children are in their care while they’re at school. So a teacher is like the child’s parent while the child is at school. Therefor the teacher shouldn’t just teach the children but look after them as well. Some children can be very difficult, but no matter how difficult they are they must be cared for. Even if they get sick, the teacher must be there to assist them. Remember the parents put the children in the teacher’s hand, so they are the teacher’s responsibility.

A good teacher should also be able to work with his colleagues. I’ve heard and see on some movies how teachers can make it impossible for a teacher to work with but a good teacher pull through. He/she should also be an example for parents as well as children, in and outside school. They, parents and children, shouldn’t hesitate to show the teacher the respect that he/she deserves.

So yes, I know that one day when I’m a qualified teacher, I’ll be a good teacher. And I know that my fellow students with whom I’m studying will also be good students.

A little more about myself

Good afternoon everyone. As some of you may know, my name is Jacques van Niekerk living in Wellington at the moment for the duration of my studies. In my hometown I’m still living with my wonderfull parents and sisters and they were and still are very encouraging when it comes to my studies. I’m studying for my degree at Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

To be honest having this blog is a first for me. If it weren’t for this English assignment I wouldn’t have had it. But yes, now I’m a blogger. Some of you probably wonder why ACCOUNTING 4 EVER? Well I love accounting since secondary school, when I was first putting in contact with the subject. My first career choice was to become a chartered accountant, but got a chance to learn more about accounting and one day going to be able to teach children accounting in schools. I thought why choose a topic I know nothing about when I got this brilliant topic.

So people, sit back and relax while reading my blogs. Hope I’ll also inspire you in my blogs to take life, especially when it comes to education, serious and make it worth your while to do something worthwhile with your life because yes, life is precious. Untill next time then.