POLOKWANE – Teaching is not an occupation but a calling, say the two gr. R teachers at Good Hope Primary School who were recently appointed.
Pitsi Maitja has been a teacher for three years and started working at Good Hope in August.
“I love working with children, especially the young ones. To be a gr. R teacher you need to be patient and I am richly blessed with a lot of patience. Even though I am the teacher, I learn a lot from these little children too. They have a lot of knowledge and if you listen attentively to the stories they tell, you will learn so much,” Maitja, the mother of a seven-year-old daughter and two-year-old son, says.
She says that, even though she loves her work, there is one challenge she faces daily.
“The learners are young and they need a lot of attention. This can be a challenge, because it is impossible to give all your attention to every learner at the same time. I make sure the learners know that I care for them and when they do not understand the work, I help them individually.
“These children are our future leaders and I want to be part of turning them into the adults they will be one day,” she says.
Asked how she manages the learners when they get out of hand, Maitja says she makes them sing.
“This allows me to get their attention and continue with my lesson.”
Kate Williams started at Good Hope in September. She has been a teacher for five years and worked at a high school as well as another primary school before joining the Good Hope team.
“I worked with high school learners and primary school learners, but I must confess I love working with gr. R’s more.
“It is fun to see the excitement on their faces when they learn something new. This is the best gift for me. I think, when working with such young children, you must know their backgrounds in order to understand them. When a learner is naughty and you do not know his or her background, you will shout and the child will not listen.
“If you do know the background, you will understand the child’s behaviour and will know how to address the problem,” Williams, mother of a four-year-old son and one-year-old daughter says.
She adds that it is important for a teacher to keep calm at all times even when a learner is naughty. Williams explains that when a teacher is frustrated and annoyed with a disruptive learner, the child will sense it and continue with his bad behaviour.
“This affects teaching, communication and discipline in the classroom,” she says.
Asked how she makes teaching fun, Williams says she uses colours. “This helps them to remember. I also use pictures, especially when I teach them the alphabet.”
