In the lead up to International Teachers’ Day on October 5, The Answer Series (TAS) recognised the integral role teachers play in society.
“Teachers are the unsung heroes; we celebrate them and what they have overcome in 2020.
“The positive impact of one rock star teacher can ripple through a community and have a lasting impact on the children they teach,” said George Eadie, CEO of TAS.
Teaching is a profession like no other, and it certainly hasn’t been easy in 2020.
Nadia Anhuizen, head of the English department at Zeekoevlei High School, said as an administrative head of department, she had to stand in for more senior staff members during their absence.
“The focus, to a great extent, has been on motivating educators and trying to keep the team positive during these challenging times.”
The average classroom teacher makes 1 500 educational decisions every school day. In a six-hour school day that’s more than four decisions every minute.
Habiel Adams, commerce head of Christel House South Africa, explained some of the additional challenges created around Covid 19.
“I soon noticed the online classes using Zoom and Microsoft teams could not replace the physical class, particularly for active-learner engagement and for rapid-fire question-and-answer techniques used to assess the understanding of concepts.
“With some learners, there were issues of submitting work and attendance.
“This became problematic as I now had less control than in the actual classroom at school.
“There were also issues with insufficient data and reception, which affected the number of learners who could attend the digital classes.”
This is not surprising, as only 37 per cent of South African households have consistent access to the internet, according to Statistics South Africa.
Going back to school presented a new set of challenges too.
“As the matrics were rephased back into school, one also had to adapt and adjust to how one could interact with learners, as well as maintaining physical distance in class and hygiene regular sanitisation of the hands and the compulsory wearing of masks, and waiting a minimum of four to five days before scripts can be marked,” added Adams.
On a positive note, teaching is one of the careers where you can see progress daily.
When asked about her hopes for 2021, Anhuizen said, “We will take the lessons of 2020 and reinvent our teaching practices and our vision for schools.
“We need to become savvier technologically.
“We hope for a smoother academic year with fewer disruptions.
“Hopefully, we can also return to the playing field soon.”
Adams emphasised how government and other role players need to come to the party too.
“Covid 19 highlighted and further exposed the already existing inequality in our communities and schools, particularly in the context of access to resources, access to digital and electronic resources, and school staffing.
“The government is now in a position to conduct an extensive SWOT analysis on the current context of education in South Africa and find proper ways of addressing all the challenges, weaknesses and threats to improve educational opportunities for all South African children.”
By providing free study guides to teachers and video content to learners, TAS plays an integral role in addressing this inequality, and creating opportunities for learners.
“Our vision is for teachers to have access to high-quality resources, which they might not be aware of until they’ve experienced them. It’s the least we can do for the thankless and critical role teachers play in our national effort,” added Eadie.
“As a teacher, you bring hope to learners.
“You bring encouragement.
“You allow learners to dream.
“And you reap the rewards of seeing young people grow into young adults.
“We’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and sincerely thank all South African teachers. You’ve endured a lot in 2020 and are some of the great heroes to have come out of this pandemic,” said Eadie.
In 1975, Anne Eadie, a young maths teacher, poured all of her knowledge into the very first Answer Series study guide.
Since then, The Answer Series has continued to create up-to-date, comprehensive study guides and now covers all major subjects from Grade Eight to 12.
