Tomorrow is the end of the April school holidays and term two will commence on Tuesday.
It will obviously be a very busy term - as usual - for all of us in the teaching profession. Long hours, challenging work conditions, terrible amounts of paperwork and administration, and especially huge pressure on everybody, from school up to the provincial head office, involved in getting better results in grade 12; at least for those grade 12 learners who are going to sit for the final examinations in October/November.
Lately, I have often wondered for how long it will be necessary to pursue all the extreme measures to achieve better grade 12 results. Those who are going to sit for the final examinations in grade 12 have - apart from normal teaching hours - matric camps, extended hour programmes, extra classes, extra resources, TV/IBP lessons, community radio broadcasts, and other initiatives. All in the name of getting better results at the end of secondary school. What is wrong with our South African system and its people that sufficient success cannot be achieved with "normal" input, normal working hours, etc.?
The question could be asked: "Is there a healthy balance between work and the personal lives of teaching professionals?" What is the personal cost for an unhealthy balance between work and personal life? It is certainly something to think about. Recently an interesting article from the World Economic Forum appeared about the good balance between work and life in Denmark. The balance is actually the best in the world. I wonder how we compare with Denmark? The original article is available here, and a copy in the cloud is also available here with highlights of interesting parts.
Best wishes to all for term two!
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