Transformative Encounters Essay

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PYC3705 – ASSIGNMENT 1 STUDENT NUMBER 47183381 ID NUMBER 8202165242086 JEAN-PAUL KOTZE My name is JP Kotze. I am a mathematics teacher at a girls’ high school in Newlands, Cape Town. The school was established in 1960 and has a short but proud history. The motto of the school is disce prodesse which means “learn to be of service”. The children are encouraged to take part in a wide variety of academic, pastoral and cultural activities, as well as being encouraged to volunteer wherever possible. Over the past few years that I have taught here, I have interacted with thousands of children from all walks of life, and have encounters many different problems/crises on a daily basis. (It is difficult to quantify or provide evidence for all these interactions, although my own experience will be utilsed in this assignment. I am in the fortunate position of being able to see many different people (both teachers and pupils) each of whom is different from the next, interacting with one another in many different contexts. Every person is a function of their own history, culture and environment, and by interacting with others, these differences “gel” together and allow one to re-evaluate themselves. Teachers are in a fortunate position to see children come face-to-face with new experiences on a daily basis, whether it is in the classroom, on the sports field, as part of a musical group or society. During our “learn to be of service” day, for instance, the children go on outings to old age homes, animal shelters and to the beach to do clean-ups, and the unique interactions which take place allow the children to reflect on their own selves, act and therefore bring about social change, even if it is in a very small way. It can be said that the children co-create their realities through interaction and reflection. From what I observe within this context, there are primarily two
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