4.4 Responses from classroom observations
4.4.3 Educator A: Grade 6 - Topic: Puberty
educator then asked learners to work in pairs to discuss the changes they have experienced themselves in their bodies and those they have noticed in their friends for about 10 minutes and then report back to the class. As the learners were reporting their discussions to the class the educator was writing their responses on the chalkboard. After reporting back, the learners were asked to identify common responses which were also jotted down on the chalkboard, and different responses were also written down. The educator then handed out a worksheet with the body changes and the factors that caused the changes and asked to match these with their own responses.
Another activity was for the learners to discuss things that make them feel bad, and why they say so, for example pimples, growing breasts, etc. Following this exercise, they were to write things that would make them feel better or help them cope with the changes and compare ideas. They were then asked to suggest how they would cope with these changes positively, for example, pimples:
wash face regularly, eat fresh fruit and vegetables. As reflection, learners were asked to design a booklet, collecting pictures from magazines that showed visible body changes, for example, overweight teenagers and younger children and also pictures of eating correct food and the types of food they would need to avoid eating to stay healthy.
In contrast to the lesson observed previously, it was interesting to note that the educator displayed a lot of comfort and much insight into the value of teaching this topic. She displayed a lot of knowledge and her attitude towards the topic showed that she embraced the need for learners to acquire such valuable information and that as an educator she was responsible for disseminating this information in a comfortable environment. It appeared that the educator looked beyond her cultural, religious inheritance and more into the needs of her learners. The educator’s attitude in this lesson is attested by the views of Epstein and Johnson (1998) and Alldred, David and Smith (2003) in Mkumbo (2012, p.150), that ‘the socially constructed characteristic of sexuality education as private, sensitive and dangerous requires confidence for the teacher to deal not only with contestable topic but also with sexual identity’.
4.4.4 Education D: Grade 7 - Topic: Factors influencing sexuality
In a class of 40, learners were seated in four groups of 10. These groups had animal names with each group leader and member names pinned on the front class wall. Learners were grouped into class positions obtained at the end of each term and this meant that group members changed from time to time. The educator said that she did this to encourage all learners to work hard and give of their best in all learning areas. There were wall charts of geometric shapes, a world map, different religions, class rules, a birthday chart, a timetable, musical instruments, and a calendar pinned on the notice boards. The textbooks were neatly stacked in the cupboard, learners’ test and assignment books were also neatly stacked on the shelves next to the educator’s table.
The lesson outcomes: ‘At the end of the lesson, learners should be able to:
• discuss their ideas about sexuality;
• discuss factors that influence sexuality; and
• analyse messages about sexuality.
Educator activities included: facilitating group discussions, asking oral questions on sexuality, giving learners activities. Learner activities included: answering questions, partaking in group discussions, completing activities and completing individual tasks. Resources used were a textbook, a worksheet, and magazines. The lesson was introduced by the educator asking questions about the meaning of sexuality, naming the special features that make them boys and girls. The educator showed the learners the picture of a family and asked them to discuss what was ideal about this family and to write their responses down.
They were also asked to discuss how the father and the mother differed in physical appearance and in the way they dress, to imagine what types of work these parents do, their roles at home, how they think they behave in the home and community. The tabled differences were discussed in class. In the next activity, learners were asked to formulate speech bubbles using the picture on the
chalkboard, to formulate a dialogue between the parents on raising their children. Another activity was that learners were asked to discuss the different jobs that are done by men and women and those that are done by both. As an extension of this lesson, groups were asked to collect pictures from magazines of how the media influences males/boys and women/girls as well as advertisements and magazine articles. For an individual activity, learners were asked to write about factors that influence their sexuality under the following headings: parents and family, friends, religion, school teachers and community, and to record their answers in their workbooks. It was noted in this lesson that much of the work was done by learners, the educator hardly made any effort to facilitate any of the activities that learners were engaged in.
The educator’s attitude suggests that he does not possess the necessary knowledge or skills to be able to teach the lesson effectively. This is noted by Flodden’s (1997) assertion that reforms in education expect teachers to teach content that is beyond their level of comprehension, requiring knowledge and experience they do not possess’. Trudell (1992) in Kehily (2002, p.212) suggests ‘ that the balancing act produces defensive teaching forms of pedagogy while teachers formulate fragmented standards and habitual performances to accommodate and manage stressful situations’.
From the lesson observations it appeared that some educators have limited expertise essential for an effective interaction with learners during teaching. In addition their actual delivery of lessons more often than not deviated from what was initially planned and their own attitudes and perspectives regarding sexuality education heavily impacted on their teaching to the detriment of the objectives set to be achieved. In the next subsection, the analysis of documents follows.