Observations

I did my teaching experience observations at boskop primary school which is a government

suburban school that was established in 1920.I did my teaching experience observations in the
natural science classrooms for grade 7,6 and 5. The children speak different languages at home such
as english, xhosa, zulu etc., but from what I have observed, learning and teaching takes place in
English. The school accommodates students from all genders and there are more or less 40 students
per class. These students come from families which earn a low or average income so they come from
different socio-economic backgrounds.

The school has various resources which assist in teaching and learning. The school has electricity and
clean running water. The grade 7s have their natural science class in a laboratory which contains the
necessary equipment to perform experiments. The school also has a media and computer center to
accommodate learning and research. From my observations, all the learners have books and
textbooks which they leave at school unless they need to take them home to do homework or
projetcs. There was enough desks, chairs and space for all the students in the classroom. The school
encourages learners to do athletics and play sport, and has sports facilities such as a swimming pool,
two fileds, and netball courts.

Boskop primary school is very disciplined. Discipline is established before the students even enter
the class as they have to line up before they enter. The students walk in straight lines on corridors
and get to their classes on time. The teachers are very strict on respect, especially during class, and
punish students appropriately if they are disrespectful or misbehave. The students leave their bags
on the corridors in the mornings, and hardly any theft occurs because the prefects do their duties
on the corridors and get reprimanded if they don’t do their duties. The deputy principle also gave
me advice and tips on how to act around, and discipline, the students.

The school has some aspects which grabs my attention. One of these aspects is that the school is
very clean because the students and teachers pick up any litter that they see. Another aspect is that
the students keep their bags in classrooms during break which decreases the chance of theft and
loosing stationary. The teachers are very up to date with marking and know which work the students
have already done, and which work the students still have to do. The teachers have professional
relationships with their students and know them very well.

There are differences between Boskop primary school and the primary school I went to, which was
Heidelberg public school. The natural science teacher that I observed from boskop primary school
spoke louder and much clearer than the natural science teacher from Hiedelberg public school. The
teacher I observed managed the classroom much better than my previous teacher. The natural
science content taught at boskop is also much more advanced than the content I was taught at my
previous primary school.

I had a great time observing at Boskop primary school and I look forward to do my 3 week teaching
experience there.