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WHEN CULTURES CLASH…

The following week passes by uneventfully and Ms Botha falls into a comfortable groove. Her self-confidence is at a high and she is enjoying the comfort of the classroom and the relationship with her mentor.

On Friday, Mr Sampson has tea during second break in the staffroom. He has only one more class to teach and is free afterwards. It has been a busy week and he has not had time to copy and staple his test papers for Monday. He calls Ms Botha over to ask: “Ms Botha, are you up to teaching our last period for the day by yourself? I want to finish our Grade 10 paper for Monday.” Ms Botha is pleased that Mr Sampson trusts her and is eager to assist.

After the staff meeting on Monday, Ms Botha is summoned to the principal’s office. Mr Sampson thinks it strange. Maybe Ms Botha needs to complete some student teacher paperwork? Ten minutes later, an announcement is made asking Mr Sampson to come to the principal’s office. Mr Sampson hurries to the office and, upon arrival, finds Ms Botha and a set of parents in the office. Ms Botha is in tears.

Allegedly, Ms Botha, during a discussion on religion, divided the learners into different religious groups. When the learners asked where should they go if they were Christian but believed in the ancestors, Ms Botha was outspoken about her views on ‘ancestral worship’ and had said that the two religions were not compatible. The learners had to choose, and those who regarded traditional African beliefs as their main religion were asked to rather sit out the activity.

Subsequently, some of the learners had felt aggrieved and alienated and had told their parents, who had taken great exception to a young student teacher criticising their belief system. They had come to the school to lay a complaint of intolerance with the principal.

The principal turns to Mr Sampson: “Mr Sampson, as Ms Botha’s mentor teacher, I would like to hear your explanation.” Mr Sampson was at a loss for words….

• Was Mr Sampson wrong in asking Ms Botha to handle the class alone? What are the reasons for your answer?
• How could Mr Sampson have avoided the situation and still allowed Ms Botha to teach an unsupervised lesson?

Record the answers to the following questions in your journal.

• Student teachers are asked to consider the background of the school so they can understand school culture.  Which components should be included? 

• If your student teacher asked you for background about your school, which three issues of greatest importance would you raise?