Trailblazer
Western Cape teacher Charles James has no issues with his pupils acting out
Holding the interest of all the pupils in their class – despite the children's diverse personalities – is one the challenges faced by teachers.
Pupils' attentiveness during a lesson is largely influenced by how much interest they have in the subject matter being taught. Skilled teachers will find ways to ensure that as many pupils as possible are engaged in the lesson by developing innovative teaching methods.
A Western Cape teacher,
Charles James, has chalked up considerable success in this regard by coming up with a fun way of teaching that engages all of his Grade 7 pupils.
James put on his thinking cap after realising that some pupils in his class were not realising their potential because they were easily distracted and lost concentration.
The 26-year-old has been a teacher at PJB Cona Primary School in Zweletemba, Worcester, since 2018.
Mixing it up
He uses a combination of drama therapy and conventional teaching methods to teach isiXhosa and creative arts to his 47 pupils. James says the use of drama helps improve their attention span.
He adds that if he stuck to conventional lessons only, some pupils would not be able to keep up with the rest of the class because they battle to stay focused.
James' combination of traditional oratory and writing teaching methods with drama therapy targets both those pupils who find comfort in learning through traditional means and those who react better to more colourful teaching methods.
“When I came up with the idea, I noticed that most pupils enjoy creative arts more because they get a chance to play. However, I also noticed that some pupils were less engaged and found the lesson less fun because they prefer to learn through reading books and other traditional methods.
“When it came to isiXhosa, the students who like books were happy but those who are easily distracted grew bored as a result of the theoretical nature of the lesson.”
His approach to teaching now involves finding a balance between the style of teaching he used in his creative arts lessons and the traditional methods he used to
teach isiXhosa.
The key to success is to not focus on one teaching method only, he says. His decision to combine both teaching methods in one lesson has resulted in an improvement in his pupils' results.
“I have seen positive outcomes, even in the assessments that we conduct in class. The students have taken a huge interest in my methods and if a substitute teacher is ever needed, they come and ask me to fill in.”
His new approach is lively. For instance, when he teaches poetry as part of the isiXhosa curriculum, he gets those pupils who are good at singing to hum a song in the background as one of the pupils does a monologue recitation of the poem.
“I felt the pupils would understand the poems better if we learnt them in a theatrical way. What I do is ask some students to stand at the one end of the class. I then have them humming along as another student delivers the poem as if they were performing in a theatre.”
James also incorporates dance into his lessons. For instance, he had them research the various dances that originated in South Africa and then put on a performance in class to demonstrate umxhentso, the traditional dancing of the Xhosa people.
Pupils also act out different scenes from the books they are studying.
“What we usually do after performing, is sit down and discuss what happened. The pupils then express how they feel about a particular scene or act. When they write tests, it helps jog their memories as they recall what their classmates did when they were acting out the scene.”
Raising the curtain on a world of opportunity
James, who has a Bachelor of Education degree from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, was introduced to theatre when he was in Grade 10 and found that it was a great form of escapism.
Today, his pupils have also discovered that theatre allows them to either momentarily forget their problems or to work them out. “Pupils are transformed into different characters when they are performing and that helps them channel their own problems,” he says.
James also participates in the theatre that takes place in his classes. The performances by the pupils and teacher have been made into videos and posted on James' Facebook account. These have received rave reviews from social media users. The methods employed by James have also received the support of his principal.
“I did not tell the principal what I was planning. One day, he was going around checking what we were doing in classes and he walked in on us doing drama. The principal was impressed with what he found and supports what I have been doing.”
In the hopes of expanding the interests of his pupils in theatre, James is planning to take them to watch theatre productions at the Baxter Theatre Centre in Cape Town. He believes such trips will help expose the pupils to possible careers they can pursue in the arts field.
James says young teachers need to be energetic and inventive if they want to keep their pupils engaged and this is a profession of motivators whose job it is to pave the way for future leaders.
“Education as a profession is not for everyone. It's a calling driven by passion and dedication. When you are a teacher, you have to give it your all. You must be everything to the leaders of tomorrow by setting an example. Teach with passion and be dedicated to reaching your aims,” he says.
As the country commemorates Youth Month, James' advice to young people is to seize the opportunities they are presented with.
“Time wasted will never return. Every opportunity one gets in life you have to grab it with both hands and make use of it. Life is too short to gamble with opportunities,” he says.