Creating an ethos that benefits our students

Hypothesis: Life Orientation is the heart of the school. It creates a mindset of values, attitudes and skills that enable students to apply knowledge in such a way that it benefits them in their personal, social and academic lives.

Asking our studentsIn Life Orientation I learned:

1. self-confidence, to appreciate myself, to understand myself, to trust myself, to look after myself, to love myself, how different I am and that’s OK, how to be responsible for myself;

2. to set goals and how to achieve them, to chase my dreams, to realise my potential, that I have talents and abilities that are appreciated, that I will make it, time-management, the meaning of success, to evaluate things before I jump into it;

3. Ubuntu, to Love and respect Others, about the inter-connectness of all living things, my role in society, that I can change the world for the better, awareness of the world around me, social responsibility, to take on community projects;

4. values, how thoughts influence actions, respect for myself and others, individuality, EQ, the importance of emotions, social intelligence, it aint only brains, to make friends, not to chose toxic friends;

5. leadership, responsibility, to organise events, to work in a team, to make things possible;6. the meaning of a healthy life style, a balanced life style, good eating habits;7. to love and care for the environment, to care for our planet, to recycle, to be proudly South

African.

Asking our students (continued)

LO teachers are:

1. very understanding, teachers you can trust, teachers that help you with problems, teachers that you can go to with problems, counsellors, non-judgmental, nice, easy to talk to, always there for you, kind, accepting, approachable, prepared to listen, willing to listen, caring, helping people, teachers who help you to be happy in the school, happy, positive

2. different, creative, are the ones who must be more creative and encouraging than other teachers, are fun, inspiring, teachers who have more life experience, normally more chilled and wise;

3. up to date with what’s on, are always pushing us as students, prepared to speak openly about difficult topics;

4. people who can be trusted, reliable, teachers who can treat personal information with confidentiality;

5. people who create Legendary Opportunities;6. busy! (+-7%)

Asking our students (continued)LO gave me:

1. a wider view of the world, a different perspective on Life, insight in life, a more positive attitude to life, the ability to enjoy life as it should be enjoyed, something that showed me that life and school is the same thing, balance, insight by teaching me that LO and other subjects are part of one thing;

2. new horizons, the skills to be not only book-smart but street-smart too;3. the strength to move on, the power to make my own chOices, hOpe that

everything is not that bad, the will to strive for something great, the knowledge to be a better me, the guts to strive for greatness;

4. the skills to deal with my parents, the skills to make friends;5. structure, a new way of thinking, thinking skills;6. the courage to try new things and new sports;7. an introduction to the future, confidence for next (tertiary education) year,

the know-how to get a bursary and a job; a better CV, a CV that I am proud of.

Asking our students (continued)

I expect LO to:1. be relaxed, calming, chilled, fun but challenging, life-changing;2. teach me how to deal with situations, what the real world is like;3. show me choices, to introduce me to things I have not even considered before;4. allow me to explore, to allow me to express myself, to develop my leadership

potential;5. give me guidelines, give me hope, make me more independent;6. help me through difficult situations, to help me form an identity, to help me make

the right choices, to help me decide who I want to be, to help me figure out what I want, to help make with anger-management/ conflict management, to help me deal with bullies, to help me with organisation;

7. help me prepare for varsity, to introduce me to the world after school, to help me branding myself;

8. make me think.

Asking our students (continued)

Suggestions:

1. More activities: archery, self-defense, fencing, cooking, pottery, yoga, meditation, clay-pigeon shooting, making stuff, more variety, let us see more reality.

2. More outings: exhibitions, speakers, Habitat for Humanity, helping others, more work experience.

3. Talk to my parents about LO and tell them that an A in LO is cool, make a LO distinction count, tell other teachers that LO counts too/ that LO uses brain cells too.

Challenges

1. Creating a caring climate- Assisting students to develop resilience, confidence and self-respect- Counselling skills (training)- Counselling and referral notes

2. Doing research to be relevant- Characteristics and needs of the new generation- Update worksheets with recent articles

3. Introducing students to tertiary education- Skills (time, organisation, self-discipline, etc.)- Motivational skills - Note-taking skills- Study groups- Accessing and interpreting information- Research skills - Plagiarism , quotations and reference lists - Introducing new learning areas- Creating meaning and being meaningful in the 21st century

Challenges (continued)

4. Managing talents- Introducing possibilities for every individual- Recognising possibilities in every individual.

5. Acting as integrating agents- Teaching the “inter-connectness “ of life and school, LO and other subjects, self and others- co-operating with other subjects- planning- group work

6. Offering a variety of opportunities for self-development and exploration- via academic clubs- via sport- via cultural activities- via leadership courses- via community service

Challenges (continued)

7. Creating a forum here to share best practices and formulate the road forward- Using the networking possibilities illustrated today by Eugene

- Reflecting on our roles as LO teachers - Training and developing our own potential to best serve our students

- Developing and sharing lessons and worksheets that best serve our students

- Developing a common standard of evaluation- Marketing LO to staff and parents to add value to our schools

May this conference lead to a recognition and an appreciation of the exceptional and unique value of Life Orientation as a subject.