Institution :
University Of South Africa
(Unisa)
Course :
Being a Professional Teacher
(BPT1501)
BPT1501 Assignment 2
(COMPLETE ANSWERS)
Semester 1 2026 - DUE 29
March 2026; 100% TRUSTED
Complete, trusted solutions
and explanations.
, Education in Rural Schools My first week of teaching practice in a rural South African public school has
been confronting in ways I didn’t fully anticipate. It offered a close-up view of the tensions and cracks in
a public high school system that is, on paper, relatively well resourced. Yet what I encountered was not a
lack of resources alone, but something far more complex: a culture of disengagement, low expectations
and what seems like a pervasive resignation. It made me reflect not only on my role as a teacher, but on
the deeper systemic and attitudinal shifts that are urgently needed in South African education. One of
the first things that struck me was the general atmosphere of the school. The infrastructure is in a state
of neglect. Classrooms and walls are covered in graffiti, the grounds are unkempt and there’s a palpable
sense that the school has been allowed to deteriorate slowly. It was also shocking to learn that this
school receives substantially more funding than a nearby, far better maintained institution. This
disparity left me questioning where and how that funding is being directed, or lost. Beyond the physical
environment, what truly disturbed me was the apparent erosion of professional responsibility and
pedagogical standards. One experience in particular stands out. I attended a Grade 8 class during the
last period of the day. The teacher arrived, distributed a test, told the learners they had 10 minutes to
complete it and said he’d be back shortly. He did not return until after the final bell had rung. He had
been physically present for about 15 minutes and absent for more than 30. I was stunned. Minimal
instruction The next morning, I returned to the same class to see if they had managed to finish the test.
Once again, the teacher arrived, handed out the same paper and gave minimal instruction. By the end of
that second lesson, many students had completed only two questions. By the close of the week, a test
designed to take a single period had still not been completed. There was no sense of urgency,
accountability or consequence — not from the teacher and not from the students either. It felt like a
hollow performance of schooling, where time passed but learning stood still. Another example came
from a Grade 10 class. The teacher, who is meant to serve as one of my mentors, spent nearly the entire
45-minute period writing out the term’s heritage assignment word for word on the board. He had access
to a photocopier. There were printing facilities. But rather than prepare or use the tools available, he
chose to write the entire assignment by hand while students sat passively, copying. That same teacher
also sent a learner to another classroom to find out what page their work was on, because he didn’t
know. The lack of preparation and intentionality was glaring, and it sent a clear message to the learners:
this work doesn’t matter. What troubles me most is how this seems normalised. There is a kind of quiet
complicity among staff. When I raised concerns about classroom supervision, I was met with shrugs or
comments like: “Just leave. Let them break the class down, it doesn’t matter.” But it does matter.
Legally, teachers are not permitted to leave students unsupervised, especially not minors. But the
problem isn’t just legality, it’s culture. If we treat time as disposable, students as unworthy of our effort
and learning as optional, what are we teaching young people to expect from society or themselves?
How do I reconcile what I have seen so far with the fact that these same teachers did not hesitate to
blame the students for “not wanting to learn”? Equally concerning were the social issues that surfaced
within the first few days. On Thursday, an announcement was made that representatives from the
Western Cape Department of Education would be visiting the school to provide infant development
support sessions for the many pregnant girls enrolled. The way this was communicated was routine,
almost bureaucratic… but the reality it implied was deeply unsettling. The normalisation of teenage
pregnancy at this scale is symptomatic of deeper structural challenges: poverty, inadequate access to
sexual education and healthcare, and a lack of stable adult guidance. These girls are navigating the
University Of South Africa
(Unisa)
Course :
Being a Professional Teacher
(BPT1501)
BPT1501 Assignment 2
(COMPLETE ANSWERS)
Semester 1 2026 - DUE 29
March 2026; 100% TRUSTED
Complete, trusted solutions
and explanations.
, Education in Rural Schools My first week of teaching practice in a rural South African public school has
been confronting in ways I didn’t fully anticipate. It offered a close-up view of the tensions and cracks in
a public high school system that is, on paper, relatively well resourced. Yet what I encountered was not a
lack of resources alone, but something far more complex: a culture of disengagement, low expectations
and what seems like a pervasive resignation. It made me reflect not only on my role as a teacher, but on
the deeper systemic and attitudinal shifts that are urgently needed in South African education. One of
the first things that struck me was the general atmosphere of the school. The infrastructure is in a state
of neglect. Classrooms and walls are covered in graffiti, the grounds are unkempt and there’s a palpable
sense that the school has been allowed to deteriorate slowly. It was also shocking to learn that this
school receives substantially more funding than a nearby, far better maintained institution. This
disparity left me questioning where and how that funding is being directed, or lost. Beyond the physical
environment, what truly disturbed me was the apparent erosion of professional responsibility and
pedagogical standards. One experience in particular stands out. I attended a Grade 8 class during the
last period of the day. The teacher arrived, distributed a test, told the learners they had 10 minutes to
complete it and said he’d be back shortly. He did not return until after the final bell had rung. He had
been physically present for about 15 minutes and absent for more than 30. I was stunned. Minimal
instruction The next morning, I returned to the same class to see if they had managed to finish the test.
Once again, the teacher arrived, handed out the same paper and gave minimal instruction. By the end of
that second lesson, many students had completed only two questions. By the close of the week, a test
designed to take a single period had still not been completed. There was no sense of urgency,
accountability or consequence — not from the teacher and not from the students either. It felt like a
hollow performance of schooling, where time passed but learning stood still. Another example came
from a Grade 10 class. The teacher, who is meant to serve as one of my mentors, spent nearly the entire
45-minute period writing out the term’s heritage assignment word for word on the board. He had access
to a photocopier. There were printing facilities. But rather than prepare or use the tools available, he
chose to write the entire assignment by hand while students sat passively, copying. That same teacher
also sent a learner to another classroom to find out what page their work was on, because he didn’t
know. The lack of preparation and intentionality was glaring, and it sent a clear message to the learners:
this work doesn’t matter. What troubles me most is how this seems normalised. There is a kind of quiet
complicity among staff. When I raised concerns about classroom supervision, I was met with shrugs or
comments like: “Just leave. Let them break the class down, it doesn’t matter.” But it does matter.
Legally, teachers are not permitted to leave students unsupervised, especially not minors. But the
problem isn’t just legality, it’s culture. If we treat time as disposable, students as unworthy of our effort
and learning as optional, what are we teaching young people to expect from society or themselves?
How do I reconcile what I have seen so far with the fact that these same teachers did not hesitate to
blame the students for “not wanting to learn”? Equally concerning were the social issues that surfaced
within the first few days. On Thursday, an announcement was made that representatives from the
Western Cape Department of Education would be visiting the school to provide infant development
support sessions for the many pregnant girls enrolled. The way this was communicated was routine,
almost bureaucratic… but the reality it implied was deeply unsettling. The normalisation of teenage
pregnancy at this scale is symptomatic of deeper structural challenges: poverty, inadequate access to
sexual education and healthcare, and a lack of stable adult guidance. These girls are navigating the
