HOW DO LEARNERS COPE AND HOW DO YOU ADAPT THE CURRICULUM TO THE BENEFIT OF OUR LEARNERS?

In the senior phase, it depends entirely on the level of functionality, ability and capability of the learner. Some learner’s find it easier to master content than others. Each child is unique in his/her acceptance of and coping with the curriculum. It also depends on the subject and the teacher’s attitude and enthusiasm to the execution of his/her content. To use Consumer Studies as an example. The assessment criteria and what is expected of learners is often way above what some learners are sometimes capable of. The teacher then went and looked at basic life skills of what is needed for the child to be more or less self-sufficient where safety and hygiene, general life- and also fine motor skills specifically are concerned. The Consumer Studies curriculum was then adapted so that even the learner with the weakest of the afore-mentioned skills can benefit.

In the Senior Phase, we try to be as integrative as possible. All the subjects are interconnected. We try to hone skills that should be encouraged at home, where parents should be the supervisory safety net our learners so direly need. This applies specifically where our electives are concerned. The curriculum still puts too much emphasis on bookwork whereas we encourage a much more practical approach, which will stand our learners in good stead later in their lives.