This
was the last week of "Teaching Experience" for my students and I
continued to enjoy observing, coaching, and reflecting. Overall, I was really
impressed by my students' innate teaching abilities - they had the confidence
needed to stand in front of a classroom and were receptive to feedback. Upon
reflecting about my own teaching practices, I have to credit Teach for America
for preparing me for this scholarship and giving me a strong methodological and
pedagogical foundation. At the time, I was frustrated/overwhelmed by the
demands that Teach for America placed on its corps members, but it really has
value, which I'm able to see now.
A new development this week: I received a notice from the company I bought my
car from regarding a ticket I received on the 5th of February (the car was
still in their name and yes, it is mid-May). Interestingly, the notice that the
company received from Johannesburg Metropolitan Police was the second notice
sent, which increased the original fine. This meant that the company should
have received a notice about the ticket in March. In any event, I did some
research on how to appeal the fine because: 1) I thought that this was a bit
ridiculous - if I would've received the traffic violations when they occurred, I would've been aware of my wrongdoing (and not
subsequently done the same thing four more times), 2) I can try to plead
ignorant American/"poor" scholar, 3) They have no proof of delivery
of the fines. I found, on the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic
Offences (AARTO) website, a statement that outlines how the Johannesburg
Metropolitan Police are illegally issuing tickets. By law, they have to issue
them by certified/registered mail, which they do not. It is just mind-boggling
to me that a federal agency would say: "Do not pay the fines that you
receive from a local authority." Can you imagine? (go ahead, try). With
more conviction, I sent off my appeal.
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| Disclaimer from AARTO about Johannesburg Metropolitan Police |
Disclaimer:
I consider myself a good, safe driver. I received five tickets, three of which
were from the same camera/policeman. Moreover, the five tickets occured in my
first month of driving… I haven't had any since (in case anyone wanted to jump
to conclusions).
On
Saturday I went to Pretoria to visit Rob and Ben (Fulbrighters) for the night.
It was really nice to spend time in Pretoria and get a "feel" for the
city. I had been to Pretoria a couple times, but never really saw much of the
city. Previously, I went to the Voortrekker Monument and the Union Building and
then spent a few days in Pretoria at the beginning of my grant at an
orientation (sitting inside a hotel "conferencing").
In
any event, they live in Hatfield, which is a young, hip area near the University
of Pretoria. We spent time in the afternoon at a local mall and then went
downtown to walk around. Downtown Pretoria has a lot of architectural beauty
and is much cleaner/calmer than downtown Johannesburg. For dinner, we went out
for Indian (one of my favorites) before heading to Hatfield Square to grab some
drinks. It was nice to get out of Johannesburg and check out Pretoria - it is
always reenergizing, I feel (i.e. a change of scenery).
I'm
looking forward to the upcoming week: the end of teaching experience and the
Nedbank Cup Final (South African soccer league)/Johannesburg Craft Beer
Festival on Saturday.
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| King Edward VII High School (Fun Fact: Golfer Gary Player's alma mater) |
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| King Edward VII High School (what school doesn't have a garden and a coy pond?!) |
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| King Edward VII High School |
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| King Edward VII High School (Harry Potter-esk) |
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| St. Martin's School |
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| Classroom at St. Martin's School |
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| Task Academy |
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