TLOF701 Assignment 1 Part B George Earle 22215018

Parent Dialogue

T- Good day, I thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to me regarding Life
Orientation and how we intend to implement it at Sky High School for all our FET learners. Please
would you be so kind to tell me what your understanding of Life Orientation is?

P- Yes, thank you so kindly for having me and taking the time to help me understand Life Orientation
better, my current knowledge of the subject is that it covers different aspects of life such as
relationships, health, and personal development.

T- Yes, that is correct you are on the right track, and you have the basic understanding of Life
Orientation but let me take the change to fully in light you, Life Orientation is a multi-disciplinary
subject that covers various aspects of life. The primary focus of the subject is on the development of
the self in society, healthy living to become a habit and effective self-actualisation and development
of maturity. The subject puts a big emphasises on helping the leaner navigate the challenges and
opportunities they may face in life after school.

P- Thank you that makes everything a lot clearer, but excuse my ignorance but how will Life
Orientation benefit my child in the long run and what is the purpose of this subject then?

T- Its fine we get these kinds of questions a lot, basically the purpose of Life Orientation is to equip
learners with the necessary skills and knowledge to lead a healthy and productive life, by making the
right life choices and being fully educated on the challenges that face your child after school. The
subject also puts and emphasis on the social issues and encourages learners to think critically about
them. By doing so it will help learners make informed decisions about their lives and to contribute to
society in a positive manner.

P- That’s sounds great, what specific topics are covered in Life Orientation for FET learners?

T- We use the CAPS document that outlines all the different topics covered in Life Orientation, the
curriculum is divided into three main areas. Development of Self in Society, Healthy Living, and
Careers and Career Choices. In the Development of Self in Society module, we aim to help learners
understand their place in society and how to develop positive relationships with others. In Healthy
Living, we focus on developing healthy habits and promoting physical and mental wellbeing. In
Careers and Career choices, we help learners explore potential career paths and develop skills for
future employment.

P- Ok that puts me more at ease thank you, its great that you take the time to cover these important
topics with the learners. How do you as teachers ensure that these topics are covered effectively in
the curriculum?

T- That’s a good question, with big classes I won’t say it’s always easy to cover these topics as a lot of
topics are quite sensitive to some learners. We try to use a variety of teaching methods, including
group discussions, individual reflection, and practical activities. We also provide learners with
resources such as textbooks, and online materials.

P- Yes, I must applaud you that sound like quite a difficult challenge, on that topic how do you ensure
that the content covered in Life Orientation is age appropriate and sensitive to certain cultures and
religions.
T- Yes that is a very important point and I’m glad you brought it up as it is something that needs to
addressed every year at our Life Orientation teacher conferences. Our Life Orientation teacher are
well trained to deliver content that is appropriate for the age group they are teaching. They also take
into account cultural and religious beliefs and ensure that learners are not made to feel
uncomfortable or excluded in anyway. The aim will always be to create a safe and inclusive learning
environment where all learners can participate and feel valued.

P- How will you assess the learners as the subject probably allows for a lot of practical and
theoretical work?

T- The assessment process in Life Orientation is focused a lot on developing learners’ skills and
understanding of certain concepts that are covered in the curriculum. We use a combination of
formative and summative assessments to evaluate a learners progress. Formative assessments are
designed to provide ongoing feedback on learners understanding of the topics covered, and to
identify areas where learners may need additional support. These assessments include activities such
as self-reflection exercises, class discussions, and group presentations. The Summative assessment
process are designed to evaluate a learner understanding of the concepts covered over a longer
period. These assessments are not just on knowledge and understanding, but also on a learner’s
ability to apply their knowledge to real-life situations, and to think critically about issues covered in
the curriculum.

P- I do thank you for all your insightful information, but my child comes home daily and complains
and says Life Orientation is a waste of time. I can only understand that you must have your handful if
that is the attitude of the learners? How do you plan to manage this problem among the learners?

T- Firstly, it might be useful to try to understand why your child and other learners feel that Life
Orientation is a waste of time. Is it because they do not find the content engaging or relevant to their
lives? Is it because they do not see how the skills and knowledge, they are learning will be useful in
the future? Once we have identified why students are not motivated to participate in Life
Orientation, then we can address the problem at hand?

Secondly, it may be helpful to emphasize the importance of Life Orientation to your child. You could
explain to them how the skills and knowledge they are learning in this subject, such as emotional
intelligence, critical thinking, and decision-making, are crucial for success in all areas of life, including
their academic and professional careers. You could talk to them out of your own experience and how
you could have benefitted from this subject when you were at school and their age.

Lastly, you could encourage your child to take an active role in their own learning. They could find a
topic they are really interested in and do some extra research and readings on that topic it can
definitely help them in their future endeavours. What is most important is the fact that we as
teachers and parents must manage learners attitudes towards Life Orientation as it requires a
collaborative effort between parents, teachers, and learners themselves. By working together and
emphasizing the importance of this subject, we can help learners develop the skills and knowledge
they need to succeed in all areas of life.

P- Yes you are 100% correct I will definitely change my attitude towards Life Orientation and try and
support my child in understanding the importance of the subject. It can be such a great asset to
them, if they learn the importance of all these topics and how they can play such an important part
in their physical, mental and social development.
T- I really do appreciate your support, as we as Life Orientation teacher lose a lot of motivation to
continue teaching the module as many students see it as a complete waste of time. Hopefully with
the support of understanding parents like yourself we will be able to turn the tide on teaching Life
Orientation, and convince the learners that the subject is there to help them with the challenging
path that is ahead of them.

P- Yes, you have done a great job in convincing a stubborn parent of the importance of Life
Orientation. I won’t lie I believe I also need a little bit of content refreshing, as many of these topics
are still very relevant to an adults life. I will have to take his Life Orientation book and do some
reading myself, hhahahahaha.

T- That is a great idea you are never too old to learn many of the topics that we cover have some new
up to date research and can be of great assistance to anyone young or old how to manage the many
challenges life can throw at us.

P- You have a great way of putting it the learners are lucky to have such a teacher wo is so passionate
about what he does, your enthusiasm can be contagious and before we know it the learners won’t
be able to wait for the Life Orientation lesson to start.

T- That is the plan for sure I can only hope that start coming to class with much more enthusiasm to
learn. But luckily I’m not a quitter and will try my best to deliver lessons that the learners can enjoy
and learn from, thank you for your time and I wish you all the very best. Goodbye!!

P- No thank you it was wonderful speaking to all the best. Goodbye!!