Teacher Learning in a Community of Practice: A Case Study of ...

dilapidated building)." Said that a dilapidated house may not be a problem for many
of the children in his class, some of whom had lost their homes in recent fires.
Described the dilapidated house - large family - looked like a vacated shop - perhaps
vacated during group areas law enforcements.
John explained that he found it very difficult to teach EMS in isolation. - Said that
he taught it with LLC and HSS. In HSS he could look at the historical background of
people using such houses.
In LO, he would look at problems of c1eanliness- noted the lack of sanitation- with
such poor conditions one could expect/assume that in that particular area, the basic
amenities like libraries, clinics, sports facilities etc will be non-existent. His group
advanced the possible reasons for poverty
1. Cultural- ·poor communities sometimes say 'children are your wealth'" emphasises
that one should not pass judgement on poor communities that have large families.
2. Political - could discuss the oppression of the past and why people were moved
into certain areas. - examine why people were forced to live under such conditions.
3. Lack of education and ignorance - emphasised that while a person may not have
formal education, people can exercise"common sense" to deal with issues of
cleanliness - if common sense does not exist, then educators need to develop
solutions to help their children.
Possible solutions
1. Education - balanced - both academic and social
2. Subsidies for housing
3. Job creation emphasised that the state could not 'give and continue giving' ­
people have to be taught to become self-sufficient - used the analogy of teaching a
person to fish.
4. Health awareness - cleanliness around the house - HIV and AIDS awareness. ­
general health issues.
5. To force change if change is not happening- affected people need to group
together to apply political pressure on local, provincial and even national government.
John completed his group's presentation and received a loud round of applause.
....I was pleased and 'proud' of the manner in which the TEMS teachers had embraced the
activities that were planned for the session. Teachers engaged with each other and with the
tasks with enthusiasm, thoroughness, and attention to detail, seriousness - commitment to
group and learning of others - showing genuine interest and concern.
In the above vignette, we see that the community still exhibited characteristics ofthe
coalescing stage, in terms ofbuilding and strengthening relationships amongst members.
Cindy persisted with her inspirational words about the important 'leadership' and
'follower' roles that teachers played and the value ofcooperative engagement. The value
that the community offered had been clearly established over the previous months and
became evident in the increasing numbers ofnew teachers. In the maturing stage, the
central issue "shifts from establishing value to clarifying the community's focus, role and
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