Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V

Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354

Student Name: Sonja Boyd

Student Number: 47744561
Course Code: HEC101V
Unique Number: 898354
Assignment 2:
Due date: 31 March 2016

1
Page
Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354

Contents Page:
Front page: …………………………………………pg. 1

Contents page………………………………………pg. 2

Question 1: ………………………………………….pg. 3-17

Write a 3-4 page article for a primary school newsletter with
information for parents explaining the official school policy
regarding HIV/AIDS.

Question 2………………………………………….pg. 8-18

Plan 3 developmentally appropriate learning activities about the
prevention of child abuse for learners in the intermediate phase
indicating what you will include in each activity and making sure
that you use a variety of different learning strategies.

Question 3…………………………………………pg.18-20
Discuss common sources of stress in intermediate phase and explain
how you can assist learners to cope with these various sources of
stress.

Plagiarism declaration……………………………pg. 20

Resources used……………………………………pg. 20
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 Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
HAPPY HILLS PRIMARY SCHOOL
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354

Newsletter Principal: MRS S BOYD

Date 16 March 21016
Volume 1, Issue 1
Principal’s News
WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL:
We welcome all families at the start of the
new school year. A special welcome is
extended to all our new families. We hope
that your time here at Happy Hills will be
a long and happy one.
New Staff
Welcome to our new staff who will be
teaching the grade 4 class on a full time
basis, Mrs Patrick, and to our new
remedial teacher Mrs S Sithole.
Parent’s interview Evening will be
taking place on the 18 March
It is very important for new parents as this
will give your insight into how the school
is run and the school code of conduct. It
also gives you the opportunity to meet
your new teacher and ask her any
questions that you may have.
Vice-Principal MR D Lombard
Medication:
Children may not carry medication to school
with instructions to take certain dosages during
schools hours as this is very dangerous and is
against the Education department’s guidelines.
However, medication for asthma, diabetes,
cystic fibrosis, bee stings and other similar
illnesses, where parents have obtained written
consent from the doctor may kindly hand the
letter to the secretary with the medication where
the learner will come get the medication during
school hours. If possible when your child gets
antibiotics can you please ask the doctor to
preferably give an antibiotic that requires you to
give the medicine twice a day. If your child is
taking Ritalin, if the doctor can prescribe the
long acting release one such as Concerta or
Ritalin LA.

Important information regarding how the school runs in terms of the, code of
conduct and School Fees, and lastly the School policy regarding the
HIV/AIDS Policy
Upcoming Events
Parents meeting taking
We welcome all the new parents and effectively as well as to have a
place 18 March 2016
wish to inform you on the important school policy in place in which
Governing Body
school policies in which the school educators, learners and parents need
Selection taking place
strives to keep up to. This will keep a to abide to.
01 April 2016
high standard learning environment
Start of Extra-mural We have sent out a letter regarding
in which will help towards the
activities school fees and when you would
success of your child or children in
3

like to pay it. You may pay quartly,

this school.
Page

monthly, or if you can apply for an

It is important to follow the school exception of school fees. Please
code of conduct for the school to run hand it in as soon as possible.

The school fees are used to pay

some teachers’ salaries that are not
funded by the government. We also
 Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
PageStudent
School 2Newsletter
of 4Number: 47744561 Unique
Grade
School Level
policynumber: New
News898354
Students Page 3 of 4
School Newsletter

Schools HIV/AIDS Policy

Due to the seriousness of the
HIV/AIDS pandemic and that its
social, economic, health and
development the impact of knowing
about the disease should be managed
in terms of the policy known as, The
National Policy on HIV/AIDS for
learners and educators in public
KEEPING schools and students and educators in
OUR further education and training
CHILDREN institutions. This was put into place
SAFE. .on the 10th of August 1999.
It is important for parents to
understand this policy as this will
help you understand what HIV/AIDS
is and that you can understand what
guidelines and laws take place whilst
your child is in our care. Your child
will have education on this matter but
will not be exposed to the process of
this pandemic in total detail. They
will only be given the first aid lessons
regarding what to do in the event of
child being injured and when there is
exposure to blood.

Importance of implementing this National Policy on

HIV/AIDS
The Director- General of Education and provincial education department Heads are responsible for
implementation of this Policy.
.
Every Education Department must designate an HIV/AIDS Programme manager and a working group
to communicate this policy and implement the HIV/AIDS programme.
The principle or Head of institution is responsible for implementation of this policy at their institution.
Strict adherence to Universal precautions is advised, as institutions could be held liable for
consequences due to precautions not being taken.
Regular Review:
This policy is always under regular review, meaning that it can change anytime.
Application:
. FET institutions, and educators. Copies of this policy must be
This policy applies to public schools,
made available to independent registered schools.
Interpretation:
This policy must be interpreted to ensure respect for rights of learners, educators and institution
communities.
Where this Policy may be obtained:
4 Page

The Director: Communication, Department of Education, Private Bag X895, Pretoria, 0001. Telephone
number: 012-3125271 and http://www.education.gov.za
 Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354

Preamble:

Aids is caused by the HIV virus, which in S.A. is spread mainly between men and women. The virus
gradually causes a weakened immune system which gets worse and most infected people die in about
10 years. There is no cure. This policy seeks to address the issue of prevention and care in the public
education system.

Premises:

1. Some learners have HIV/AIDS with a consequent risk to others.

2. HIV cannot spread by normal day-to-day contact, but mainly through semen, blood and
cervical fluids.
3. Due to sexual activity, HIV is likely to spread in schools and a strategy to contain this is
required.
4. HIV testing is not effective in the window period, and testing purely for employment or school
attendance is prohibited.
5. Compulsory disclosure is not advocated, but disclosures should be handled properly and
supported.
6. Those in the education system with HIV/AIDS should maintain all their rights and not be
discriminated against. However precautions should be taken to minimise spread of HIV, such
as safe sex education and safe handling of injuries.
7. Constitutional rights of all must be protected, with appropriate measures to be taken for
contagious diseases, bleeding, and aggressive behaviours.
8. Pupils with infectious diseases must stay at home.
9. Parents should be educated about vaccines.
10. Education about HIV/AIDS must be incorporated into Life-skills education.
11. This policy provides only broad principles.

It is envisaged that school governing bodies implement an HIV/AIDS education policy.

Non-discrimination and equality for learners and educators with HIV/AIDS:
There should be no unfair discrimination of those with HIV/AIDS, with all being treated fairly,
and all being educated about human rights.
HIV/AIDS Testing and the admission of learners and appointment of educators:
No learner may be denied admission because of their HIV/AIDS status.
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No educator may be denied appointment or promotion due to their HIV/AIDS status.

Routine testing is not justified. Testing, for admission or appointment, for HIV/AIDS is
prohibited.
 Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354

Attendance at schools and institutions by learner with HIV/AIDS:

All learners have a right to education regardless of their HIV/AIDS status, and are expected to
attend classes as long as they can effectively. Those who are unable to benefit may be granted
exemption from school attendance but may receive home or distance education. Some with severe
HIV/AIDS symptoms may be accommodated in special needs schools.
Disclosure of HIV/AIDS-related information and confidentiality:
No learner is compelled to disclose their HIV/AIDS status, but voluntary disclosure should be
welcomed and full support given. Confidentiality should be maintained.
A Safe School and institution environment:
All schools should implement precautions to prevent the spread of HIV and other blood borne
pathogens.
Universal Precautions include:
All blood and open wounds should be carefully cleaned and dressed.
Open wounds should be cleaned and dressed.
Cleansing should be done with running water
Protective gloves should be worn by people treating wounds and cleaning up blood.
Contaminated material should be sealed in a plastic and disposed of by incineration or
medical waste disposal.
Any instruments contaminated with blood or other body fluids should be washed and
disinfected in strong bleach for at least one hour.
Needles and syringes should not be re-used but safely disposed of.
All institutions should do first aid training and keep first aid kits with protective gloves, eye
wear, and face masks.
Other barriers such as unbroken plastic bags can be used if gloves are not available, but
gloves should be made readily available.
First-aid kits should be checked regularly.
All learners and educators should be educated about HIV/AIDS and precautions
A copy of this policy should be kept in media centres of institutions

Prevention of HIV Transmission during play and sport:

The risk is low but increases with open wounds, which require safe management with precautions,
and no learner or educator should be allowed to participate in sports if they have an open wound.
First-aid kits should be available where sports take place.
Sport participants with HIV/AIDS should obtain medical advice first.

Education on HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS education must be implemented at all institutions, and should be included in life-skills
6

programmes, but must be age-appropriate. Risks, management, and precautions must be taught.
Page
 Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354

Duties and responsibilities of learners, students, educators and parents:

Rights should be respected
Code of conduct should include HIV/AIDS risky behaviour being unacceptable.
Parents have ultimate responsibility for their children’s behaviour.

Refusal to study with or teach a learner or student with HIV/AIDS, or to work

with or be taught by an educator with HIV/AIDS:
Refusal to work or study with learners or educators with HIV/AIDS should be pre-empted by
proper education, but if this happens counselling should be given.

School and Institutional Implementation plans:

School governing bodies and councils of institutions may have their own implementation
plans for the HIV/AIDS policy but major role players in the community should be involved.

Health Advisory Committee:

Where possible a Health Advisory Committee should be established at each institution. This
should be set up by the governing body and consist of educators, other staff, and parent and
medical representatives. This committee should advise people on health matters including
HIV/AIDS, develop a plan of implementation on HIV/AIDS, and the code of conduct
provisions for prevention of HIV transmission.

Editor: Mrs S. Boyd

Therefore to conclude our newsletter for the week, we hope you have a lovely week.
Happy Hills Primary School.

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Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354

Question 2: Lesson plans on Child Abuse

Lesson 1: Child Abuse
Subject didactic: Life skills
1. Duration: 60 min
Grade: 7
Topic: Constitutional rights and responsibilities
Dealing with abuse in different contexts: between adults and children and between
peers.
2. Learning Objectives:
 Expose learners to their constitutional rights and responsibilities, to the rights of
others and to issues of diversity
 Understand the Concept: child abuse
 Identify the different forms of abuse: emotional, physical, sexual and child
trafficking
 Emphasise the importance of reporting abuse
 Give the learners more than one option when it comes to seeking help.
 To empower the learners with the knowledge to deal with abuse and ways in which
to report it.

3. Skills:
Learners will be able to do the following:
 They will be able to identify threatening and risky situations and protect
themselves from these situations.
 Describe the effects of abuse on a personal health and social level
 Explain the importance of communication to promote a healthy and non-
violent relationship
 Be able to list places of protection and safety for victims of abuse.
 Being able to develop problem-solving skills in the case of abusive situation.
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 Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354
Knowledge:
 Concept: children’s rights, sexual abuse, cyberbullying, bullying, neglected
emotionally and physically, physical abuse.
 Understand their Children’s rights and responsibilities as stipulated in the South
African Constitution
 Violations of children’s right
 Children’s rights: strategies to deal with violations of children’s rights – where to
find help
Values and Attitudes:
Learners will gain the understanding about abuse and that there are various forms that can
take place, this in turn helps them to take responsibility towards keeping themselves safe.

4. Teaching methods/ Approach(es):

Problem-solving and problem posting: Learners will be given an activity from the
workbook in which they need to solve a problem.
Discussion method: Discuss with the class about child abuse and their rights as a child.
Reading, writing and comprehension
Interacting with the learners about what they know and letting them explain situations they
may have seen or experienced
Brainstorming: gathering information through the learner’s participation to activate
learner’s prior knowledge.

5. Resources:
Textbook; newspaper articles; Bill of Rights; South African
Constitution
Textbook, resources on child safety and protection
6. Three phases of a lesson:

6.1. Introduction moment: ( Actualisation of prior knowledge)

Brainstorm the idea of what learners understand about protecting themselves
from strangers or anybody.
Learner-teacher interaction: whereby I will gather information from learner’s
thoughts of abuse and their rights. Allow learners to try to define the various
9

concepts.
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Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354
This allows me to gain an understanding of how much they understand and it
also gives the learners a brief scope of what is going to be taught for the lesson.

6.2. Teaching Learning moment: ( teachers learners work)

I will hand out the photocopy of a worksheet which will illustrate how the
learners can identify the different forms of abuse: emotional, physical, sexual
and child trafficking and explain the concepts. I discuss the Bill of rights as
well as the South African constitution regarding the children’s rights.
We will discuss this as a class to gain an insight of what the work entails. This
also allows me to gauge as to how much they understand.
Learners will watch a short video clip on you tube about protecting themselves
against abuse.

Activity 1:
Learners will take out their textbooks called SpotOn: Life Orientation pg. 76 and complete
activity 1.1 about Varuna’s story of being physically abused as well as verbally abused and
being neglected.
This activity will take 15 minutes.

Activity 2:
Learners will be taught about another form of abuse which is common amongst them
which is about bullying.
They will then do an activity from SpotOn: Life orientation book, which looks at a
scenario about Bullying at Willanfields High School.
This activity will help them understand the concept of bullying and the different types of
bullying.
(15min)

Activity 3:
Learners will then also complete Activity 1.3 which deals with Risky and threatening
scenarios.
10

Learners may work with their partners. (15min)

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 Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354
6.3. Closing moment: (class discussion)
I’ll wrap up the lesson by going over the important concepts as well as explaining how
important it is to report abuse if someone is experiencing it or has seen someone being
abused.

7. Assessment activity and explanation:

Explain children’s health rights and responsibilities, and suggests ways in which to apply
these in a familiar situation.
Observation: Look and see if there are any signs of children being abused but not make it
obvious.
Demonstration: through slide show explaining their rights and responsibilities, as well as
showing a video clip on prevention.
Teacher assessment and self-assessment: with regards to the activities given during the
lesson.
8. Homework:
Learners must go home and complete the activities that they have not completed during the
lesson and hand the activities in for marking.

9. Enrichment:
Learners may go home and chat with their parents or can go do extra research on the
subject of cyberbullying.
Lesson 2: Child Abuse

Duration: 60 min
Grade: 6
Topic: Personal and social responsibility: Child Abuse

Learning Objectives:
The learners will be able to understand the following:
Child abuse:
Different forms of child abuse: physical and emotional
11

Effects of abuse on personal health

Strategies to deal with abuse
Page

Where to get help and report abuse

Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354
Skills:
Reading skills: reading with understanding and using a dictionary
Reading and writing skills about ways to protect self and others from abuse: recall and
relate.
Problem-solving skills of how they will approach a situation
Describe the effects of abuse on your personal health.
Communication and explain to peers and teacher about what they are doing.
Listening skills, being able to sit and listen to the guest speaker.
Knowledge:
Gain the knowledge and are able to identify and describe the different forms of child abuse:
physical and emotional as well as explain the effects of abuse on their personal health.
They will be able to develop strategies of how to deal with abuse and will have the tools
of knowing who to go to when they need help or need to report abuse.
Values and Attitudes:
They will have a positive attitude of how to approach a situation if they are in that situation
and would have learnt that there is justice against abuse. They will also learn to be
responsible citizens of the future to fight against abuse and to have the knowledge and
understanding that you need to respect everyone as a person and not degrade them.

Teaching methods/ Approach (es):

Discussion method: Guest speaker would discuss with the class through interaction of
question and answer method.
Role play: learners will have to act out what they have learnt.
Reading and writing: Learners would be given a worksheet about child abuse prevention
and learners will have to go home and investigate numbers of people they can contact if
they are in a situation.
Resources:
Guest speaker from ChildLine
Power-point presentation: about child abuse showing various pictures about the various
forms of child abuse.
Chalk board
Chalk
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Paper and pen

Page

Worksheets for learners to complete.

Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354

Three phases of a lesson:

Introduction moment: (Actualisation of prior knowledge)

Activate learner’s prior knowledge of what they understood about abuse, as this will help
learners to develop a whole picture of what the guest speaker would be talking about.
Teaching Learning moment: (teacher’s learners work)
Give a brief description of who the guest speaker is and that the speaker comes from
ChildLine and would be addressing them about child abuse.
Introduce the learners to the guest speaker and allow the speaker to demonstrate the
important concepts of child abuse.

Activity 1:
Learners are divided in groups of two and are given a scenario about a form of abuse; they
will have to write down what they would do if they were in that situation.
They would write down their answers to the questions the guest speaker asked them to do.
Activity 2:
Learners will discuss their answers with the class and they can gain further knowledge
about the topic by interacting with one another.
Each group is given a chance to explain their situation they were given and how they
approached the problem.

Activity 3:
Learners would be given a worksheet where they have to identify what type of child abuse
is happening in that scenario. They would then have to explain the concept.
Self-assessment and peer-assessment.

Closing moment: (class discussion)

Learners would thank the guest speaker for coming and I will also thank them for coming
to help explain the issue of child abuse and their rights.
I will then summarise the lesson by asking the learners what they have learnt about child
abuse and whether it was beneficial by having the person come in who specialises in child
abuse.
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Assessment activity and explanation:

Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354
Identifies different forms of abuse and suggests strategies to deal with them.
A guest speaker came in to address the issue of child abuse and how to prevent it.
Observation of the learner’s participation in the lesson.
Self-assessment as well as peer-assessment with regards to the worksheets given.
Homework:
No homework

Lesson 3: Child Abuse

Duration: 60 min
Grade: 5
Topic: Social responsibility: Child Abuse

Learning Objectives:
Different forms of child abuse: physical and emotional
The learners will be able to understand the following
 What are the effects of abuse on personal health?
 Know the Strategies to deal with abuse
 Know where to go too to get help and report abuse

Skills:

Reading skills: reading with understanding and using a dictionary

Reading about ways to protect self and others from abuse: recall and relate to people in the situation
Determine strategies to protect themselves and solve a crisis
Make informed choices on how to protect oneself
Discussion: have an open communication in the classroom about abuse
Explaining to other people about abuse
Communicate, read, tell and write

Knowledge:
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The learners will be able to understand the concept of child abuse and that it is known as
harm to, or neglect of, a child by another person, whether adult or child. Child abuse
Page

happens in all cultural, ethnic, and income groups. Child abuse can be physical,
Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354
emotional/verbal, sexual or through neglect. Abuse may cause serious injury to the child
and may even result in death. Signs of possible abuse include
 Gain the knowledge of the various types of abuse and the concepts and be able to
describe it.
 Understand their constitutional rights and be able to apply it to a situation if they
observe it or are going through it.


Values and attitudes:

They will understand they are responsible citizens and they have rights and responsibilities.
Gain compassion towards people who have or are going through abuse and understand
how they feel.

Teaching methods/ Approach (es)

Discussion method:
Different forms of child abuse: physical and emotional
Problem posing and problem solving: Effects of abuse on personal health and t
Group work: Strategies to deal with abuse
Co-operative learning: Where to get help and report abuse, teacher communication with
class.
Observation: Interaction with teacher and learner

Resources:
Textbook, newspaper articles, posters around the classroom, PowerPoint
A5 pages for learners to make a poster on prevention of abuse, books on abuse
around the classroom for learners to do research.

Three phases of a lesson:

Introduction moment: (Actualisation of prior knowledge)

Brainstorming:
15

What do the learners understand about abuse and the various types?
Page

Who should they go to for help if they see someone being abused?
Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354
What does the concept child abuse mean?
This will help learners to develop an overall picture of what the subject would be about.
This will also help me to understand how much knowledge they have on the subject.

Teaching Learning moment: (teacher’s learners work)

Teacher-learner interaction: I will describe what the various concepts are:
•Types of Abuse (sexual, physical, verbal, emotional)—what they are, and how often they
occur and what to watch for, especially in children
•Physical and emotional neglect—I think this one isn’t touched on a lot, but still very
important
•Identification responsibility and documentation—when are you responsible to report
abuse, when should you or shouldn’t you? What if it is a family member?
•Reporting Procedures for abuse and neglect—who do you contact and how. Do you have
to have documentation or any specific info? What if you are being abused or neglected?
•Identify local resources available for parent and/or child assistance—it is interesting to
hear about the different possibilities there are for protection
This would be done via a power-point so learners can see in the front and I will
demonstrate pictures of the various types.

Learners:
Activity 1:
Learners will then have 10 min to prepare a role play on a situation of abuse and they
would have to show what they have understood and be able to apply the knowledge that
they have learnt. They will go outside in their groups and brainstorm what they are going
to do.
They would be divided into groups of 5.
Given the instruction:
Person who is being abused
Person who is the abuser
A person who helps solve the problem

Activity 2:
16

The learners will then go and practice their play that they have just brainstormed on a
paper. They will have 15 min to practice.
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Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354
Teacher: Will go around to check whether the learners are co-operating and are
communicating well in their groups and to check that they are doing the correct play
criteria.

Activity 3:
Learners will then come together in the classroom and demonstrate what they have learnt
to the class and explain what they are doing.
20 min

Closing moment: (class discussion)

Learners will be given the opportunity to discuss with the teacher what they have learned
about child abuse and who they would go to in the case of someone hurting another person.
The lesson would be rounded up of how important it is to understand how they should
protect themselves and understand the effect of abuse as, as well as they would have
information tools of where to go and get help.

Assessment activity and explanation:

Summative Assessment
Role play: learners will be given the opportunity to demonstrate how much they
understood about what was taught by the teacher.
Teacher will use a rubric to distinguish how much they understood.
Discussion: Learners discuss together in groups about what type of abuse they want to
demonstrate. Class discussion will also take place.
Observation: to observe the learners group work and co-operation with one another.
Homework:
Learners would be given A5 paper and told to research about abuse and to demonstrate
innovative ways of preventing abuse.

Enrichment:
Learners may go home and talk to their parents about what they have learnt and may look
for extra information on the topic.
17
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Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354

Question 3:
Introduction:
Stress has become a part of life for learners in the intermediate phase in school.
“Childhood stress has increased in the past few decades, with around 40 per cent of kids
reporting that they worry too much.” (Kidsmatter.edu.au) Therefore this discussion will
address what stress means and what are the common sources of stress in the intermediate
phase is, and explain how I can assist learners in the school to cope with the demands of
school life, social, family relations stressors and the environmental stress of everyday life.
The most likely sources of stress in this phase are the following; The individual
characteristics of the learner, peer pressure, pressure to perform in school, the increased
amount of homework, fear of being chosen last in the team whether it is on the sports team
or school activity, worrying about fitting into the school, adjusting to different hormonal
changes to the body which may have an effect of gaining a sense of self-identity, and self-
images issues may become a factor also. Learners are becoming less attached to parents
and begin to rely more on their peers than on their parents, and bullying is another factor.
Body:
Stress is defined according to Selye “as the state of the body that is affected by a wide
variety of stimuli that cause a specific set of changes in the body.” (Weinstein&Rosen:
2003:270). In other words stress is also the mental and physical response and adaptation by
our bodies which may be perceived as real or unreal changes and challenges we face in
everyday situations. Stress is not necessarily bad for you as it is important to have stress
for survival as it can help you live life to the fullest, however too much stress can have a
negative effect on your health.
The most common sources of stress that learners experience in intermediate phase of the
schooling system are known as the individual characteristics and temperaments of the
learner. The learner may be more emotional and is not able to deal with stress as efficiently
if they have not got the skills to deal with stressful situations and this may be due to family
situations, developmental level, etc. A learner who can deal with stress will still experience
stressful situations but they may have a sufficient support group and would have the
necessary skills to deal with that stressor
. However there are stressors that intermediate learners may be more prone to is the
increase in school work, meaning that they feel under pressure to perform well for the
teacher or parent. They may worry that they may fail their year and may fail their
examinations. They also feel under pressure to perform well in order to gain recognition
from the teacher or parent. Learners are also given too much homework and may
experience anxiety as they may feel that the homework is too difficult to complete. When
learners change schools they may feel that they may not be able to fit into the school and
may not fit into their peer group and the worry of making friends. This may then result in
18

the learner being bullied by his/her peers and therefore their self-worth is affected. Peer
Page

pressure is the biggest source of stress in a school environment because it is during this
Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354
time that learners either fit into a certain friendship group or is considered an outcast and
may be exposed to the bullies. Learners also begin to go through puberty which results in
hormonal changes, which, means that their sense of identity is solely based on their peers
views. The reason for this is because learners are going through an identity crisis and they
are trying to gain their own independence and therefore do not confide in details about life
to parents because they are trying to please their peers and confide mostly amongst their
friends.
Another factor that also contributes to stress of the individual is stress in the family, the
learner may be experiencing abuse at home, parental separation or divorce, and a parent
may be financially strapped by either being unemployed, or retrenched, or disabled. The
parents may have high expectations of the learner to perform well at school.
Technology advancement such as Facebook, Twitter, etc., learners may be bullied through
cyberbullying which can be very aggressive and pervasive which may cause emotional
distress. Learners are also exposed to television, newspapers, which in turn expose learners
to crime, violence and other news that before was not possible to access. This may lead to
more stress.
Therefore it is important to assist learners who are experiencing these stressful situations.
Learners should be helped by a support team, such as their family, school or any other
person outside their stressful environment.
It is important for a teacher to be a mentor for the learner, and make the learner feel
comfortable to confide their problems to. It is useful for a school to have a mentorship
program where learners are assigned to teachers who are their mentors for their schooling
years, this helps develop a sense of trust between the teacher and learner. It also may
provide a safe environment where the learner may be able to express their emotions
without feeling judged or critised by someone. Encourage parents to take part in their
children’s learning and have an open door for communication. As a school in life skills
learners should be taught about emotions and how to deal with them. It is also good to
implement into the curriculum that learners should be taught skills of how to deal with
bullies, and teach them how to recognise signs of stress and to have a plan in place if they
experience some signs of stress. Encourage the learner to do hobbies they enjoy, such as
reading or writing. Or explain to them the importance of physical exercise and how it can
release tension and stress. They can learn Yoga or meditation, take on jogging. Give them
guidelines of how to do deep breathing exercises which helps release tension. Autogenic
training, biofeedback, revising attitude. Another important aspect is nutrition, as this plays
an important role in your body. Nutrition is important because it feeds your brain and it
helps co-ordinate your emotions as well as prevent you from getting illnesses due to stress.
Therefore to conclude it is very important to understand that learners in the intermediate
phase do experience a lot of stress due to the new technological world we live in today.
These learners experience stressful situations due to not having the skills to cope with
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stress, or not having the support needed during this stage of development. Therefore it is
important for schools, parents and caregivers to collaborate with one another to help
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Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354
support the learner experiencing high levels of stress. This will then help build the learners
own coping skills and improve their attitude if they experience a stressful situation.

Declaration:
NAME: Sonja Boyd

STUDENT NUMBER: 47744561

MODULE CODE: HEC 101 V

ASSIGNMENT TOPIC: Assignment 2

I declare that this assignment is my own original work. Where secondary material has been
used (either from a printed source or from the internet), this has been carefully
acknowledged and referenced in accordance with departmental requirements. I understand
what plagiarism is and am aware of the department’s policy in this regard. I have not
allowed anyone else to borrow or copy my work

SIGNED: Boyd

DATE: 31/03/16

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Page

Resources:
Student Name: Sonja Boyd Course: HEC 101V
Student Number: 47744561 Unique number: 898354

http://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/health-and-community/enewsletter/how-kids-experience-
stress accessed 29/03/16
https://www.pearsonhighered.com/donatelle1einfo/myhealth/assets/images/other/Donatelle
_Ch03.pdf accessed 29/03/16
http://handtohold.org/resources/helpful-articles/what-causes-children-stress-understanding-
childrens-developmental-stages-and-common-stressors/ accessed 29/03/16
http://www.socialserviceinstitute.org/RP/CY/Fulltext/05.pdf accessed 29/03/16
http://www.education.gov.za 31/03/16

Weinstein. E. & Elfrem. R. 2000. Teaching Children About Health: 2nd Edition a
multidisciplinary Approach. Wadsworth. USA

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