Life of a teacher vlog | Ep. 11 | Back to school

Dumelang beautiful people and welcome back to school.


This video provides a glimpse into the life of a teacher during the first week back to school in January 2026. The teacher, Pena, shares her experiences, challenges, and preparations for the new academic year.

Key events and activities:
Back to School for Teachers (0:18): Pena reports back to school on Monday, January 12, 2026, noting that teachers are starting before students.
Subject Allocations (1:09): Pena is assigned to teach mathematics for grades four to six and life skills for grades four to five.
Classroom Preparation (1:36): She plans to clean and organize her classroom, which is currently dusty and has spiderwebs. She also mentions her assistant teacher will be returning, which she is happy about.
Welcome Activities (2:25): Pena plans to welcome learners on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, starting with basic mathematics timetables and mental math to get them ready for academics.
DIY Welcome Board (3:27): On Tuesday, Pena creates a "Welcome back to school" board for students to take pictures with on Wednesday.
Classroom Cleaning and Setup (4:26): She cleans her classroom, sets up chairs and tables, and prepares for the learners' arrival. This also involves handing over learner profiles and math grade files to other teachers.
Welcoming Learners (6:43): On Wednesday, learners arrive. Pena shows a personalized welcome sign she made, to which she staples sweets as a welcome gesture.
First Lessons (8:30): The first lessons include mathematics, focusing on corrections and addition, and life skills, where students are asked to write a story about themselves and how they handle emotions like sadness, anger, joy, and anxiety.
Admin and Marking (18:11): By Friday, Pena is busy with administrative tasks and marking books for the grade four life skills class.
End of the Week Reflection (23:09): Pena reflects on the easy first week, which focused on welcoming new learners, checking stationery, and easing them into subjects. She anticipates a much busier second week with more academic work, tests, and projects. She also plans to finish decorating her classroom, specifically looking for life skills-related posters online.
Classroom Cleanup Routine (26:37): Pena highlights the teachers' responsibility to clean their classrooms at the end of the day, arranging chairs and tables for the cleaners.

Pena expresses exhaustion from the busy week, especially with administrative work and stationery checks, but concludes that week one was a success and looks forward to week two.