This phenomenological study narrates the lived experiences of a black physical science teacher in implementing a new curriculum in South Africa. The study describes the objects of direct experience in Thobani's consciousness about his life as a learner and teacher. The findings reveal how an incompetent physical science teacher had hampered his understanding of the fundamentals of the subject and how the lack of support from the Department of Education and his head of department retarded the implementation process. The insights gleaned from this study into the thought processes of a teacher could have potentially transformative effects for policy-makers, curriculum planners and teacher educators at a time when South African teachers are yet again faced with the implementation of a new curriculum.