Surprise Japanese Office
So since all those Important People are coming, everyone is wearing the Japanese Work Uniform. That is, nice white collared shirt, dress pants, maybe a tie. All the women are dressed nicely too, but with more colored accents. Yeah it looks nice, but it's freaking me out. I have never seen Tetsuya-sensei, the guy whose desk is across from mine, wear anything but sport shirts and t-shirts and sport pants, and he... looks like an office worker. All the elementary staff too. It's so weird.
I was thinking about what it means to be a teacher in Japan. In the US, I think, a good teacher tends to be thought of someone who is good at imparting a certain kind of knowledge to his or her students, and maybe moreso someone who engages their intellect and imaginations.
I noticed right away that in Japan, there is a lot more respect for teachers, especially in communities where they know you're a teacher. And what it means to be a teacher here is slightly different. It means not only educating people in terms of information, but also being a Role Model and helping to shape what kind of people their students are to become. So, teaching, especially in the elementary school level, is part "teaching" and part "parenting".
Every day this week I have watched Masato-sensei make his kids finish their meals, or at least make them eat the stuff they clearly don't want to - but are good for them. Like the vegetables. Sometimes if there's a lot he'll divide it in half and have them eat that, as I remember my parents making me eat as many pieces of broccoli as I was years old. But you would think that they would hate and resent him for it, like we would if a teacher did that to us in the US, but instead they giggle, wriggle, and try to outsmart him, but overall they still completely love him. In the US we might say "You're not my mom," to a teacher, but in Japan you kind of are.
I was more on the head with the camp counselor idea than I thought, honestly. Though camp counselors tend to get weird after awhile... maybe too much time at camp? In any case, think of the camp counselors you have liked that didn't seem crazy or weird.
And now, a meme!
The First lines of 2008 meme. ( stolen from nyakototo )
january -and the lie cut the worst / it'd been resolved, then reversed
february -"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." - MLK
march -When I rolled my paladin, I honestly had not thought about healing.
april -Alternate ALT.
may -When people say something like, "I have good intuition," usually other people tend to take it with a shaker of salt because of the tendency people have to overestimate their people-reading abilities.
june -don't dream too far, don't lose sight of who you are
july -I'M GOING TO JAPAN!
august -That was the first time I had a technicolor nightmare.
september -I got a reply back from Hanabusa-sensei.
october -I think the biggest challenge I have as a teacher is, entering school in the middle of the year, I don't yet have a good handle on what the kids learned.
november -Too much cake!!
december -.Okay I love my island, but I'm getting really tired of the compulsory "volunteer" activities that teachers have to participate and being told about them at the very last minute.
I was thinking about what it means to be a teacher in Japan. In the US, I think, a good teacher tends to be thought of someone who is good at imparting a certain kind of knowledge to his or her students, and maybe moreso someone who engages their intellect and imaginations.
I noticed right away that in Japan, there is a lot more respect for teachers, especially in communities where they know you're a teacher. And what it means to be a teacher here is slightly different. It means not only educating people in terms of information, but also being a Role Model and helping to shape what kind of people their students are to become. So, teaching, especially in the elementary school level, is part "teaching" and part "parenting".
Every day this week I have watched Masato-sensei make his kids finish their meals, or at least make them eat the stuff they clearly don't want to - but are good for them. Like the vegetables. Sometimes if there's a lot he'll divide it in half and have them eat that, as I remember my parents making me eat as many pieces of broccoli as I was years old. But you would think that they would hate and resent him for it, like we would if a teacher did that to us in the US, but instead they giggle, wriggle, and try to outsmart him, but overall they still completely love him. In the US we might say "You're not my mom," to a teacher, but in Japan you kind of are.
I was more on the head with the camp counselor idea than I thought, honestly. Though camp counselors tend to get weird after awhile... maybe too much time at camp? In any case, think of the camp counselors you have liked that didn't seem crazy or weird.
And now, a meme!
The First lines of 2008 meme. ( stolen from nyakototo )
january -and the lie cut the worst / it'd been resolved, then reversed
february -"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." - MLK
march -When I rolled my paladin, I honestly had not thought about healing.
april -Alternate ALT.
may -When people say something like, "I have good intuition," usually other people tend to take it with a shaker of salt because of the tendency people have to overestimate their people-reading abilities.
june -don't dream too far, don't lose sight of who you are
july -I'M GOING TO JAPAN!
august -That was the first time I had a technicolor nightmare.
september -I got a reply back from Hanabusa-sensei.
october -I think the biggest challenge I have as a teacher is, entering school in the middle of the year, I don't yet have a good handle on what the kids learned.
november -Too much cake!!
december -.Okay I love my island, but I'm getting really tired of the compulsory "volunteer" activities that teachers have to participate and being told about them at the very last minute.