teaching: day 1
i am immensely tired... so this post wont be as detailed as it could be, sadly.
set the alarm for 5:10am this morning because i had a few things to do (which didnt include prepping my lesson) and i wanted to make sure i got there with plenty of time to spare, just in case i got lost because i decided to take the train instead of biking. when the alarm went off, i ended up turning it off without thinking and falling back to sleep.... luckily i woke up again on my own at 5:50am.
i left an hour earlier than when i had been asked to arrive, even though the school isn't that far away that it would take that long by train. i ended up passing the stop i should have gotten off at (i hadn't ridden to the school via train before). :/ BUT i had plenty of spare time on my hands. yay for planning. there was a crossing guard nearby escorting elementary kids across streets, so i went up to him and asked where my school was. he couldn't leave his post, so he got the attention of some random middle schooler who happened to be walking by and attended my school. he asked her to take me to the school with her and she did. :x she was very nice and even willing to talk with me (not all students are), but she immediately identified me as the school's new ALT. :p she must be a 2nd or 3rd year student... didn't ask.
anyway, i get there early. most of the teachers weren't even there when i got there, despite me getting a little lost. when the head JTE arrived, she looked at me and was like "...weren't you suppose to have a meeting at the BOE this morning...?" and i sit there and stare at her for a few secs..... then i'm like "crap, i completely forgot..!" :x i said the 'crap' barely audibly, of course. i was suppose to be at the BOE by 8:50am for a principal's meeting with ALL the principals of EVERY elem/middle school in kochi, but i had been so nervous and i had been told about the meeting so long ago i completely forgot it. at the time that she told me this school hadn't started yet, it was about 8:20am and the BOE is a 30min train ride away. the JTE requested that i stay for the school's morning meeting and to introduce myself over the school's intercom before leaving, so i did. then was shown where the correct train station was and i was on my way at about 8:35am.
i get to the office exactly at 9 to find that all the other ALTs are standing outside the conference room where the meeting was, waiting to be called in. i had made it JUST in time, omg. we get summoned into the room full of important old men, lined up in the front of them all and give short self-introductions in japanese. then we're escorted back out of the room. all that, just for THAT. ceremonial stuff in japan is so important... is ridiculous sometimes how far out of the way people will go just to be socially correct in japan. talk about "bending over backwards" for something, doing so regularly is a part of japanese culture. anyway, after that i went back to school.
sit around for a while, being told nothing specific about when i'd start my first class and not having time to talk my lesson plan over with the first JTE because she was busy. understandably so, but it still sucked. sat around on pins and needles until i had my first class during 4th period (12 o'clockish). my first class were second year students (note: there 3 grades in JHS) taught with the head JTE. it went... comparing this class to the other two i taught today, i don't think tis one went that well. granted it was my first go at doing my lesson, so everything i did was experimental, but they didn't really respond to anything i said. they were all really quiet and many weren't even paying attention to me period.
this brings me to something i wanna whine about without actually whining. i don't mind that students dont even attempt in the slightest to mask their disinterest in what you're talking about. i am kind of ok (so far) with students sleeping through class. i understand japanese students spend a lot more time at school than your average american student. but students flat out having a full-blown conversation with each other while you're teaching? class clowns turning their desks upside in the middle of class and pulling a chair out from under another student? discipline is hardly existent in japanese schools. teachers aren't allowed to do ANYTHING to a student besides telling them to stop and/or be quiet, or sending them to the principal's office who can't really do anything either. japanese students can get away with almost ANYthing with no repercussion. and they know it! and take advantage of it. until they get out of compulsory edcuation, which is elem - junior high, they can not be failed, they cannot be expailed, they cant not be suspended, they can not be held back-- no matter HOW bad they behaved or how bad their grades are.
i think all westerners will agree with me that this is utterly ridiculous? but the japanese do not believe in punishing students at all. i heard a kid (accidently?) broke a window this weekend at school, and what did they do? hold a counseling session. A COUNSELING SESSION.
don't ask me please, i wonder myself.
anyway.... the class clowns turning their desks upside down, pulling chairs out from under each other and acting stupid. the girls having a normal convo during class, the sleeping, etc all happened in my classes today. the really annoying things happened in my later two classes, which were 1st year students, but some of the students seemed so curious and attentive to my speech that i was able to completely block out the annoying students. in the future, though, once i've had to put up with that for months... my patience will have to hold. there isn't anything i or the JTE can do.... frustrating.... i hate class clowns...
i swear, i'm going to find a candid way of embarassing them infront of the class. i bet that'll shut them up. bwahaha...
...where was i. i liked how the 1st year classes went because even though they could follow even less of my english than the 2nd year students (both classes the JTE translated complex things), the 1st years were more interested and participated more willingly in the class. the 2nd years wouldn't even participate in activities until i bribed them with prizes. the 1st years i didn't even have to bribe to get participation. i also liked the teaching style of the teacher i taught with for the 1st year classes more than the JTE of the 2nd years. in the 1st years classes, we played hot potato (this idea was entirely planned by the JTE-- very nice) where if they had the ball when the music stopped they had to ask me a question in english. it went well and i enjoyed watching the students scurry to get the thing out of their hands and play janken (rock paper scissors) when there was a dispute about who had the ball. i will definitely use that game in the future.
......i've jumped so out of order with this post, i don't know what i've left out. to summarize:
- 3 classes today: one 2nd year, two 1st years
- both 1st year classes > 2nd year
- japanese students have no discipline
- japanese teachers cannot discipline them
- Otsu overall is a nice school with nice students
oh, and i forgot to mention the "english club" after school... which i am apparently in charge of, but no one told me this so i showed up with nothing planned. >_>; yeah... and there's english club again tomorrow. what to do that's fun and will take up an hour. hmm...
leaving out stuff, i know, but i need to get to bed as early as possible to try to make up for lost sleep... tomorrow = two 2nd year classes. let's hope they go well.
edit: w00t! it looks like the typhoon will turn north and may touch the east end of the prefecture, but it should miss kochi city! we'll probably get a lot of rain and stuff, but hopefully not much else... if the forecast is right. WATCH OUT KANSAI REGION ! bwaaaahahahahaa~
set the alarm for 5:10am this morning because i had a few things to do (which didnt include prepping my lesson) and i wanted to make sure i got there with plenty of time to spare, just in case i got lost because i decided to take the train instead of biking. when the alarm went off, i ended up turning it off without thinking and falling back to sleep.... luckily i woke up again on my own at 5:50am.
i left an hour earlier than when i had been asked to arrive, even though the school isn't that far away that it would take that long by train. i ended up passing the stop i should have gotten off at (i hadn't ridden to the school via train before). :/ BUT i had plenty of spare time on my hands. yay for planning. there was a crossing guard nearby escorting elementary kids across streets, so i went up to him and asked where my school was. he couldn't leave his post, so he got the attention of some random middle schooler who happened to be walking by and attended my school. he asked her to take me to the school with her and she did. :x she was very nice and even willing to talk with me (not all students are), but she immediately identified me as the school's new ALT. :p she must be a 2nd or 3rd year student... didn't ask.
anyway, i get there early. most of the teachers weren't even there when i got there, despite me getting a little lost. when the head JTE arrived, she looked at me and was like "...weren't you suppose to have a meeting at the BOE this morning...?" and i sit there and stare at her for a few secs..... then i'm like "crap, i completely forgot..!" :x i said the 'crap' barely audibly, of course. i was suppose to be at the BOE by 8:50am for a principal's meeting with ALL the principals of EVERY elem/middle school in kochi, but i had been so nervous and i had been told about the meeting so long ago i completely forgot it. at the time that she told me this school hadn't started yet, it was about 8:20am and the BOE is a 30min train ride away. the JTE requested that i stay for the school's morning meeting and to introduce myself over the school's intercom before leaving, so i did. then was shown where the correct train station was and i was on my way at about 8:35am.
i get to the office exactly at 9 to find that all the other ALTs are standing outside the conference room where the meeting was, waiting to be called in. i had made it JUST in time, omg. we get summoned into the room full of important old men, lined up in the front of them all and give short self-introductions in japanese. then we're escorted back out of the room. all that, just for THAT. ceremonial stuff in japan is so important... is ridiculous sometimes how far out of the way people will go just to be socially correct in japan. talk about "bending over backwards" for something, doing so regularly is a part of japanese culture. anyway, after that i went back to school.
sit around for a while, being told nothing specific about when i'd start my first class and not having time to talk my lesson plan over with the first JTE because she was busy. understandably so, but it still sucked. sat around on pins and needles until i had my first class during 4th period (12 o'clockish). my first class were second year students (note: there 3 grades in JHS) taught with the head JTE. it went... comparing this class to the other two i taught today, i don't think tis one went that well. granted it was my first go at doing my lesson, so everything i did was experimental, but they didn't really respond to anything i said. they were all really quiet and many weren't even paying attention to me period.
this brings me to something i wanna whine about without actually whining. i don't mind that students dont even attempt in the slightest to mask their disinterest in what you're talking about. i am kind of ok (so far) with students sleeping through class. i understand japanese students spend a lot more time at school than your average american student. but students flat out having a full-blown conversation with each other while you're teaching? class clowns turning their desks upside in the middle of class and pulling a chair out from under another student? discipline is hardly existent in japanese schools. teachers aren't allowed to do ANYTHING to a student besides telling them to stop and/or be quiet, or sending them to the principal's office who can't really do anything either. japanese students can get away with almost ANYthing with no repercussion. and they know it! and take advantage of it. until they get out of compulsory edcuation, which is elem - junior high, they can not be failed, they cannot be expailed, they cant not be suspended, they can not be held back-- no matter HOW bad they behaved or how bad their grades are.
i think all westerners will agree with me that this is utterly ridiculous? but the japanese do not believe in punishing students at all. i heard a kid (accidently?) broke a window this weekend at school, and what did they do? hold a counseling session. A COUNSELING SESSION.
don't ask me please, i wonder myself.
anyway.... the class clowns turning their desks upside down, pulling chairs out from under each other and acting stupid. the girls having a normal convo during class, the sleeping, etc all happened in my classes today. the really annoying things happened in my later two classes, which were 1st year students, but some of the students seemed so curious and attentive to my speech that i was able to completely block out the annoying students. in the future, though, once i've had to put up with that for months... my patience will have to hold. there isn't anything i or the JTE can do.... frustrating.... i hate class clowns...
i swear, i'm going to find a candid way of embarassing them infront of the class. i bet that'll shut them up. bwahaha...
...where was i. i liked how the 1st year classes went because even though they could follow even less of my english than the 2nd year students (both classes the JTE translated complex things), the 1st years were more interested and participated more willingly in the class. the 2nd years wouldn't even participate in activities until i bribed them with prizes. the 1st years i didn't even have to bribe to get participation. i also liked the teaching style of the teacher i taught with for the 1st year classes more than the JTE of the 2nd years. in the 1st years classes, we played hot potato (this idea was entirely planned by the JTE-- very nice) where if they had the ball when the music stopped they had to ask me a question in english. it went well and i enjoyed watching the students scurry to get the thing out of their hands and play janken (rock paper scissors) when there was a dispute about who had the ball. i will definitely use that game in the future.
......i've jumped so out of order with this post, i don't know what i've left out. to summarize:
- 3 classes today: one 2nd year, two 1st years
- both 1st year classes > 2nd year
- japanese students have no discipline
- japanese teachers cannot discipline them
- Otsu overall is a nice school with nice students
oh, and i forgot to mention the "english club" after school... which i am apparently in charge of, but no one told me this so i showed up with nothing planned. >_>; yeah... and there's english club again tomorrow. what to do that's fun and will take up an hour. hmm...
leaving out stuff, i know, but i need to get to bed as early as possible to try to make up for lost sleep... tomorrow = two 2nd year classes. let's hope they go well.
edit: w00t! it looks like the typhoon will turn north and may touch the east end of the prefecture, but it should miss kochi city! we'll probably get a lot of rain and stuff, but hopefully not much else... if the forecast is right. WATCH OUT KANSAI REGION ! bwaaaahahahahaa~