Slow Times at Junior High

The new year started in April, and with the new year came a re-organization of curriculum.  Unfortunately, this has left me without classes much more frequently than I'd like.

In part this stems from new-year activities, orientation and the like leading to canceled classes, but part of it is also just an outright reduction in my classes taught at one of my schools--I went from teaching all three grades every week to only being guaranteed to teach the 9th graders.  It's especially distressing for me because this school is my favorite one, where I get along with the students really well; fortunately, I still get to eat with the students and hang out (watch and occasionally chat) during club activities after school, so all is not lost, but I'm hoping that as the year progresses I'll again have fuller days.  Right now many classes are still early enough in their textbooks that the "speaking" lessons haven't cropped up yet, which is another reason my teaching volume is down--some classes I have scheduled wind up not needing me.

.'がんばっています。

A Grand Entrance

Entrance ceremony is not so different from closing--dress is less the serious, black with white tie, more color (it being spring and all), but still the parents in the back (fewer tears), still lots of speeches, still lots of "stand up" "bow" "sit down" action (averaged a good eight instances of this at entrance; graduation was ridiculous, definitely over a dozen).

Knowing all the new 7th graders from teaching them in elementary school made it really fun to watch all the proceedings. Somehow most of the students were still surprised to see me there, even after I'd told them all at our last classes that I'd see them in junior high school. I won't be teaching them right off the bat (they want to get all their fundamentals down with reading, etc first) but I'm really looking forward to seeing them all in the halls at school (and getting to know the newbies at my other school next week).

year ends, teachers transfer.

In contrast to graduation, a big, formal proceeding, the actual end of the school year was much more of a whimper than a bang--no formal dress, just students and teachers in the gym for a short speech from the principal.

The biggest deal about the year end is the teacher transfers. As I was in Taiwan the week before, I hadn't found out about any of my schools, but the one I went to the following week had 5 teachers leaving, most of whom I was acquainted with to some extent but nobody I had a terrible affection for (the one I liked most of them was actually transferring to my other school, which was convenient).

However, as I found out at the farewell banquet for my other school as spring break started, I was losing my favorite teacher! She was one of my co-teachers, and probably the most fun to work with--we taught the same graduates who I got to know and who wrote me messages, which were compiled in book form by her. Really enhanced my experience so far, but now she's transferring to the Other School in my town (where I don't work) and I'm definitely worse for it.

Graduation

Students bow to the principal as they receive their diplomas.

Graduation here is a very momentous occasion, very formal. Teachers are all dressed up in formal suits, and it seems like every mother of a graduating student came (only a couple dads though, interestingly), handkerchief at the ready, and all descended into tears when (before, during, after) their child's turn came.

I go to two middle schools; unfortunately, they operate on the same schedule, so I could only attend one graduation--also unfortunately, I wound up at the school where I felt less connected to my students. I found myself a little emotional too, in part because I empathized with all the emotion in the students (many of whom were crying themselves) and the parents, but also in part because I realized that I couldn't see the students I had really connected with and then felt guilty because I realized I hadn't been doing well enough by the students at this school.

At any rate, the day was theirs, not mine, but I appreciated being able to be a part of it all, however small.

Later, I got yearbooks from both schools--and my other school had gone so far as to produce a DVD of the proceedings, which I got a copy of. (I've yet to watch it). The best, though, was the copy of one of the graduating classes' memory book--filled with pages from the students themselves (CTY folk might see the similarity). It was from one of my favorite classes, and on one of the pages there were notes for me that really made my day:

"Dear Matt-sensei,
at first I was nervous but then I enjoyed talking to you. Since I met you, I like English more. Thank you.
-Shihori"

"Dear Matt-sensei,
I LOVE YOU
-Kota"

"My School Life"

Year end is swiftly approaching. I've all but finished seeing my 9th graders, who take their entrance exams next week (if they haven't already) and have their graduation ceremony the week after; things are similarly winding down with a lot of my other classes, but I'm at least bolstered by the knowledge that I'll get to keep working with them, if in a slightly different context.

At one of my schools the 9th graders wrapped up their year of English by writing about their experiences the past 3 years in junior high school, and ending with a message for their classmates as they all move on. There were some great ones, ranging from long narratives about experiences and feelings to the following:

"DESTINY
I joined the baseball club.
DESTINY!!
I became class leader.
DESTINY!!

Message is sausage."

Various other non sequiturs were had by some of the other jokesters with only so-so English, to hilarious end (another interspersed his memories with "oh, no, I dropped my cola"...bolded and at least 2x the size of the rest). Really been enjoying the time with my students, and I'm really gonna miss them when they move on!

In Sickness And In Health

Last week was reaaaally slow at one of my schools.

Flu season comes here as naturally as it does in America, with one big difference--you can tell it's flu season because people start showing up to school/work with face masks (think surgeon's mask, not hockey) to prevent the spread of airborne pathogens. It's always kind of a fun guessing game to figure out whether they're (a little) sick or trying to avoid becoming sick, but I think it's pretty great that the culture embraces such a thing.

Anyhow, last week, at one of my schools the 7th and 8th grade classes were apparently so decimated by the flu--maybe 1/5 of each grade, with potentially more to catch it--that, instead of having class and later having to play catchup with so many, classes were canceled. At least the 9th graders held on--another school in the area had school canceled entirely because for the same reason.

"What do you call this kind of music?" "Uhhh...classic rock."

One of my co-teachers is on a really big kick of using music in class lately--this week we spent some time introducing such contemporary artists as the Beatles and the Carpenters to the 7th and 9th graders, complete with videos ripped from youtube to provide some watching material. (Hm, old groups the kids had never heard of singing music in a language they didn't understand all that well? You'd be proud, Dorsey-sensei).

We're at that point in the year where we're running out of material that has to be covered, but there's still some time before the end of the year (remember, school year ends at the end of March here), so we can totally get away with this sort of thing--we'll do maybe one song that's listen-able with lyrics, followed by a few more for them to simply enjoy.

The last two songs we studied: "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong (kids got a BIG kick out of his facial expressions when he sings) and "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder (which, at the end, I was made to sing solo--this is what I get for trying to encourage the kids to come out of their shells by example).

Impending graduation...:-(

Being back in Japan and seeing my students again is a great joy. I left at a point where I was just starting to get really comfortable and settled with my working situation and my students, and I've returned not missing a beat. Students are more comfortable interacting with me, I'm continuing to get to know them (though I must confess, there are still far too many for me to remember all their names) and I feel like we're both getting more out of class--them, more English, and me, more job satisfaction (directly related to the former).

Sadly, the Japanese school year changes at the end of March, which means that all of my san-nensei (3rd year students, or 9th grade in America) will be graduating and moving on to high school (hopefully). As my oldest and most English-competent students, I've perhaps connected with them the most, and will really miss them after they leave (even though Japan's year changes, I am under contract through the summer). On the upside, though, I get to have a fresh start with all of my other students, and I'm especially excited for my elementary school 6th graders, who become middle school 7th graders at one of my schools in the spring (and move from "fun" English games to actual English class).

Winter in Tottori

I have the great pleasure of living in one of the handful of regions of Japan that actually get snow.

This means that, while I get some GORGEOUS scenery on a daily basis (I'll take and send some pictures next time we get a good snow), ...I also have to deal with the winter.

This means getting ready to go 10-15 minutes early so I have time to scrape my car off, turn on the defroster, heat it up, etc.

This means, on days when there are lots of snow (and at least a few days following), getting ready to go another 10-15 minutes earlier because Japanese roadway management pales in comparison to the quick responses of a New York or New England (but more on efficiency later).

This means, when my first full day back in the country has followed a major snowstorm and happens to be in the midst of another, I show up to work 30 minutes late. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one.

Apparently the amount of snow we've gotten here in Tottori is an unseasonably large amount--I'd heard the first snowstorms were the largest in some five years. One day my students even got the day off, because the trains here weren't running with all the snow (and if you know how good Japan Railways is, you'll know that means there was a LOT of snow)...teachers still had to show up though. Talk about a slow day.

It hasn't all been unfortunate and inconveniencing, though. Like I said, the snow is beautiful, espcially on the mountainsides of the valley I live and work in--more evidence that I need to live somewhere with scenery and four seasons--and of course, snow means skiing! I'll be taking my first trip to Mt. Hyounosen (you'll recall that I hiked up Daisen, "Big Mountain," in the fall (which also has skiing). Hyounosen translates as "Ice Mountain") on Saturday, and couldn't be more excited.

"Cute Eyelashes" Count:

3

I'm Huge in Japan.

Had this exchange today with one of the 7th grade girls at lunch (I eat with the students, and rotate classes):

her: (gestures at eyes)
me: "uh...eyelashes?"
her: "eyelashes, long."
me: "oh, yes..."
her: (turns to friend next to her) "very cute!"
me: (insert quote from Super Troopers about making a dark man blush) "oh...thanks!"
I think she was surprised I heard her. Her friend was all "say you're welcome!" while she was all "no, no!"

It's good to see my students trying to communicate with me. Ah, to be a middle school student...

Hair

So, some of you may not know this, but I was asked to cut my hair before I came to work here in Japan.

I went from this:



To this:



Today my supervisors' supervisors (IE, the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education folk--they're obviously above my local BOE, and definitely above my school's teachers) came to observe a class and chat with me a bit--afterwards, talking to one of my supervisors--a prefectural advisor for all of the JETs in Tottori, who, incidentally, was my primary liason before I came and forwarded the original request to cut--relayed to me comments from my Principal: glad he's getting involved, still seems a bit shy, ...man, am I glad he cut his hair!

Apparently my principal had been enraged at the prospect of me coming over with my dreads, and it was in part due to his vocal complaints to the placement service that I wound up hearing that I should cut my hair.

I'm glad my principal is happy with me, instead of really super pissed off.

Work Impressions, So Far.

This week has been pretty easy so far--outside of a bit of help for a couple students who are participating in speech contests, and giving a couple classes where I did a more in-depth self-introduction, with Sports Day being this weekend the kids have a reduced class load to begin with and many of these first classes back are actually tests, leaving me with little to do. Far different from the Trips/orientation experience at Dartmouth, no?

Sports Day, incidentally, is a day (Saturday for my middle schools; Sunday for my elementaries) where the various grades compete by homeroom in a variety of activities. Today I got to watch some of the practice--in addition to learning and performing a dance that seems suspiciously like contradancing, I saw them do a giant version of jump rope where the homeroom has to all jump in time to clear the rope (there are about 25 students to a homeroom) and a task that involved handing a ball down a line from one end of the field to the other, with students dashing to the end of the line as soon as they handed off to continue the flow. Pretty entertaining stuff, and actually rather fascinating as far as understanding Japanese culture goes. I'm not sure I can put it all into words just yet, but if I feel sufficiently capable I'll indulge my rambling urges with a long bit on that at a later point.


Some more general work impressions/factoids: the kids all have the same uniform, down to the shoes they wear in class and in the gym. Girls wear the sailor suit, which you might be familiar with; guys wear white collared shirts with long pants. The kids are wonderful by the by--really cute. They're all a little timid and a little intimidated, I think, but in a fascinated kind of way that will lead to some fun connections, I think. In contrast to America, where teachers have their own rooms and the students go to them, in Japan students stay in their homerooms the entire day (outside of going to the gym, or needing to use art supplies, ec) and the teachers come to them. We teachers all share a teacher's room, all the desks organized into a few groups. With few classes and little lesson prep to do at the moment, I've spent most of my time there idly sitting at my desk on my laptop (thank god for the internet!). I can speak a bit of Japanese, which is helping my entering a new community somewhat as the language barrier is not so high as to be insurmountable without the aid of one of the Japanese Teachers of English (JTE's, the teachers who I work with in the classroom)...but I'm still often left to my own devices and wind up bored with some frequency as the rest of the teachers seemingly have a far more vast workload than I. And somehow I get paid more than they do...go figure.

Oh, and so far none of my classes have recognized me with long hair when I show them a picture of me and my family at graduation. And Mom, you and Dad might be pleased to know that, in addition to being very impressed with how young you both are, one kid in my class today mistook Dad for an older brother. Yep.