As of last week, English classes have more or less come to an end for students across Japan. In fact, all classes are wrapping up over the next couple weeks because March is the end of the Japanese school year. That means kindergartners are graduating into 1st graders in elementary school, 6th graders in elementary school are graduating into junior high school, and 3rd years in junior high school are graduating into high school. That's how I'm seeing it from my perspective anyway, working at 5 elementary and 2 junior high schools. Of course, students are also graduating from high school and college and applying to become salarymen.
Are you getting the image? As these kids are studying for and taking their final exams and entrance exams, it's approaching the tail end of winter, with snow flurrying here and there (it's snowing right now actually). Then they get their exam results back as it slowly begins to get a bit warmer, and by the time they return to school or start their new jobs in early April it's actually somewhat bearable outside and cherry blossom trees have begun to bloom. It's a sort of "new life," ya know, the type that inspires Spring Cleaning in the states, and inspires one to wear less than 5 layers of clothes inside one's apartment in Japan.
Maybe you knew that already. What you may not know if you've never worked in the Japan public school system, however, is that kids aren't the only ones moving around. Sure, some teachers are retiring, but other teachers often accompany students up a grade as their homeroom teacher, or even change schools entirely. Japan has this very strange system of cycling teachers around every year, so that they're only assured of their location for one year at a time. Licensed teachers are usually only in one place for around 3 to 4 years, but it could be only 1 year. Could be 7. They go where they're needed when they're needed in the prefecture they're licensed in, even if it's on the other side 4 hours away. My one friend just found out he's getting relocated to one of my prefecture's small and somewhat isolated islands, which takes about 3 hours by boat. Sure, he could refuse, but then there might not be available work next year. Plus he gets "points" for going there, and is much more likely of becoming a real, licensed teacher from his provisional status. So inconvenient distance, or lack of job assurance? As for me, I'll be moving to...
Nowhere. lol Pfft, I'm not a teacher! I'm an Assistant Lacky Language Teacher (or ALT). I'll be in the same city visiting the same schools until I go back to the states. Now that English classes are done, the only students I really have to say goodbye to are the 3rd years in Junior High School, which is a shame but there's still the possibility of running into them in town. And until classes start next semester, apart from the occasional graduation ceremony I'll be sitting at my a random desk at the Board of Ed (BOE) studying Japanese and taking occasional naps preparing diligently for classes in April. Since it'll be my last 4 or so months before going home I want to go all out; prepare some lessons (primarily for elementary schools, since I usually just help out English teachers in junior high schools), organize my huge bag of teaching material that's been piling up since I got here, research some fun games and activities, and figure out what to give away. I came across tons of stickers and prizes I haven't been using, so I'd like to reward the winners of those games I mentioned.
That's if I have time, though. This Spring will be pretty busy, what with our trips to Hokkaido and Tokyo with my fiance's family in just a couple weeks. So time is limited, but when I start the next semester on April 9th, I want to put to good use all that useful info I picked up over the past year and a half, having come from zero teaching experience to helping kids everyday. My real objective is to focus on anything I can do to make the class and English more fun for the kids, which I think is my actual job. You know, play with them during recess, encourage them to talk more if they try, and just get them out of learning the language from a textbook.
If it's fun, they'll find a way to learn it. And maybe I'll learn a thing or two from them in return.
No comments:
Post a Comment