First Day

After being in Japan for one month (even more) I was asked to perform an absolutely minimum of what we would normally consider work. So, the fact that classes started last week and this week I have actually been at the front of the classroom constitutes another major milestone for me. Not enough time has passed yet to come to any sort of formative judgment or conclusions but I can at least jot down some initial impressions. The first of which is, unfortunately, that I am not at a high achieving school, at least in terms of English instruction. Sure, there's a handful of students in each grade (there are three, equivalent of 7, 8, and 9th grades) who are very much willing and eager to learn English, but most just want to get through the requirements and forget about it (hm, perhaps reminiscent of our own school experiences) and some simply do not care. The first time I was with a particular class, I did a self-introduction. Basically, I made a worksheet and a bunch of posters (one about Chicago and its "landmarks," a couple about my family and friends) and I asked the kids to respond to questions about my presentation. Not a one was able to fully complete the assignment (which is a good indication to me of the skill levels I will be working with). I also asked them to draw a picture of me, some of which were pretty good, others were funny, and some even downright offensive. During each class, I got a chance to walk around and meet the students one on one. Basically, it was asking them what their names were and how they were doing. Most struggled a bit. And, in Japan, the universal answer to "How are you?" is "I'm fine, thank you, and you?" 100%. No exceptions. And a brief comment on student mentality in Japan. Whenever they're asked a question, they will not answer unless a brief consultation takes place with their friends. For example, I ask a kid, "how old are you?" After a confused look at me, they turn to their friends, one of whom goes, "nan sai," translating my question. Then another says "thirteen." At this point, the original victim braves an answer. Next, I ask the same question to the kid who gave the original translation, and he/she in turn will ask classmates for a translation, even though he/she just did it. That's just the way it works. Unless there's consensus, there will not be progress. And if you ask a kid to do something in front of the class without the ability to consult, there may be interesting situations afoot. For example, we were doing some reading practice, and two kids had to stand up and practice a conversation out of their books, simply reading something like "There are many vending machines here." So, two kids stand, and the first simply wouldn't read. He simply stood there and the class waited. It was literally five minutes before the teacher allowed him to sit down, but otherwise there was complete silence. I almost died. What's the point? I don't yet know.

Another minor point. In each class, there's usually a group of boys who are the "cool" kids, which means they don't do any work and to show any interest in school would be an absolute outrage and humiliation. So they just talk all period. It is quite distracting, but the teacher seems to allow this to happen, as if its something that is taken for granted. I'm like, jesus be quiet, some of us are trying to learn, but they don't really care, and nor do the teachers. Classroom management is its own little unique Japanese experience here.

So, where do I fit into any of this? Well, I want to have a positive role here, to encourage the kids to learn English for the sake of becoming able to speak another language, not for the sake of passing a required school subject. But, in an environment where there is absolutely no tracking, all abilities are clumped together (up to 40 students a class), and motivation for learning seems to be extrinsic, this turns out to be quite a challenge. As the school year goes on, I will have to carefully monitor my own assumptions as I reflect upon what is required of me and search the field for what I can bring to the school. I don't have a solid enough grounding yet to figure out what I can get away with and what they won't let me do. When more time passes I will write about it more.

Other that all that, not much is new. Japan had its own little natural onslaught in the form of Typhoon Nabi, but my area of the country went considerably unscathed, but of course, its not over yet, so I'm not fully confident it will remain this way. But they certainly were worried enough about it to cancel classes today (but naturally the teachers had to come to school, and when I asked for a justification for this, I was told, "oh, in case of emergency, teachers have to be in school, i.e. if windows start shattering or what not - I didn't really get it) Anyway, now I'm sitting here, and everybody is busy as usual doing God knows what. I'm going to join the effort as well. (I get the sense that the overall tone of this post was somewhat moody, dark, gloomy - that's not really the case, its just the wrong time in the morning to be writing this...anyway take care)

Here's a little image of the classroom.
(p.s. look at the pencil case on the desk; probably too small to make out, but the picture/words on it absolutely shocked me, especially in light of the laws in this country; leave that to you to decipher)