Feisty
I'm gonna "talk shop" for a bit but it all relates to the Japanese psyche. Possibly. Read into it what you will.
Its the holidays here (not for me...yet) and the difference is definitely there with my younger students. So much more feisty. Its good in a way as they seem well up for the lessons but they are getting louder and louder. I could hardly get myself heard in my lessons. My 7-8 year olds today were so loud. It does mean that there are a fair few absences too which is a real shame in some cases. A real shame. What's even worse is that some of my students are leaving! Maybe its my fault, maybe not - I cannot help but feel a little responsible. But I have a few kids who have left so they can go to "cram school" and its sickening. One of my 7 yr olds left today so he could join a cram school. He's SEVEN! Its a little frustrating to see them leave[A]. And I can't express any sorrow or anything because they do not understand the words. I'm gaining adults though. I am still enjoying the teaching and I seem to be getting a little more into the students now. Maybe. There has been a definite improvement with some and that is beautiful[B].
The company is annoying me a bit now though. Or maybe just the guy I report to - my DoS. I mentioned those summer schools and I had another one today. Four adults at a school I do not go to, about an hour away. Not that bad (was "at work" for 13hrs today) but I keep getting given the wrong info. I was told it was a different lesson today so I spent time preparing for a different class. Nice. I had another observation scheduled today (not parents) by my DoS. I am meant to give him a neat copy of my lesson plan and it has to be a little more detailed than normal. So I spent my lunch doing it. Did he turn up? Did he ****? Second time in a week he has cancelled on me without telling me. Muppet.
Weekend was the usual (for now hopefully) quiet one. Watched a bit of anime ("Cowboy Bebop" is my anime of choice at the moment, interspersed with "Ghost In The Shell: Standalone Complex") and "Crazy Beautiful". Not a great film and terribly clichéd. Its just about OK. Had a bit of a kickaround on Saturday, which was nice. I tried to buy a football but most shops sell small balls - not size 5[C]. Slightly odd I think. Was gonna buy some nice new trainers too but decided against it for a while......
Hana-Bi
A classic film title and Japanese for fireworks. The film
starring "Beat" Takashi Kitano is alright but many consider it his best film. I don't.
Anyway, Summer is very much fireworks season in Japan (Tokyo at least). What happens is that on a Saturday or Sunday night, the wards (or towns as they are called here) around Tokyo have BIG fireworks displays. I haven't actually seen any yet but I plan to very soon. I work on Saturday evening so its difficult to get to the fiery skies in time.
Anyway, on Tuesday, I taught pretty solidly for once. Although I usually get a little bored at the mammoth break I get, I wanted it this week because my fellow teacher is leaving this week so I wanted to speak to her. Oh well. We also had new air conditioning but it was installed a little shoddily. Cue an insect invasion. I had to take one of my lessons outside into the reception area because it was all too much.
Anyway, the kind of good thing about summer is there are a lot of cancellations of lessons. I do like my students, the actual lessons are fine but the time between is frustrating. Anyway, it means I get to go home early sometimes. Wednesday was a 6:30 finish!
I went out after that to some Italian restaurant for a meal. I got a smoked salmon pizza and, most importantly, some melon soda[D]. Mmmmmm. After that, we went to the local convenience store and bought some fireworks. I've never bought fireworks before - never really seen the point. But it was Amalia's do so we did what she said. Went to the park and lit a few. Was quite fun. But I had more fun on the swings! And laughing at the others playing with the fireworks. It was a good night actually, met some new people and had a bit of a laugh. Nice. The fireworks were pretty but more scary than anything else. Seemed a little uncontrolled. Most un-Japanese.
---All lettered footnotes were written in 2015---
A. I have mixed feelings about cram school as it is treating the children like sponges of schooling but they do provide a different social environment and it seems to show the taking of education seriously. But, at the same time, it is not a style of education that I am a fan of - Japanese schooling is like the dream of Conservatism. Generally, it is children sitting in rows (each with their own individual school desks) being spoken to by the teacher. Interestingly them the Japanese word for "tell" sounds very similar to that for "teach" and the reason they sound so similar is that they are the same word, oshieru. Unsurprisingly, this has resulted in a very "straight" culture within work of seniority and devotion to the cause. From what I have heard, the Japanese schooling system is not so great - hence why so many hours are used for teaching and the crams schools are necessary to counteract this. This may just be conjecture though it does seem to match with my experience.↩
B. I have to say, in retrospect, that I really enjoyed teaching. It may have been tiring, annoying and sometimes worthless, even so I think it raised at least one smile from me every day. Whether that was from the teaching or just the interaction with people, I cannot rightly say, but it was a pleasure quite often. In terms of my teaching skill, I am not sure, and I did get a few complaints about speaking too quickly in class and so not really getting my point across. I taught a number of different levels and my philosophy was to try to be naturalistic - I spoke to everyone as if they were adults but with graded language. Actually, I "grade" my language with everyone - it is just about using the right words with people so that they understand. One of my non-native English language friends told me that this was patronising if I did this but I did not think so. As I said, if she had not realised it (which she hadn't) and there were quite a few times when she asked what certain words meant, then maybe it was the right thing to do. What I found difficult to get across to her was that I do it with native speakers too - I use certain bits of terminology with some people and not others. That is just being conscious of difference isn't it? Incidentally, I met one of my ex-students in London recently and she told me that she realised the naturalistic style may have been of benefit to her. She was sitting next to someone on the flight that had a very high TOEIC score (much of English teaching to adults is around the idea of increasing your TOEIC score - it is an international English test and different bandings of score show your level) but he complained that he could not understand what was actually being said yet she could. When I met her that time in London, she did also refuse to speak in English with me so maybe it wasn't that good then to teach her like that...↩
C. Futsal, which is effectively 5/6-a-side, is quite popular in Japan and so the equipment is often around this form of the game. Culturally, Japanese people see dedication and perfection of a single art to be a great aim and so you will often see Japanese footballers being very adept at ball control or the technique elements of the game. I think the thing that this does not lend itself to, however, is a little touch of genius which is so important in the world of football (and work). The Japanese football team is very neat and effective but they often lack a "gamechanger" and I think this may be due to these parts of their game and culture. ↩
D. Melon soda is a common drink in Japan and is a lurid green in colour. It tastes so sweet and artificial that I am not sure I could ever notice the melon flavour in the hundreds of times I drank it. I liked the fact that there were different types of soft drinks and I am constantly disappointed in the lack of choice in the UK of soft drinks. I particularly liked the coffee, the ice teas and the sports drinks like "Dakara" but I wonder how much of that was the novelty of having that choice.↩
I'm gonna "talk shop" for a bit but it all relates to the Japanese psyche. Possibly. Read into it what you will.
Its the holidays here (not for me...yet) and the difference is definitely there with my younger students. So much more feisty. Its good in a way as they seem well up for the lessons but they are getting louder and louder. I could hardly get myself heard in my lessons. My 7-8 year olds today were so loud. It does mean that there are a fair few absences too which is a real shame in some cases. A real shame. What's even worse is that some of my students are leaving! Maybe its my fault, maybe not - I cannot help but feel a little responsible. But I have a few kids who have left so they can go to "cram school" and its sickening. One of my 7 yr olds left today so he could join a cram school. He's SEVEN! Its a little frustrating to see them leave[A]. And I can't express any sorrow or anything because they do not understand the words. I'm gaining adults though. I am still enjoying the teaching and I seem to be getting a little more into the students now. Maybe. There has been a definite improvement with some and that is beautiful[B].
The company is annoying me a bit now though. Or maybe just the guy I report to - my DoS. I mentioned those summer schools and I had another one today. Four adults at a school I do not go to, about an hour away. Not that bad (was "at work" for 13hrs today) but I keep getting given the wrong info. I was told it was a different lesson today so I spent time preparing for a different class. Nice. I had another observation scheduled today (not parents) by my DoS. I am meant to give him a neat copy of my lesson plan and it has to be a little more detailed than normal. So I spent my lunch doing it. Did he turn up? Did he ****? Second time in a week he has cancelled on me without telling me. Muppet.
Weekend was the usual (for now hopefully) quiet one. Watched a bit of anime ("Cowboy Bebop" is my anime of choice at the moment, interspersed with "Ghost In The Shell: Standalone Complex") and "Crazy Beautiful". Not a great film and terribly clichéd. Its just about OK. Had a bit of a kickaround on Saturday, which was nice. I tried to buy a football but most shops sell small balls - not size 5[C]. Slightly odd I think. Was gonna buy some nice new trainers too but decided against it for a while......
Hana-Bi
A classic film title and Japanese for fireworks. The film
starring "Beat" Takashi Kitano is alright but many consider it his best film. I don't.
Anyway, Summer is very much fireworks season in Japan (Tokyo at least). What happens is that on a Saturday or Sunday night, the wards (or towns as they are called here) around Tokyo have BIG fireworks displays. I haven't actually seen any yet but I plan to very soon. I work on Saturday evening so its difficult to get to the fiery skies in time.
Anyway, on Tuesday, I taught pretty solidly for once. Although I usually get a little bored at the mammoth break I get, I wanted it this week because my fellow teacher is leaving this week so I wanted to speak to her. Oh well. We also had new air conditioning but it was installed a little shoddily. Cue an insect invasion. I had to take one of my lessons outside into the reception area because it was all too much.
Anyway, the kind of good thing about summer is there are a lot of cancellations of lessons. I do like my students, the actual lessons are fine but the time between is frustrating. Anyway, it means I get to go home early sometimes. Wednesday was a 6:30 finish!
I went out after that to some Italian restaurant for a meal. I got a smoked salmon pizza and, most importantly, some melon soda[D]. Mmmmmm. After that, we went to the local convenience store and bought some fireworks. I've never bought fireworks before - never really seen the point. But it was Amalia's do so we did what she said. Went to the park and lit a few. Was quite fun. But I had more fun on the swings! And laughing at the others playing with the fireworks. It was a good night actually, met some new people and had a bit of a laugh. Nice. The fireworks were pretty but more scary than anything else. Seemed a little uncontrolled. Most un-Japanese.
---All lettered footnotes were written in 2015---
A. I have mixed feelings about cram school as it is treating the children like sponges of schooling but they do provide a different social environment and it seems to show the taking of education seriously. But, at the same time, it is not a style of education that I am a fan of - Japanese schooling is like the dream of Conservatism. Generally, it is children sitting in rows (each with their own individual school desks) being spoken to by the teacher. Interestingly them the Japanese word for "tell" sounds very similar to that for "teach" and the reason they sound so similar is that they are the same word, oshieru. Unsurprisingly, this has resulted in a very "straight" culture within work of seniority and devotion to the cause. From what I have heard, the Japanese schooling system is not so great - hence why so many hours are used for teaching and the crams schools are necessary to counteract this. This may just be conjecture though it does seem to match with my experience.↩
B. I have to say, in retrospect, that I really enjoyed teaching. It may have been tiring, annoying and sometimes worthless, even so I think it raised at least one smile from me every day. Whether that was from the teaching or just the interaction with people, I cannot rightly say, but it was a pleasure quite often. In terms of my teaching skill, I am not sure, and I did get a few complaints about speaking too quickly in class and so not really getting my point across. I taught a number of different levels and my philosophy was to try to be naturalistic - I spoke to everyone as if they were adults but with graded language. Actually, I "grade" my language with everyone - it is just about using the right words with people so that they understand. One of my non-native English language friends told me that this was patronising if I did this but I did not think so. As I said, if she had not realised it (which she hadn't) and there were quite a few times when she asked what certain words meant, then maybe it was the right thing to do. What I found difficult to get across to her was that I do it with native speakers too - I use certain bits of terminology with some people and not others. That is just being conscious of difference isn't it? Incidentally, I met one of my ex-students in London recently and she told me that she realised the naturalistic style may have been of benefit to her. She was sitting next to someone on the flight that had a very high TOEIC score (much of English teaching to adults is around the idea of increasing your TOEIC score - it is an international English test and different bandings of score show your level) but he complained that he could not understand what was actually being said yet she could. When I met her that time in London, she did also refuse to speak in English with me so maybe it wasn't that good then to teach her like that...↩
C. Futsal, which is effectively 5/6-a-side, is quite popular in Japan and so the equipment is often around this form of the game. Culturally, Japanese people see dedication and perfection of a single art to be a great aim and so you will often see Japanese footballers being very adept at ball control or the technique elements of the game. I think the thing that this does not lend itself to, however, is a little touch of genius which is so important in the world of football (and work). The Japanese football team is very neat and effective but they often lack a "gamechanger" and I think this may be due to these parts of their game and culture. ↩
D. Melon soda is a common drink in Japan and is a lurid green in colour. It tastes so sweet and artificial that I am not sure I could ever notice the melon flavour in the hundreds of times I drank it. I liked the fact that there were different types of soft drinks and I am constantly disappointed in the lack of choice in the UK of soft drinks. I particularly liked the coffee, the ice teas and the sports drinks like "Dakara" but I wonder how much of that was the novelty of having that choice.↩
