Last Friday, I went to a work party for our school's handyman's 60th birthday celebration. I was told that typically, it's a celebration that should done amongst family and close friends, but because our handyman is single, our staff decided to throw him a big bash.
Aside from doing silly things like under-dressing for the occasion (I wore jeans! I didn't know it was supposed to be fancy!) a rather embarrassing thing happened to me during the party. As it is with Japanese custom, people will go around the room pouring drinks for one another and working the room and the higher-ups will praise the underlings.
When the principal arrived at my table, he said a few brief and perfunctory words with me before looking at the young social studies teacher and said, "Louise is a good girl. Don't let her go to waste..."
Wow! I didn't know matchmaking was part of a Japanese principals job duties! I also didn't know I was going to be wasted...
Friday, November 28, 2008
A celebrity of sorts
On Wednesday, I team taught with an elementary school homeroom teacher. It was supposed to be a class opened for observation. When I was first asked to do this, I thought it would be like other classes opened for observation, meaning that there would be about 10-20 teachers from other schools watching.
I was really happy to see that the homeroom teacher made a lot of effort into planning the whole lesson himself. In his lesson plan, there were many parts where he included duties and speaking roles for me, so I felt that it was an actual partnership.
I also saw that he put in a lot of preparation for that one lesson with all the props used for the class. In the back of my mind, I was thinking "you know...in reality, it's hard to have that kind of prep time for all lessons."
Then, about three days before the actual lesson, I realized why. Instead of the usual 10-20 teachers observing our class, there would be 300. Because there is a teacher there who formerly taught English at the junior high level to lead the team, our elementary was chosen as the "model school" for the new initiative to teach English. This was supposed to be an "example" of sorts for other schools.
So, on the day of the lesson, aside from having packs of people in the gym where we taught, there were also cameras about 10 inches from my face while I was teaching. Not cool.
Apparently, it was on the news and a bunch of the students at my junior high saw it. Super not cool.
It's been two days and they're still talking about it.
For some reason, people keep praising me as though I had a big part in it. Weird.
I was really happy to see that the homeroom teacher made a lot of effort into planning the whole lesson himself. In his lesson plan, there were many parts where he included duties and speaking roles for me, so I felt that it was an actual partnership.
I also saw that he put in a lot of preparation for that one lesson with all the props used for the class. In the back of my mind, I was thinking "you know...in reality, it's hard to have that kind of prep time for all lessons."
Then, about three days before the actual lesson, I realized why. Instead of the usual 10-20 teachers observing our class, there would be 300. Because there is a teacher there who formerly taught English at the junior high level to lead the team, our elementary was chosen as the "model school" for the new initiative to teach English. This was supposed to be an "example" of sorts for other schools.
So, on the day of the lesson, aside from having packs of people in the gym where we taught, there were also cameras about 10 inches from my face while I was teaching. Not cool.
Apparently, it was on the news and a bunch of the students at my junior high saw it. Super not cool.
It's been two days and they're still talking about it.
For some reason, people keep praising me as though I had a big part in it. Weird.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
This Week
This week has been very interesting. It was full of the extreme ups and downs that comes with being a teacher, I think.
I went to class late...three times this week!!
I don't think it's ever excusable to go to a class late (for me) unless I'm dealing with a life and death situation...which doesn't happen much as a JET. But it was the same old thing. I started the week having to teach a class that I never quite feel prepared for. The teacher always "gives" me the latter 30 minutes to do an "ALT activity." He doesn't care about what it is just as long as I occupy the students' time. Nor does he ever help out.
So, frantically, I had to prepare for the second period class in the morning and since I didn't have enough time, I quickly rushed back between to break trying to come up with sometime. One thing led to another, and I was still in the staff room 15mins past the starting time. The teacher actually had to come down and said, "Can you come to class, please?" in a panicked voice because he didn't have anything else prepared himself. Hahahahaha....
Man, I'm just really disappointed at my own lack of professionalism. Although I should, I feel no sense of responsibility to the teacher though. He obviously saw me as a time filler and someone who can make his job slightly easier.
I just feel like I'm letting the students down.
I went to class late...three times this week!!
I don't think it's ever excusable to go to a class late (for me) unless I'm dealing with a life and death situation...which doesn't happen much as a JET. But it was the same old thing. I started the week having to teach a class that I never quite feel prepared for. The teacher always "gives" me the latter 30 minutes to do an "ALT activity." He doesn't care about what it is just as long as I occupy the students' time. Nor does he ever help out.
So, frantically, I had to prepare for the second period class in the morning and since I didn't have enough time, I quickly rushed back between to break trying to come up with sometime. One thing led to another, and I was still in the staff room 15mins past the starting time. The teacher actually had to come down and said, "Can you come to class, please?" in a panicked voice because he didn't have anything else prepared himself. Hahahahaha....
Man, I'm just really disappointed at my own lack of professionalism. Although I should, I feel no sense of responsibility to the teacher though. He obviously saw me as a time filler and someone who can make his job slightly easier.
I just feel like I'm letting the students down.
Workings of my mind
As I was walking home today, I touched my cheeks and felt a thumbnail-size lump on my cheekbone. It kinda hurts. I wonder if it's a sprouting pimple or the result of a vicious attack by a bug.
Considering how cold it is, shouldn't the bugs all be dead?
Just a random thought.
Considering how cold it is, shouldn't the bugs all be dead?
Just a random thought.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Burrr, it's cold
How the heck did it get so cold in just one day?
October 1st is the official day when the every Japanese person at a school knows that they are supposed to change their attire. No more summer wear, no more short sleeves, no mwinterore "warm weather clothing."
Last week, because it was hot and sunny, I wore a short sleeved shirt to work. The moment I opened the staffroom door in the morning, I knew I had made a mistake. All the teachers looked at me funny and many asked me, "Aren't you cold?"with a tone that made me feel like I had worn a too-short-skirt to a "respectable" office.
It was another one of those things about Japanese culture that I just didn't understand. People were wearing clothes based on the date, not the actual weather or temperature.
But today, I understand. Overnight, the cold arrived. I can just sense that today maybe the start of winter. It will be the last day I have my windows opened for fresh air until March. It would probably be soon when I have my heater on full blast. Yikes. Not looking forward to it.
October 1st is the official day when the every Japanese person at a school knows that they are supposed to change their attire. No more summer wear, no more short sleeves, no mwinterore "warm weather clothing."
Last week, because it was hot and sunny, I wore a short sleeved shirt to work. The moment I opened the staffroom door in the morning, I knew I had made a mistake. All the teachers looked at me funny and many asked me, "Aren't you cold?"with a tone that made me feel like I had worn a too-short-skirt to a "respectable" office.
It was another one of those things about Japanese culture that I just didn't understand. People were wearing clothes based on the date, not the actual weather or temperature.
But today, I understand. Overnight, the cold arrived. I can just sense that today maybe the start of winter. It will be the last day I have my windows opened for fresh air until March. It would probably be soon when I have my heater on full blast. Yikes. Not looking forward to it.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Next Year
It's only the beginning of October, but I'm already thinking about next year.
In the last English teachers' meeting, we were given our re-contracting papers. A few minutes ago, I checked the "I have decided NOT to re-contract for the 2009-2010 JET program" box and signed it even though the form is not due till early February.
It's scary, I feel like I'm about to graduate from college again and I have little idea what immediately lies ahead of me. The fact that the US economy is in a state of chaos doesn't help things either.
What's going to happen next? I guess only time will tell.
For the time being, I think I really need to set some goals as well as cherish the time I have left here.
In the last English teachers' meeting, we were given our re-contracting papers. A few minutes ago, I checked the "I have decided NOT to re-contract for the 2009-2010 JET program" box and signed it even though the form is not due till early February.
It's scary, I feel like I'm about to graduate from college again and I have little idea what immediately lies ahead of me. The fact that the US economy is in a state of chaos doesn't help things either.
What's going to happen next? I guess only time will tell.
For the time being, I think I really need to set some goals as well as cherish the time I have left here.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Social Suicide
I've been thinking of quitting Facebook. Is that considered to be a form of social suicide?
I've always hated being "online" and have avoided things like posting pictures of me or my friends or writing anything personal about myself on the world wide web. Even at my last job, I avoided writing a section for the "Meet the Staff" page until my supervisor prodded me for the 3rd time four months into my job.
Yes, I sense the irony since you're reading about this on my all-about-me blog.
Being the rather private person that I consider myself to be, I just think Facebook's too much exposure. I don't feel comfortable with it.
Once, a friend told me that she found out about her friend's engagement being called off through Facebook. I told her I couldn't believe that it was posted on Facebook like that for everyone in the world to see. I'm sure that whatever the reason for the engagement cancellation, it was a sensitive and private issue. Does the world really need to know all your joys and sorrows in an instantaneous manner?
It's no wonder that an acquainance changed his last name from "Taylor" to "Ishidingfrompotentialemployers" on his facebook profile.
It's as though you need to be more aware of your every action because, undoubtedly, there will be someone carrying a digital camera with them ready to catch your every act of stupidity (of which I am sure I'm guilty of committing many) and then thereafter posting it online.
Looking stupid is not really my main fear, maybe it's just wanting to keep certain things at a distance.
What prompted me to write about this was because I noticed that so many of my former teachers were on Facebook. It was a bit eerie. When I was a student, I looked at these people with a sense of distance. They were teachers, I was a student. Although some teachers have turned into good friends, it's hard to imagine that if I add them as a "friend" on Facebook , I will have full access to their private lives (which may include wild partying, their every feeling as they "update" us, etc) as well as them having access to mine.
The same friend who told me about her friend's engagement being called off told me that she enjoys Facebook because it has allowed her to keep in touch with people that she's known in the past but have lost touch with. That's definitely important. I agree.
But I also said, there's probably a reason why people fall out of touch. If relationships are important to us, then we'd do our best to keep them going, right? Even if it means one brief email every other year, we make the effort of showing we care. If either party feels that correspondence is no longer necessary, isn't this a sign that people have slowly grown apart or that people, in general, just grow?
I honestly don't think that contains any sort of message signifying you as a bad friend or an inconsiderate person. It's just a part of life, isn't it?
Anyway, I think I've blabbed on for too long about this. I think Facebook has its great attributes as with many other technologies that have allowed us to keep in touch with each other. There are just certain things about it that I find slightly unnerving.
I will hold off on committing this act of social suicide, but please don't be surprised if I disappear one day into thin air in the world of Facebook.
I've always hated being "online" and have avoided things like posting pictures of me or my friends or writing anything personal about myself on the world wide web. Even at my last job, I avoided writing a section for the "Meet the Staff" page until my supervisor prodded me for the 3rd time four months into my job.
Yes, I sense the irony since you're reading about this on my all-about-me blog.
Being the rather private person that I consider myself to be, I just think Facebook's too much exposure. I don't feel comfortable with it.
Once, a friend told me that she found out about her friend's engagement being called off through Facebook. I told her I couldn't believe that it was posted on Facebook like that for everyone in the world to see. I'm sure that whatever the reason for the engagement cancellation, it was a sensitive and private issue. Does the world really need to know all your joys and sorrows in an instantaneous manner?
It's no wonder that an acquainance changed his last name from "Taylor" to "Ishidingfrompotentialemployers" on his facebook profile.
It's as though you need to be more aware of your every action because, undoubtedly, there will be someone carrying a digital camera with them ready to catch your every act of stupidity (of which I am sure I'm guilty of committing many) and then thereafter posting it online.
Looking stupid is not really my main fear, maybe it's just wanting to keep certain things at a distance.
What prompted me to write about this was because I noticed that so many of my former teachers were on Facebook. It was a bit eerie. When I was a student, I looked at these people with a sense of distance. They were teachers, I was a student. Although some teachers have turned into good friends, it's hard to imagine that if I add them as a "friend" on Facebook , I will have full access to their private lives (which may include wild partying, their every feeling as they "update" us, etc) as well as them having access to mine.
The same friend who told me about her friend's engagement being called off told me that she enjoys Facebook because it has allowed her to keep in touch with people that she's known in the past but have lost touch with. That's definitely important. I agree.
But I also said, there's probably a reason why people fall out of touch. If relationships are important to us, then we'd do our best to keep them going, right? Even if it means one brief email every other year, we make the effort of showing we care. If either party feels that correspondence is no longer necessary, isn't this a sign that people have slowly grown apart or that people, in general, just grow?
I honestly don't think that contains any sort of message signifying you as a bad friend or an inconsiderate person. It's just a part of life, isn't it?
Anyway, I think I've blabbed on for too long about this. I think Facebook has its great attributes as with many other technologies that have allowed us to keep in touch with each other. There are just certain things about it that I find slightly unnerving.
I will hold off on committing this act of social suicide, but please don't be surprised if I disappear one day into thin air in the world of Facebook.
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