These are a couple of pictures of me teaching at Toho Elementary School, a school that I got a short stint at near the end of our two years in Japan. I believe I went about 6 times, to teach the grade 4's some basic and fun English conversation. What a great job!
I had never taught in elementary school before, and didn't really know what to expect. My experience lay in the Jr High age group, who were fairly excitable, but were entering the groupy-poopy age. I also taught a pre-school group of about 6 or 7 little 4 year olds who were just innocent little kids. They were easy to teach in that they learned things really fast and were eager to please, but they were also easily distracted and would start running around the room if they felt bored.
So I envisioned elementary school to be somewhere in between these two attitudes. I was pleasantly surprised.
Upon entering the first classroom on the first day, a roar of excitement and shock came from the class. Kids were pointing, jittering, giggling, squealing, and some were just standing still with their mouths hanging open. Yes, a foreign teacher was in their classroom. The teacher asked them all to sit down and get collected, and they responded amazingly well compared to the Jr High's. They all sat in their desks in perfectly straight rows, hands on the desks in front of them, big smiles on their faces, and I started the lesson.
For the first class I'd be teaching them the dialogue: Hello. I'm Laura. What's your name? Nice to meet you!
I said it out loud to them a few times with big gestures so they could be sure of what I was saying. They giggled at every movement I made. Then I asked them in Japanese to repeat after me, which they did, and fairly well! We practiced a couple times, and then it was time to show them the handshake!!! This was funny in every class I taught, no matter what age group. Japanese people find it hilarious, and nerve wracking. I think they must see it on tv because they're familiar with it, but are so shy to try.
I explained to the class, mostly in gestures, how to shake hands with someone. Look them in the eyes, shake confidently, smile, most of which would be out of character for any Japanese person who wasn't in some position of power, but this was English class so we'd try it out!!! I performed a handshake sequence including the dialogue with the teacher to show the students how it worked, and again they giggled, finding it funny to see their teacher shaking my hand.
And then came my favourite part. I explained that I was going to walk through the class and say the dialogue with each student, and then shake their hand. Oh the looks of horror. They sat up straighter, turned to give worried looks to their friends, made little whiny noises, but nothing would stop me!!
I started in on the first student - always a good laugh from the crowd as the boy snickered under his breath, and then quietly spoke the words back to me that I had just taught the class. "Good job!!!" I'd applaud after I was done with each student. Some students were bold and said the words, knowing it was funny to everyone, with great gusto. Others were so shy that they didn't even look up, but would offer me a finger or two to shake. One or two would always jump out of their desks and do their best impression of a really excited "greeter", whoops of laughter ensuing.
Those kids though, they were the best that I taught. I loved elementary school, and Toho Elementary School in particular. They were such sweet kids, and were always so excited to see me. I even cried on the last day as I drove home, knowing I'd never see them again.
I've always thought that teaching would be a great job for me. Since my time in Japan I felt that I got a dose of what it was like and really confirmed it. I haven't done much college, and it takes a good 4 or 5 years to get there, but I like to think that sometime in the future I'll go back to school and pursue it. Maybe after all our kids are in school, just like my mom did. Yeah, I like that idea. I think I'll keep it on the back burner. Not in the forefront of my mind, but burning ever steadily in the rear.
3 comments:
You would be a great teacher. I can tell you that I think it's the best job in the world. Every single day is different and it is so incredibly satisfying. Today was my last day of classes for this year and I got that feeling that I inevitably get at the end of the year, that "ah, this is such an amazing job" feeling! When the kids come around asking me to sign yearbooks and saying that they had such a great time and learned so much in my class, I know I did my job. When I can say back to them that they blessed my life and made a difference in my day every day, I know that it was a great year!
I loved reading about your experience in Japan! The way you explained about the kids in the room getting nervous about hand-shaking made me want to experience it first hand. I love getting immersed in new cultures. I don't do it often enough.
I think experiencing different places in the world in the best thing you can do in life. The cliche is always that "it makes you appreciate where you live", but I think it's soooo much more than that. We need to get out of our little westeren bubble and realize that we have more to learn than we could ever hope to teach! And it's extremely valuable to see other cultures thriving without as much technology and comforts as we have.
Actually, I've never really come home saying that I can now appreciate home better - I've often come back with the opposite feeling. I feel like our culture has a lot to learn. It is amazing being out of your comfort zone isn't it?
Post a Comment