So, where do I begin?
Let’s just start off with the basics and branch out from there.
THE JOB
Carmon and I both work teaching English for the Mito City Board of Education.
Where’s Mito?
Mito is about a 20 minute train ride from the Ocean to give you some perspective. I can bike there in an hour.
Anyway, Carmon teaches at a junior high and I teach at an elementary. While we are both the only native English speakers at our school, the purpose and functions of a junior high and elementary are very different. I have a lot more freedom in the way I teach English. I can play games with the students, make lesson plans, sing songs, dance and shout and have fun. They’re elementary school kids after all (1st through 6th grade). Ultimately, my job as an elementary school teacher is to make sure the kids have a positive outlook on learning English and give them a (small) basis for which to begin junior high.
Carmon teaches junior high and from what we can tell so far it’s a much more controlled environment. Understandably too. In Japan, every student must take a High School entrance exam that plays a significant part in what direction your education will go from there on out. So, junior high is a place where a lot of work and studying gets done. As far as teaching English, Carmon has only been doing that for a week so we don’t have much to say about that …yet.
My School
Ishikawa Elementary.
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| My name tag - "Ma-I-So-N Do-Ra-Mu" |
It’s got about 500 or so kids in it and has maybe 30 teachers. Instead of teachers moving entire classes around to go to history class, or math or whatever... in Japan there's a home room and the teachers rotate as needed (although in Elementary the home room teachers pretty much teaches everything). The majority of schools in Mito all have native english speakers. They call them AET's -Assistant English Teachers. Hey, that's me!
Generally, AET's visit each class once a week teaching whatever is on the curriculum. At Ishikawa there are about 18 classes. Three 1st grade classes, three 2nd grade classes, etc... Each day has 6 periods (with the optional free time/club 7th period). On average, I'll teach about 4 or 5 periods of the day with free/planning time left over. What's great about Ishikawa is that they have a devoted English Classroom where all the students go. This makes my job pretty great because not only do I not have to worry about lugging all my materials and worksheets around the entire day, but I get to have my classroom set up with everything I might need.
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| (One of my Self-introduction classes) |
My class room is a big, open, desk-less space at the top corner of the NorthWest wing. It has a fantastic view and came stocked with lots and lots of english teaching resources (thanks previous AET's)!
Check it out!
What's even greater than my awesomely cool English room is that I've kind of been implemented in the Schools marching band.
Oh ya, and one thing I should mention about Ishikawa is that they're considered to have the best Elementary marching band in Japan. Like, ALL of Japan.
I don't know how it happened but once some of the teachers found out I can play drums and I taught private lessons back in the States they we're super excited. So excited, in fact, that during my school's assembly (to welcome me) they had a marching snare set center stage for me to play. Even though I hadn't touched a pair of Ralph Hardimon's since 2008, I think the little kids enjoyed watching me play.
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| Just look at that technique! |
Anyway, I must have made a good impression because since then the School's band director has allowed me to work with the drumline everyday this past few weeks. Yes, I am on cloud 9 and I'm the luckiest man in the world. Not only do I get to teach English to some of the cutest, most respectful children on the planet, I get to be a part of their extracurricular percussive activities! What?! I still can't believe it. I even got a jacket!
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| 60% of the time we groove every time. |
Keep in mind that Marching band in Japan is almost an entirely female thing. From my understanding, when students enter Elementary they have to choose between athletics and the arts. As a result, most of the boys go with sports and most of the girls do band - or something else in the Arts. I think this is kind of a bummer. On the other hand, it makes for the most adorable marching band you've ever seen.
(I'd be posting pictures and videos of my students BUT our contract restricts us from that. Some precautionary privacy thing... psh.)
The following picture is as close as I can get to what I get to experience every day.
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| ...except my drumline is cuter. |
More about Japanese Schools...
From what I can tell, Japan is definitely a group-think culture with a clearly defined hierarchy. Nothing... and I mean nothing... is done without considering the group. Perhaps this is most evident in the school system.
The Teachers Room
In every school in Japan there is a teachers room. Every teacher has their own desk, and there is two connected rooms towards the back; the printing room and (of course) the "tea room". The main area is filled with two rows of desk sitting adjacent to each other. At the head of the room is the Koucho Sensei. He's the head dude principal guy and generally a hands-off manager. Next to him is the Kyoutou Sensei. He (or she) is the one that does much of the "hands-on" managing. Next to them could either be a head coordinator or disciplinarian or both.
If you can't visually see it I'll go ahead and say it.
AET's aren't exactly at the top of the Totem pole.
If I ever need anything, say, like vacation time or help understanding some Kanji- I would likely NOT go to Kocho Sensei. I must work my way up the ladder starting with the head english teacher or perhaps the secretary. But, because I'm a foreigner and because I don't know Japanese and because I'm generally clueless as to 90% of the customs and culture of Japanese school systems everybody is/has been rather forgiving and flexible with me. What might be entirely inappropriate and insubordinate for a Japanese teacher might be forgivable should I do it unknowingly.
Like for instance...
Whistling... Considered very rude in the workplace.
Wearing your inside shoes inside...on carpet.
Resting your hands in your pant pockets...has a perverted association with it.
Washing your face with your hand towel.
All of these things I've had to learn first hand. Thankfully, my teachers are super kind and find all most of my cultural mistakes humorous rather than offensive.
One of the most amazing things I've seen so far in Japan is the people's pursuit of cleanliness. I walk around outside and it's hard to spot trash. Anywhere. In Mito City, at school, around my neighborhood... anywhere! It's crazy. What's more crazy is that cleanliness and taking responsibility of your environment is instilled in children from the very start.
Lunch & Cleanup Time
Ok, so everyday every student and teacher has the exact same lunch. I've heard that some other schools have a day once a week where the students can bring their own but my experience has been everybody eats the same thing. Again, this goes back to the community culture. When it is time to eat, 4 or 5 students from every class go and collect everything needed for that particular class - the bowls, the soup, the milk, the wash clothes, etc. Everything is already prepared but not distributed. So, when the time comes, everybody puts on their little white apron and little white mouth mask and little white hat and the service begins. Every student has a part in making lunch happen. Some set the utensils out, some pass out the milk, some wash down the tables with a wet rag, some are pouring the soup into each bowl.
It's the most precious thing you will have ever seen. ***
And they do this in every class starting in kindergarten all the way up to junior high.
Once the meals are ready, 3 or 4 students get up to the front of the class and read off a little informative thingy. What are they saying? I have no idea. I think it's a few things about what exactly we're eating, maybe some light news and announcements. I really don't know. But it's cute. It's all so cute.
Once they're done, we "Itadakimasu" it and start chowing down. How's the food?
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| I LOVE IT! |
Once finished with the meal, the class begins cleaning up. It's pretty much just like before but in reverse. And after they clean up from lunch they'll have an hour or so long recess and then come right back and... have clean up time. There are no janitors in the schools. Students are 100% responsible for taking care of their designated area. I'll be walking around during this time and see some kids vacuuming, others are mopping, taking out trash, cleaning the chalkboard, rinsing sinks, etc, etc...
It's really a sight to see. I wish I could film it just to give you a glimpse of the whole ordeal. And it's not just a terrible labor time for the kids. They enjoy it. It's more about taking responsibility for what's yours and doing something about it together- with other students AND teachers. It's easy to see how having clean streets is possible after seeing what they done in school growing up.
My commute to school is made easy via my 6 speed collapsable bike. It's about a 15-minute ride. Along the way I pass by a "Lawsons" which is a popular convenient store (think OnCue but 1/5 the size), our laundry mat (if we need to machine dry our stuff) and a few coffee shops and bars.
The best way to travel around Japan really depends on where you want to go. I can ride my bike anywhere in Mito if I need to but I can get a 3 dollar bus ticket to Mito station which then will get me anywhere in Japan.
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| Thug Life* |
Some Recent Fun
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| Senior photos anyone? |
Two weeks ago a big group of AET's went hiking on Mt. Tsukuba. It was gorgeous, but Carmon and I nearly died.
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| If you're from Oklahoma, it's just barely taller than Mt. Scott in Lawton. |
You can't go hiking without the right gear, either.
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| Shameless plug* |
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| All the girls that went on the hike (most of them AET's) |
Just this last week Carmon and I took a couple day trips out to some popular tourists spots. We went right in the middle of one of the most busy national holidays so it was insanely crowded. On Friday we took a two-hour train ride to Ashikaga flower park. Carmon's been dreaming of going since she saw a screensaver of some tree's there at her old work.
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| Japan's famous "Wisteria" tree! |
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| Iphone's Panorama is my JAM! |
The next day we took a trip out to Oarai. I really wanted to see the ocean and there happens to be a fantastic Aquarium there to so we made it a day!
And you can't go on a day trip to the beach without the right gear!
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| Shameless plug* |
Ok, that's all I got for now. There's a million more things going on and a billion more things I could tell you about. Food, friends, weird encounters, earthquakes, ironman 3... the list could go on. And now that I have a couch it should be much easier to keep this thing posted. Till next comfy butt session... chow!
*** Carmon does not believe this is correct English. I believe she is wrong. You decide.
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