Hello peeps! And Happy Halloween from Japan!
~*No photos included in this post. I'm not allowed to take photos of my students for safety reasons.*~
Today's high was a chilly 59 degrees Fahrenheit, or 15 degrees Celsius, perfect for a heart-stopping day of freaks, shrieks, and sweets.
Here in Japan, Halloween is a bit of a non-holiday. Schools may sanction a part of a day for Halloween celebrations, or English classes converted to monster education and games, but that's really about it. Between my two elementary schools and my attached kindergarten, I had one entire-school Halloween (English) event, one combined classes (K, 1st, 2nd) event, and maybe 6 Halloween-inspired lessons over the course of two weeks. Neither of the big events lasted more than an hour and a half. Completely different from our Halloween days in American elementary schools, where a good chunk (if not, all) of the day is dedicated to celebrating Halloween.
Now, let's be honest, I didn't plan the events or classes. This year, I am essentially 'downloading' the class schedule and school functions. I go to school, teach what I am given, and do peripheral things as needed. Other English teachers are more active in the planning than I am right now.
With that being said, here's how the events went down (boy, was this week busy for me!):
Tuesday was my entire-school Halloween event at my far-away school (an hour's travel time away). Normally I am scheduled at the school all day on Tuesdays and Fridays, as opposed to switching between that school and another school. However, here in Mito, we have city officials from the Education department scheduling class observations grade our teaching and class execution. Of course, my class observation at my close-to-home school was scheduled for this past Tuesday morning, meaning I had taught two periods in the morning, traveled with costume in hand to my far-away school during 3rd and 4th period, ate lunch at the second school, changed into my costume, did the Halloween event, change out of costume, and end the day with teaching 6th period 2nd-grade English. Of course, I tend to be a mouthpiece/ teacher's assistant at my second school, so eh. That's how my day went on Tuesday. It took two bags to carry my costume, by the way.
Anyhoo, at the Halloween event, the students were treated to a cute music and dance introduction by the five 5th and 6th graders involved with the school's daily announcement team. They acted as the emcees for the event. The students played a teacher's costume Trick-or-Treat bingo. Each student (in costume) had a bingo worksheet with all the teachers' names in a bingo square and had to go up to the teachers, asking us "Who am I?". We would guess until we correctly guessed their costume, to which they would reply, "Yes, I am ~. Trick-or-Treat!" Then, we the teachers would circle or stamp the bingo square with our names in it. When the kiddos got a bingo, they would go to our principal, showing him their cards and would receive a treat (which immediately would be collected by the homeroom teacher for later). After that, they played a Collection/Train Rock-Paper-Scissors game. This game starts with everyone finding a partner and playing Rock-Paper-Scissors (R-P-S) against said-partner. The loser will then 'attach' themselves to the winner, creating a line/train/conga line. The winner will then take his train to find another winner and battle it out in R-P-S. Whoever is the winner in that round gains the loser and his train. The game continues until there is one winner who has collected all the participants in the game, creating one very long train. I and another one of my colleagues participated in that game. I joined late, so I only got three rounds of R-P-S, but, I was the final loser, giving my decent-sized train over to a 1st grader. If it had been a sixth grader, I would have tried to win, but since it was a 1st grader, I tried (and successfully) lost. My cute little first grader had to give a winner's speech, which was 'It was fun.'. Then the kiddos lined back up according to their class and were led into a series a photo ops, first with the entire school, then as individual classes. Some parents and grandparents came with their cameras and took photos of the classes and school. The party lasted just about one period, so 40-60 minutes. It was fun, but settling the 2nd graders down for English class was near to impossible. On top of that, my head English teacher had to go to the city department for a meeting, so I was team-teaching with my school's curriculum coordinator. That was interesting, but fun. Unfortunately, the kids were zoned and my curriculum coordinator was concerned about how I was not engaging the kids. I tried explaining to her that this was unusual, but she was still a bit concerned in the end. Truth is that....the kids were unusually quiet and not their usual excited selves. No lies on my part. :P
The second Halloween event of the week was at my nearby school. I had been asked about 3 weeks ago to have a story ready to read to my students at the party. Well, long story short, I wrote my own Halloween story and, due to a series of events and some stupidly over-determined choices on my part, I didn't start the illustrations for my story until late last week. It took me the course of 5 days to ink my illustrations, and I couldn't finished coloring the work. Yet, the teachers were impressed by what I did get done and the kiddos seemed to enjoy the story, though, admittedly, it was a bit too lackluster and cute for a Halloween story. Back to the event, it took place on Thursday morning and lasted 2 periods (including clean-up). The kiddos were taken to the school's Audio Visual Room. Since Japanese kindergartens are not part of elementary schools, my 1st and 2nd graders had to wait for their kindergarten counterparts walk from the neighboring kindergarten next door. Just for clarification, my kindergarten and that particular elementary school are partners. Kindergartens tend to be logistically, though not physically, attached to a neighboring elementary schools, as opposed to nursery schools, which are private and are not partnered with a particular elementary school. In short, my kindergarten is a feeder school for my elementary school.
So, at the party, the kindergarten students were led to the AV room by designated 1st and 2nd grader 'big brothers and sisters' (Japan's a bit title-happy and will use the terms 'big bro' and 'big sis' casually for people just a little older than one's self). Then, the party got started. Two of the elementary students acted as emcees. They kicked off the party with introducing our Halloween song- 'Ten Little Pumpkins'. Ya know 'Ten Little Indians', right? 'One little, two little, three little indians, Four little, five little, six little indians'? Yeah, same song, just with counting pumpkins. Personally, I have always enjoyed this tune and still love it to death (Oh, Agatha).
After the song was storytime with me. The emcees had two students introduce me and I went into the story. It's about a cute little magical kitten named Kouki who wants to play with his human friends, but can't do so. Even when he turns himself into a human, he retains his cat ears and tail. However, on Halloween, he gets to join his friends in their school events and personal Halloween party and fun, since he fits in with everyone who is wearing a costume! At the very least, the kiddos got a taste of American Halloween fun from the story. They loved the eye pasta, witch's finger wieners, and spider cupcakes I threw in. :D
After that, the kids broke up into two groups by age/class levels. One group made Halloween pop-up cards and the other group made jack-o-lantern headbands. I spent time in each group, since they were in different rooms and on different floors. In the headband group, they had to come 'trick-or-treating' to me for the actual headband. I had them knock on my desk (just like Kouki the cat did in the Halloween story on the neighbor's door) when they for their headbands. Afterwards, the headband group did a monster-esque dance together and took a group photo with me. And then, we sent the kindergarteners back on their way with waves and smiles and cleaned up.
It is important to note that all the elementary students had made their crafts prior to the party and were responsible in helping the kindergarteners makes their own. So, it is a bit hands-off for the teachers. We merely are supervisors and directors. This is very Japanese, mind you. Anytime there is an event at school, a group of upperclassmen are leading the event. Teachers assist as needed and make sure the rest of the kids are behaving.
Thus was my party week. I'm done. Barely crawled out of bed a little after noon today...barely cleaned up in mid afternoon. So glad that I have Monday...Oh wait, I have Monday because I have school next Saturday! YAY!...It's an open house, where the parents are able to see their kids learning in class. In other words, it's a parent observation day. I will be teaching two periods of sixth graders in the morning that day. One thing that is nice is that (at least in elementary school), the school week is strictly five days a week and any school event on Saturday will include one normal day of class canceled either the week before or after the Saturday event....Yes, I learned this the hard way (Thank you, Last Saturday's event to which I was late and had to take a half-day's worth of vacation time to cover my lateness...).
Welp, that has been my Halloween week. Hopefully next year will be a bit more eventful and hands-on on my part.
Until then, later peeps!
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By the way, I dressed up as Pokemon Trainer of my own design. I was known as 'Satoshi' that day. Satoshi is the Japanese name for the Pokemon anime series' hero, Ash....It is (apparently) also the generic name for a Pokemon Trainer. Later.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Monday, September 7, 2015
The darkest shadows come and go.
Hey peeps,
We have all been there. Life breaks us, a series of hardships comes to a cacophonous climax, events occur that have echoed throughout the rest of our lives. This week marks the first anniversary of that break for me. But, that break began some time before last September.
A little over two years ago, I came back from studying abroad in Japan. From that point forward until right around this time last year, things in my life felt like they were just blowing up in my face as I fought against my reverse culture shock and other life struggles. All I wanted to do was to be back in Japan, on my own, trying to stand on my two feet as an artist and as an individual, away from the stuff going on back at home. I wanted to be self-reliant and take on my own battles so I could learn to tackle life with God by my side and rely on Him without the constant strains from outside worries. Yet, I was struggling the wrong way and got to my breaking point last summer. I knew that one more loss would break me and I was afraid of what that break might look like. In fact, the fear from never having been in that darkest pit is what frightened me the most.
Flash forward to this past month and a half. In the back of my mind was the week of September 11. That date has held a lot of weight in my life since that tragic day in 2001, but has since become my mental mark for one of the toughest times I have had to get through to date. So, this new week has been something I have been dreading for about a month, month and a half.
Last year, just days after the anniversary of 9/11, I went to the first evening of my church's new round of Women's Bible studies. I knew I needed to draw closer to God and needed to be with the women of my church as fellow student while my mom facilitated the Wednesday night Women's Bible study. Yet, Thank the Lord He put that need on my heart, because I did not expect how greatly I would need that group of women until I got home that night.
Like usual, upon coming home to stay for the evening, I planted myself in front of my pc and checked Facebook...only...I found that one of my friends had messaged me several times regarding a mutual friend. I could feel the horror and panic in her messages regarding posts being made on our mutual friend's Facebook page, so I rushed over to that mutual friend's page and found post after post about a 'Celebration of Life' event being made in his honor. Right then, I knew that something had happened and didn't want to believe what I was seeing. I was able to get in contact with the person seemingly in charge of organizing the event and learned that this friend of mine had committed suicide over the weekend.
Suicide's one of those things that opens a hellish door of mental anguish and torture. It is like the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; it opens your eyes to death and human fragility and taunts you with it. Just like how Adam and Eve suddenly became aware of their nakedness after eating the fruit, suicide makes you aware of the simplicity of death. And this awareness horrified me and made me feel vulnerable all the way through my bone marrow.
Emotionally, I felt like an empty shell. My emotions were distant and the tears that poured down my cheeks were seemingly meaningless to me. Even though I knew that it was natural for me to be grieving, the sobbing felt false because I was so emotionally numb.
Sitting in class was a nightmare because I would start having panic attacks and wanted to just run out of the classroom and curl up somewhere safe, though very few places felt safe anymore. I would come home from class and collapse somewhere and sleep for hours without getting homework or studying down. Finally, within just a couple of weeks after my friend's death, I knew I needed to get help and made that long, daunting walk to the university mental health office.
By the Grace of God and my professors, I passed that semester despite falling behind and not being able to finish work. However, that was also the most healing semester. My friend's death forced me to confront my back-breaking anxiety and broke my knees in front of the Lord's Presence. Surviving that darkness has strengthened me beyond my wildest imagination and allowed me to seek after the series of events that led me back to Japan. And most of all, it allowed me to be filled once more with the hope that God would bring me back to Japan.
Of course, by no means is living by myself in Japan easy. I am sadly not as responsible as I would like to be and I am struggling to establish a daily schedule that would allow to work on my manga around my teaching position while exploring interests that I haven't been able to fully enjoy for years. Yet, going through the struggles of the past couple of years and their culmination last year surrounding my friend's death allowed me to learn a lot about myself, such as my signs of stress, in what environments I succeed or struggle, how to open up to people about my struggles, and, most importantly, how and why I can rely on God.
Yes, I have been dreading this week because this week will lead into the first anniversary of my friend's death coupled with the anniversary of 9/11, which is dear to my heart because I witnessed firsthand the grief it brought into the lives of many Americans through the crying friends of a victim's son who were bawling in my high school's parking lot that day. This week is also difficult because the time I had with this friend was spent in Japan as study abroad students. He was part of my study abroad and, like the rest of that group, was like family to me. Then there is the juxtaposition of the current me and the me from last year. The current me is boldly, though clumsily walking towards my dreams and living in the one place I want to be, while the me of last year had shut out all thoughts of living in Japan in order to not be engulfed with the overwhelming desire to be back and was struggling to just crawl forward towards graduation without the hope of being in Japan in the near future. Tack on the sudden loss of my friend and all my dreams of reuniting our whole study abroad group in Japan, there is a lot of weight that this week carries, especially since I have been living and working in Japan since graduation.
This week, I will allow myself to be tired in the evenings. I can be forgetful and klutzy, even absent-minded. I do not have to be doing my best because I probably will not be at my best and that's okay. The darkest shadows have come and gone, but the wounds from them are still healing. So, I will give myself permission to let those wounds heal some more.
Until then, later peeps.
We have all been there. Life breaks us, a series of hardships comes to a cacophonous climax, events occur that have echoed throughout the rest of our lives. This week marks the first anniversary of that break for me. But, that break began some time before last September.
A little over two years ago, I came back from studying abroad in Japan. From that point forward until right around this time last year, things in my life felt like they were just blowing up in my face as I fought against my reverse culture shock and other life struggles. All I wanted to do was to be back in Japan, on my own, trying to stand on my two feet as an artist and as an individual, away from the stuff going on back at home. I wanted to be self-reliant and take on my own battles so I could learn to tackle life with God by my side and rely on Him without the constant strains from outside worries. Yet, I was struggling the wrong way and got to my breaking point last summer. I knew that one more loss would break me and I was afraid of what that break might look like. In fact, the fear from never having been in that darkest pit is what frightened me the most.
Flash forward to this past month and a half. In the back of my mind was the week of September 11. That date has held a lot of weight in my life since that tragic day in 2001, but has since become my mental mark for one of the toughest times I have had to get through to date. So, this new week has been something I have been dreading for about a month, month and a half.
Last year, just days after the anniversary of 9/11, I went to the first evening of my church's new round of Women's Bible studies. I knew I needed to draw closer to God and needed to be with the women of my church as fellow student while my mom facilitated the Wednesday night Women's Bible study. Yet, Thank the Lord He put that need on my heart, because I did not expect how greatly I would need that group of women until I got home that night.
Like usual, upon coming home to stay for the evening, I planted myself in front of my pc and checked Facebook...only...I found that one of my friends had messaged me several times regarding a mutual friend. I could feel the horror and panic in her messages regarding posts being made on our mutual friend's Facebook page, so I rushed over to that mutual friend's page and found post after post about a 'Celebration of Life' event being made in his honor. Right then, I knew that something had happened and didn't want to believe what I was seeing. I was able to get in contact with the person seemingly in charge of organizing the event and learned that this friend of mine had committed suicide over the weekend.
Suicide's one of those things that opens a hellish door of mental anguish and torture. It is like the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; it opens your eyes to death and human fragility and taunts you with it. Just like how Adam and Eve suddenly became aware of their nakedness after eating the fruit, suicide makes you aware of the simplicity of death. And this awareness horrified me and made me feel vulnerable all the way through my bone marrow.
Emotionally, I felt like an empty shell. My emotions were distant and the tears that poured down my cheeks were seemingly meaningless to me. Even though I knew that it was natural for me to be grieving, the sobbing felt false because I was so emotionally numb.
Sitting in class was a nightmare because I would start having panic attacks and wanted to just run out of the classroom and curl up somewhere safe, though very few places felt safe anymore. I would come home from class and collapse somewhere and sleep for hours without getting homework or studying down. Finally, within just a couple of weeks after my friend's death, I knew I needed to get help and made that long, daunting walk to the university mental health office.
By the Grace of God and my professors, I passed that semester despite falling behind and not being able to finish work. However, that was also the most healing semester. My friend's death forced me to confront my back-breaking anxiety and broke my knees in front of the Lord's Presence. Surviving that darkness has strengthened me beyond my wildest imagination and allowed me to seek after the series of events that led me back to Japan. And most of all, it allowed me to be filled once more with the hope that God would bring me back to Japan.
Of course, by no means is living by myself in Japan easy. I am sadly not as responsible as I would like to be and I am struggling to establish a daily schedule that would allow to work on my manga around my teaching position while exploring interests that I haven't been able to fully enjoy for years. Yet, going through the struggles of the past couple of years and their culmination last year surrounding my friend's death allowed me to learn a lot about myself, such as my signs of stress, in what environments I succeed or struggle, how to open up to people about my struggles, and, most importantly, how and why I can rely on God.
Yes, I have been dreading this week because this week will lead into the first anniversary of my friend's death coupled with the anniversary of 9/11, which is dear to my heart because I witnessed firsthand the grief it brought into the lives of many Americans through the crying friends of a victim's son who were bawling in my high school's parking lot that day. This week is also difficult because the time I had with this friend was spent in Japan as study abroad students. He was part of my study abroad and, like the rest of that group, was like family to me. Then there is the juxtaposition of the current me and the me from last year. The current me is boldly, though clumsily walking towards my dreams and living in the one place I want to be, while the me of last year had shut out all thoughts of living in Japan in order to not be engulfed with the overwhelming desire to be back and was struggling to just crawl forward towards graduation without the hope of being in Japan in the near future. Tack on the sudden loss of my friend and all my dreams of reuniting our whole study abroad group in Japan, there is a lot of weight that this week carries, especially since I have been living and working in Japan since graduation.
This week, I will allow myself to be tired in the evenings. I can be forgetful and klutzy, even absent-minded. I do not have to be doing my best because I probably will not be at my best and that's okay. The darkest shadows have come and gone, but the wounds from them are still healing. So, I will give myself permission to let those wounds heal some more.
Until then, later peeps.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Life of an AET
Hey peeps!
Tis me again! This time I'd like to discuss what it means to be an AET! In fact, what IS an AET? AET is an acronym used in our city for "Assistant English Teacher". We are hired through the city of Mito and are technically public servants. Though we work full-time, we are not licensed teachers, so we cannot be head English teachers nor can we technically teach alone. A licensed teacher needs to be with us as we teach. As a result, we are (ideally) team teaching. This, of course, varies from teacher to teacher, school to school. I naturally share the floor with my JTs. What is a JT? A licensed Japanese Teacher, aka the home room teacher. I say that I 'naturally share the floor' because I am very used to team teaching, thanks to working for many years at church with my mom and other children's ministry leaders/teachers.
So, what does a day in school look like for us AETs? Well, let's first discuss what a 'normal' day at school looks like for a Japanese student. Beginning in elementary school, all students have class periods. That means they have a 1st period, 2nd period, 3rd period, and so on. Rather than the students be the ones to switch rooms from period to period, the teachers are the ones who switch rooms, with a few exceptions. Some classes, such as Home Ec and Music, have designated rooms, so the students will go to those rooms for those specific classes. In elementary school, the home room teacher will teach most of the classes, by the way.
Us AETs will teach multiple class periods a day. Now, some of us are teaching in junior high, some in elementary, and many of us also go to a nursery school or kindergarten. You are probably assuming that if we are elementary teachers, we would of course teach kindergarten because, well, kindergarten is part of elementary school...right? Boo-boooooo (that is the Japanese sound for a 'wrong answer' buzzer)! Here in Japan, kindergarten is a separate school from elementary school! So, what's the difference between a nursery school and a Japanese kindergarten? Well, a nursery school is a individual entity that teaches toddlers through 6 year olds. A kindergarten is an entity in co-operation with a specific elementary school that teaches 4 to 6 years olds. Let me stress that the nursery schools and kindergartens that us AETs teach at are public establishments! I merely used the term 'individual entity' in the nursery description to stress that it is NOT in co-operation with one elementary school. A nursery school will feed their students into many elementary schools, while a kindergarten is a feeder school into one specific elementary school. Did that confuse you? If so, I can clarify the difference in another post. Just leave me a note at the end of this post.
Now, back to our daily life as an AET. As individuals, we all work at multiple schools. Some work mainly in junior high, others mainly in elementary schools. Many of us also have one or more nursery schools or kindergartens that we work at in addition to our elementary/ junior high schools. This is where it gets very messy and very unique to each AET.
From here on out, I will talk mainly upon my experiences to help paint a better picture of the day.
This year I am stationed at two elementary schools and one kindergarten. The elementary school closest to me is my 'main' elementary school, because I work more days there. It is also the elementary school with whom my kindergarten co-operates. My second elementary is quite far from my apartment, so I take a train to get to it. My commute time is about an hour on those days, as opposed to 3 minutes for getting to my main school (no, seriously, my apartment is caddy-corner plus change from the schoolyard. Unfortunately, the teacher's entrance is on the opposite side of the school from my apartment.)
So here is my daily schedule.
Mon:
1st- Main School
2nd and 3rd- Kindergarten
4th- Main School
5th- Main School (every other Mon, I miss 5th period, which will be explained later!)
Tues
1st-6th- Second School
Weds-Thurs
1st-6th Main School
Fri
2nd-Second School
3rd-Second School
*The caveat is that on Fridays, I stay the entire day at my second school, but only teach 2nd and 3rd period.
Other AETs will have half days at one school, then travel to the next school, so their schedule may not be 1st through 6th period teaching. They may teach 1st through 2nd at a school, then travel during 3rd period to their next school and teach 4th through 6th period. It's all dependent on how many schools are they placed in and how long it takes to travel between schools. It also is dependent on how many AETs are placed in one school. My schools only have me as an AET, so my days are packed with classes; however, I do not have to worry about traveling much through each day.
Now, the elementary schools require 5th and 6th graders to have two English classes scheduled a week, while 1st through 4th graders only have one English class a week. This does not guarantee that we AETs will see our students the required amount of time each week. Some AETs may share 5th and 6th graders, so they only teach one 5th grade or 6th grade class a week. Other times, English classes are flat out canceled in lieu of special activities or extenuating circumstances. During July, elementary schools open up their pools, so the grades will take turns for pool time! As a result, one of the classes during the day will be canceled to make room for pool time. And sometimes, that class is English! OR sometimes, my English classes will be combined in order to make room for pool time. Sometimes I will have both my 4th grade classes at my main school in the same period! That's about 40 to 50 kids in my class that day.
There are other special events that may lead to a class being canceled. The 1st and 2nd graders will have 'Exploration Time', where, during a class period, they will go outside and take notes or make drawings about what kind of life they can find around the school, may it bugs or plants. Other times, a special speaker will come to the school for a talk or demonstration, leading to one or more class cancellations. Each day brings a new experience.
It is important to note that sometimes these class cancellations can be weather-related. One day, I had both of my 2nd grade classes cancelled because they had an Exploration Time during one of the periods that I usually teach 2nd grade English. This was because their original Exploration Time had been rained out the week before and it continued to rain until the day of the week that I usually teach 2nd grade at that school. So, without knowing when they would have another clear day for Exploration Time, the 2nd grade teachers decided to go for it and force Exploration Time into that day's schedule. Since I only teach 2nd grade once a day, it was decided that, since one of the 2nd grade classes had missed their English class that day, the other one would not have their English class right afterwards. That way, both 2nd classes would still be learning the same material in English class the next week.
For me, I welcome these class cancellations because it gives me a surprise downtime during an otherwise busy day.
Okay, so that's what our normal workday looks like. Always changing! But, remember how I mentioned that I miss my 5th period every other Monday? That's because we have AET meetings at the city education office every 2nd and 4th Monday of the month- thus being bi-monthly meetings. We have to be at the city office by 3:30, but because it is quite a distance away for me and the only bus going towards the office makes its round about twice an hour in the afternoon, I am forced to skip 5th period in order to make the bus on time and, thus get to the meeting on time. Usually, AETs do not have 5th period on Monday, but in order make sure that all the grades at my main have the required number of English classes per week, 5th period on Monday has to be scheduled as an English class. On the days that I have to go to an AET meeting, my head English at the main school takes over my 5th period English. In the end, things work out well. As a side note, my head English teacher usually team teaches with me at 5th period on Mondays, so her schedule is not affected by my absence.
Well, that is the daily school life for an AET. Later, I will get into vacation time and dress code, since teachers have to work through out the vacations and dress code varies between the time of year and between the city office and schools. Tis messy. But, those are later topics.
I hope this was an informative post. Please leave me a message at the end of the post with any questions and comments regarding the information I gave in this post.
Until then, later peeps!
Tis me again! This time I'd like to discuss what it means to be an AET! In fact, what IS an AET? AET is an acronym used in our city for "Assistant English Teacher". We are hired through the city of Mito and are technically public servants. Though we work full-time, we are not licensed teachers, so we cannot be head English teachers nor can we technically teach alone. A licensed teacher needs to be with us as we teach. As a result, we are (ideally) team teaching. This, of course, varies from teacher to teacher, school to school. I naturally share the floor with my JTs. What is a JT? A licensed Japanese Teacher, aka the home room teacher. I say that I 'naturally share the floor' because I am very used to team teaching, thanks to working for many years at church with my mom and other children's ministry leaders/teachers.
So, what does a day in school look like for us AETs? Well, let's first discuss what a 'normal' day at school looks like for a Japanese student. Beginning in elementary school, all students have class periods. That means they have a 1st period, 2nd period, 3rd period, and so on. Rather than the students be the ones to switch rooms from period to period, the teachers are the ones who switch rooms, with a few exceptions. Some classes, such as Home Ec and Music, have designated rooms, so the students will go to those rooms for those specific classes. In elementary school, the home room teacher will teach most of the classes, by the way.
Us AETs will teach multiple class periods a day. Now, some of us are teaching in junior high, some in elementary, and many of us also go to a nursery school or kindergarten. You are probably assuming that if we are elementary teachers, we would of course teach kindergarten because, well, kindergarten is part of elementary school...right? Boo-boooooo (that is the Japanese sound for a 'wrong answer' buzzer)! Here in Japan, kindergarten is a separate school from elementary school! So, what's the difference between a nursery school and a Japanese kindergarten? Well, a nursery school is a individual entity that teaches toddlers through 6 year olds. A kindergarten is an entity in co-operation with a specific elementary school that teaches 4 to 6 years olds. Let me stress that the nursery schools and kindergartens that us AETs teach at are public establishments! I merely used the term 'individual entity' in the nursery description to stress that it is NOT in co-operation with one elementary school. A nursery school will feed their students into many elementary schools, while a kindergarten is a feeder school into one specific elementary school. Did that confuse you? If so, I can clarify the difference in another post. Just leave me a note at the end of this post.
Now, back to our daily life as an AET. As individuals, we all work at multiple schools. Some work mainly in junior high, others mainly in elementary schools. Many of us also have one or more nursery schools or kindergartens that we work at in addition to our elementary/ junior high schools. This is where it gets very messy and very unique to each AET.
From here on out, I will talk mainly upon my experiences to help paint a better picture of the day.
This year I am stationed at two elementary schools and one kindergarten. The elementary school closest to me is my 'main' elementary school, because I work more days there. It is also the elementary school with whom my kindergarten co-operates. My second elementary is quite far from my apartment, so I take a train to get to it. My commute time is about an hour on those days, as opposed to 3 minutes for getting to my main school (no, seriously, my apartment is caddy-corner plus change from the schoolyard. Unfortunately, the teacher's entrance is on the opposite side of the school from my apartment.)
So here is my daily schedule.
Mon:
1st- Main School
2nd and 3rd- Kindergarten
4th- Main School
5th- Main School (every other Mon, I miss 5th period, which will be explained later!)
Tues
1st-6th- Second School
Weds-Thurs
1st-6th Main School
Fri
2nd-Second School
3rd-Second School
*The caveat is that on Fridays, I stay the entire day at my second school, but only teach 2nd and 3rd period.
Other AETs will have half days at one school, then travel to the next school, so their schedule may not be 1st through 6th period teaching. They may teach 1st through 2nd at a school, then travel during 3rd period to their next school and teach 4th through 6th period. It's all dependent on how many schools are they placed in and how long it takes to travel between schools. It also is dependent on how many AETs are placed in one school. My schools only have me as an AET, so my days are packed with classes; however, I do not have to worry about traveling much through each day.
Now, the elementary schools require 5th and 6th graders to have two English classes scheduled a week, while 1st through 4th graders only have one English class a week. This does not guarantee that we AETs will see our students the required amount of time each week. Some AETs may share 5th and 6th graders, so they only teach one 5th grade or 6th grade class a week. Other times, English classes are flat out canceled in lieu of special activities or extenuating circumstances. During July, elementary schools open up their pools, so the grades will take turns for pool time! As a result, one of the classes during the day will be canceled to make room for pool time. And sometimes, that class is English! OR sometimes, my English classes will be combined in order to make room for pool time. Sometimes I will have both my 4th grade classes at my main school in the same period! That's about 40 to 50 kids in my class that day.
There are other special events that may lead to a class being canceled. The 1st and 2nd graders will have 'Exploration Time', where, during a class period, they will go outside and take notes or make drawings about what kind of life they can find around the school, may it bugs or plants. Other times, a special speaker will come to the school for a talk or demonstration, leading to one or more class cancellations. Each day brings a new experience.
It is important to note that sometimes these class cancellations can be weather-related. One day, I had both of my 2nd grade classes cancelled because they had an Exploration Time during one of the periods that I usually teach 2nd grade English. This was because their original Exploration Time had been rained out the week before and it continued to rain until the day of the week that I usually teach 2nd grade at that school. So, without knowing when they would have another clear day for Exploration Time, the 2nd grade teachers decided to go for it and force Exploration Time into that day's schedule. Since I only teach 2nd grade once a day, it was decided that, since one of the 2nd grade classes had missed their English class that day, the other one would not have their English class right afterwards. That way, both 2nd classes would still be learning the same material in English class the next week.
For me, I welcome these class cancellations because it gives me a surprise downtime during an otherwise busy day.
Okay, so that's what our normal workday looks like. Always changing! But, remember how I mentioned that I miss my 5th period every other Monday? That's because we have AET meetings at the city education office every 2nd and 4th Monday of the month- thus being bi-monthly meetings. We have to be at the city office by 3:30, but because it is quite a distance away for me and the only bus going towards the office makes its round about twice an hour in the afternoon, I am forced to skip 5th period in order to make the bus on time and, thus get to the meeting on time. Usually, AETs do not have 5th period on Monday, but in order make sure that all the grades at my main have the required number of English classes per week, 5th period on Monday has to be scheduled as an English class. On the days that I have to go to an AET meeting, my head English at the main school takes over my 5th period English. In the end, things work out well. As a side note, my head English teacher usually team teaches with me at 5th period on Mondays, so her schedule is not affected by my absence.
Well, that is the daily school life for an AET. Later, I will get into vacation time and dress code, since teachers have to work through out the vacations and dress code varies between the time of year and between the city office and schools. Tis messy. But, those are later topics.
I hope this was an informative post. Please leave me a message at the end of the post with any questions and comments regarding the information I gave in this post.
Until then, later peeps!
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Settling down in Japan
Hello peops!
We are at the end of the first quarter of school now! Next week is our last week of school before break and I'm pumped! Mito-shi, the city I live in, has a huge summer festival on the first full weekend of August. That means the first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of August is festival time. It's apparently really big! The schools around Mito have these square-ish flags that are roughly 14"x 14" that the staff and students each design to be displayed around town during August. I was asked by one of my schools to design their main school flag, so it has been design and is in process of being colored and painted, because, ya know, artist has to make it the best she can.
During my break, I will have training days for my schools and my employers, some of which include field trips and painting school yard equipment. So, it's not like I have the summer off, but I do have 6 special summer vacation days that I am allowed to take off. These days are for us to use at our discretion. I just don't have 6 consecutive days off, so I haven't decided on how to use them, yet.
As I am living here, I am remembering some of the posts I wrote as a study abroad student, such as the trash post. Welp, guess what, I will be revisiting some of those topics later on.
Here are some of the topics I will be writing about in the coming weeks and months:
Japanese school schedules
Lunchtime at school
Trash-again
Different types of 'Rest Days' from work
Mito-shi
Seasons
Japanese Holidays
If there is a topic you're dying to learn about, just leave it in the comments below.
Until then, later peops!
We are at the end of the first quarter of school now! Next week is our last week of school before break and I'm pumped! Mito-shi, the city I live in, has a huge summer festival on the first full weekend of August. That means the first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of August is festival time. It's apparently really big! The schools around Mito have these square-ish flags that are roughly 14"x 14" that the staff and students each design to be displayed around town during August. I was asked by one of my schools to design their main school flag, so it has been design and is in process of being colored and painted, because, ya know, artist has to make it the best she can.
During my break, I will have training days for my schools and my employers, some of which include field trips and painting school yard equipment. So, it's not like I have the summer off, but I do have 6 special summer vacation days that I am allowed to take off. These days are for us to use at our discretion. I just don't have 6 consecutive days off, so I haven't decided on how to use them, yet.
As I am living here, I am remembering some of the posts I wrote as a study abroad student, such as the trash post. Welp, guess what, I will be revisiting some of those topics later on.
Here are some of the topics I will be writing about in the coming weeks and months:
Japanese school schedules
Lunchtime at school
Trash-again
Different types of 'Rest Days' from work
Mito-shi
Seasons
Japanese Holidays
If there is a topic you're dying to learn about, just leave it in the comments below.
Until then, later peops!
Thursday, May 28, 2015
It's blogging season again!
Hey Peeps,
I really wanted to continue this blog while I was in school, but that did not happen. Sorry to all you have read this blog or stumbled upon it.
Welp, as the title suggests, I am back and ready to go. Literally! I am hanging out in the airport waiting to catch my flight to Japan. This time I ain't livin' there for nearly 11 months. In fact, I have no solid return time. No, no, no. This time is real. I am truly moving to Japan for an indefinite amount of time. I will be teaching English to munchkins (kindergarten/elementary for now) through the Mito AET Program. Mito-shi, Ibaraki-ken (-shi indicates 'City of-' or 'Town of-', while '-ken' means 'Prefecture of-')....as I was saying, Mito-shi is the sister city to Anaheim, so the program hires people connected to Anaheim and.....Oklahomans....WHY OKLAHOMANS!?!?!? Well, that's an easy wuestion to answer. Oklahoma Christian University is the sister university of Ibaraki-ken's Ibaraki Christian University. In fact, it was the relationship between these two universities that started the AET program in Mito-shi!
So...what's a AET? AET stands for 'Assisted English Teacher'. From what I understand, we are placed at schools where we will be a single-subject teacher. In the middle schools, our teachers are truly assistants to the main teacher, whereas in the kindergartens and elementary schools (they are separate schools in Japan), we are the main teachers of English. I will give more info once I fully understand the program myself.
Anyhoo, the gates are opening at my terminal! I will blog later, after my flight!
Until then, Later Peeps!
I really wanted to continue this blog while I was in school, but that did not happen. Sorry to all you have read this blog or stumbled upon it.
Welp, as the title suggests, I am back and ready to go. Literally! I am hanging out in the airport waiting to catch my flight to Japan. This time I ain't livin' there for nearly 11 months. In fact, I have no solid return time. No, no, no. This time is real. I am truly moving to Japan for an indefinite amount of time. I will be teaching English to munchkins (kindergarten/elementary for now) through the Mito AET Program. Mito-shi, Ibaraki-ken (-shi indicates 'City of-' or 'Town of-', while '-ken' means 'Prefecture of-')....as I was saying, Mito-shi is the sister city to Anaheim, so the program hires people connected to Anaheim and.....Oklahomans....WHY OKLAHOMANS!?!?!? Well, that's an easy wuestion to answer. Oklahoma Christian University is the sister university of Ibaraki-ken's Ibaraki Christian University. In fact, it was the relationship between these two universities that started the AET program in Mito-shi!
So...what's a AET? AET stands for 'Assisted English Teacher'. From what I understand, we are placed at schools where we will be a single-subject teacher. In the middle schools, our teachers are truly assistants to the main teacher, whereas in the kindergartens and elementary schools (they are separate schools in Japan), we are the main teachers of English. I will give more info once I fully understand the program myself.
Anyhoo, the gates are opening at my terminal! I will blog later, after my flight!
Until then, Later Peeps!
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Knowing yourself abroad
Hey Peeps,
I began this blog some time ago. Upon rereading it, I felt that it would be necessary to wrap it up and post it. So, here I am, posting this older post. I hope it is informative and thought-provoking!
I was reading a blog, a home design blog in fact, and I noticed something, the blogger, HGTV Host of the show 'Fixer Upper' Joanna Gaines, discusses the reason behind one of her home decor piece. She starts off the blog post writing:
"I’m a visual person. I like to post things in obvious places so I can go through my day thinking about what’s important."
This posting, which is linked to the phrase, "home design blog" in my first sentence, is regarding a board that has 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 neatly written on it. It is reminder to herself about what God describes love as being. So this blog got me thinking, how important is it to know yourself?
As a Psych minor, I have really learned to discover myself, which includes my strengths, weaknesses, and personal boundaries. The most important thing I have learned about myself is the process in which I determine my habits and actions as a personality trait or as a learned behavior. By being able to unthread the fabric of my being to its origins, I can figure out my needs, my limitations, and my tendencies, both good and bad.
Here's where it becomes really important to know oneself. Each nation and culture have a cultural habits that can lift people up and tear them down. With both individuals and cultures, characteristics need to be treated like a double-edged sword. This imagery for me comes from the Bible, where in Hebrews 4:11-13, it says:
"Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account."
Granted, when the Word of God, the Bible, is being described as a double-edged sword, it is conveying the seemingly harsh and quick penetration of the Lord's Word when it exposes that which we offer to Him. This imagery that we see as being war-like is also a reference to how the Jewish leaders used to offer sacrifices to the Lord. They would dissect the offered animal and inspect them for imperfections. Note, I do not consider myself an expert in any way of Jewish or Christian imagery or history, though one day I pray I can be learned in such fields. I just know where to look for Biblical Commentaries, thanks to my mom.
While the sword is used to illustrate the Lord's dissection of our soul, the sword is also a symbol of human destruction and unnecessary violence towards each other. I say 'unnecessary' because some violence is a necessary reaction to another's violence, one that protects against evil. Likewise, personal and cultural characteristics have an aspect that is good and an aspect that is destructive. As students or people living abroad, we have to learn to recognize where our characteristics can be good for us and where it blurs into self-destruction.
For example, I am a true coffee drinker. I am so bad that I have been known to over-caffeinated myself. When I get anxious, I tend to reach for coffee, teas, or sweets; but, I also am more sensitive to caffeinated, thus it is easier to be over-caffeinated.
Japanese culture is a culture of drinking. This comes from their communal society, in which it is the citizen's duty to protect societal peace, even at the expense of one's own needs. As a result, the Japanese people not only have a hard time being straight forward with their own thoughts and emotions, but they are taught that saying 'no' creates unnecessary tension amongst people. So, those of you who have worked alongside the Japanese, this is why they will be ambiguous in their answers and seemingly will not follow through with their promises; their 'promises' are often the cultural way of saying 'no'. Since the Japanese are not straightforward with others, they find it difficult to warm up to each other and loosen up. You might see where this is going.
It is a common practice in the Japanese work force and in college groups to have frequent after-work or weekend drinking parties. Technically, it would be more like a dinner, where people gather to chat and relax with the people they are often around. However, in application, it becomes a drinking party. As Caucasian foreigner who does not drink at all, I was not pressured into drinking when the dinners I went to turned towards that direction. Note, those who look non-Asian are given more cultural freedom in Japan because we are easily identified as a foreigner. Foreigners who either look Asian or are from an Asian culture are subjected to the Japanese cultural rules and can be looked down upon for not adhering to them, since the lack of adherence is seen as a rejection of the 'communal good' or 'peace'.
So where does knowing oneself coming into play in this example? Well, I love new tastes and am always seeking new foods and drinks. I am also one who can easily form destructive habits. My coffee-drinking habit is a prime example of it. Because I know these two aspects about myself, I had to choose not to drink alcohol. While caffeine does make me jittery and can magnify my physical anxiety, it is not mind-altering in the way alcohol is. With that in mind, I avoid all alcohol. Yet, while I was in Japan, it was hard not to be tempted to taste alcohol when it was all around me. As a result, to counter that temptation, I carefuly chose carefully my social outings. If people were going to an izakaya, which is a place where social norms were allowed be hung up and forgotten over food and drinks, I had to decline the invitation, because these izakaya were often places where drinking is pushed upon people. Most, if not all, izakaya will have a nomihoudai, or "all-you-can-drink", plan that had to be paid for by all the people attending the dinner or not be an option. While izakaya offer a small non-drinking section of the nomihoudai drinks, it is manly there to get people to drink more and more alcohol. So, I often chose not to go to a dinner at an izakaya if it was not a birthday or school function. Also, while I could control my urges to try an alcoholic drink, I didn't want to be one of the few, or only, sober person, since it would become my duty as the sober guest to make sure everyone got to the train station or home safely. I was that person one time, in fact. It was because of that night that I chose to limit my time at izakaya functions.
With all that being said, I had to know myself to understand that I should limit my exposure to the Japanese drinking culture. Now, this is not the only experience I had to make judgement calls about what I should or should not do while abroad, but this is the most straightforward example. Other examples had more to do with making decisions about going to events through time, energy, and financial means. In short, you have to know yourself to make sound decisions about your activities, especially when you are abroad and having to deal with another culture. It is difficult because you are wanting to and expected to be respectful to cultural differences and experience as much about the culture as you can, but when is it become too much or too dangerous for you? Only you can decide.
That is a lot to think about, but I think it is all worth it.
Until then, later peeps!
I began this blog some time ago. Upon rereading it, I felt that it would be necessary to wrap it up and post it. So, here I am, posting this older post. I hope it is informative and thought-provoking!
I was reading a blog, a home design blog in fact, and I noticed something, the blogger, HGTV Host of the show 'Fixer Upper' Joanna Gaines, discusses the reason behind one of her home decor piece. She starts off the blog post writing:
"I’m a visual person. I like to post things in obvious places so I can go through my day thinking about what’s important."
This posting, which is linked to the phrase, "home design blog" in my first sentence, is regarding a board that has 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 neatly written on it. It is reminder to herself about what God describes love as being. So this blog got me thinking, how important is it to know yourself?
As a Psych minor, I have really learned to discover myself, which includes my strengths, weaknesses, and personal boundaries. The most important thing I have learned about myself is the process in which I determine my habits and actions as a personality trait or as a learned behavior. By being able to unthread the fabric of my being to its origins, I can figure out my needs, my limitations, and my tendencies, both good and bad.
Here's where it becomes really important to know oneself. Each nation and culture have a cultural habits that can lift people up and tear them down. With both individuals and cultures, characteristics need to be treated like a double-edged sword. This imagery for me comes from the Bible, where in Hebrews 4:11-13, it says:
"Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account."
Granted, when the Word of God, the Bible, is being described as a double-edged sword, it is conveying the seemingly harsh and quick penetration of the Lord's Word when it exposes that which we offer to Him. This imagery that we see as being war-like is also a reference to how the Jewish leaders used to offer sacrifices to the Lord. They would dissect the offered animal and inspect them for imperfections. Note, I do not consider myself an expert in any way of Jewish or Christian imagery or history, though one day I pray I can be learned in such fields. I just know where to look for Biblical Commentaries, thanks to my mom.
While the sword is used to illustrate the Lord's dissection of our soul, the sword is also a symbol of human destruction and unnecessary violence towards each other. I say 'unnecessary' because some violence is a necessary reaction to another's violence, one that protects against evil. Likewise, personal and cultural characteristics have an aspect that is good and an aspect that is destructive. As students or people living abroad, we have to learn to recognize where our characteristics can be good for us and where it blurs into self-destruction.
For example, I am a true coffee drinker. I am so bad that I have been known to over-caffeinated myself. When I get anxious, I tend to reach for coffee, teas, or sweets; but, I also am more sensitive to caffeinated, thus it is easier to be over-caffeinated.
Japanese culture is a culture of drinking. This comes from their communal society, in which it is the citizen's duty to protect societal peace, even at the expense of one's own needs. As a result, the Japanese people not only have a hard time being straight forward with their own thoughts and emotions, but they are taught that saying 'no' creates unnecessary tension amongst people. So, those of you who have worked alongside the Japanese, this is why they will be ambiguous in their answers and seemingly will not follow through with their promises; their 'promises' are often the cultural way of saying 'no'. Since the Japanese are not straightforward with others, they find it difficult to warm up to each other and loosen up. You might see where this is going.
It is a common practice in the Japanese work force and in college groups to have frequent after-work or weekend drinking parties. Technically, it would be more like a dinner, where people gather to chat and relax with the people they are often around. However, in application, it becomes a drinking party. As Caucasian foreigner who does not drink at all, I was not pressured into drinking when the dinners I went to turned towards that direction. Note, those who look non-Asian are given more cultural freedom in Japan because we are easily identified as a foreigner. Foreigners who either look Asian or are from an Asian culture are subjected to the Japanese cultural rules and can be looked down upon for not adhering to them, since the lack of adherence is seen as a rejection of the 'communal good' or 'peace'.
So where does knowing oneself coming into play in this example? Well, I love new tastes and am always seeking new foods and drinks. I am also one who can easily form destructive habits. My coffee-drinking habit is a prime example of it. Because I know these two aspects about myself, I had to choose not to drink alcohol. While caffeine does make me jittery and can magnify my physical anxiety, it is not mind-altering in the way alcohol is. With that in mind, I avoid all alcohol. Yet, while I was in Japan, it was hard not to be tempted to taste alcohol when it was all around me. As a result, to counter that temptation, I carefuly chose carefully my social outings. If people were going to an izakaya, which is a place where social norms were allowed be hung up and forgotten over food and drinks, I had to decline the invitation, because these izakaya were often places where drinking is pushed upon people. Most, if not all, izakaya will have a nomihoudai, or "all-you-can-drink", plan that had to be paid for by all the people attending the dinner or not be an option. While izakaya offer a small non-drinking section of the nomihoudai drinks, it is manly there to get people to drink more and more alcohol. So, I often chose not to go to a dinner at an izakaya if it was not a birthday or school function. Also, while I could control my urges to try an alcoholic drink, I didn't want to be one of the few, or only, sober person, since it would become my duty as the sober guest to make sure everyone got to the train station or home safely. I was that person one time, in fact. It was because of that night that I chose to limit my time at izakaya functions.
With all that being said, I had to know myself to understand that I should limit my exposure to the Japanese drinking culture. Now, this is not the only experience I had to make judgement calls about what I should or should not do while abroad, but this is the most straightforward example. Other examples had more to do with making decisions about going to events through time, energy, and financial means. In short, you have to know yourself to make sound decisions about your activities, especially when you are abroad and having to deal with another culture. It is difficult because you are wanting to and expected to be respectful to cultural differences and experience as much about the culture as you can, but when is it become too much or too dangerous for you? Only you can decide.
That is a lot to think about, but I think it is all worth it.
Until then, later peeps!
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