Back to the Grind

This is my first full work week this school year. While I can’t deny that spring break was wonderful (especially the part where Mom came to visit for two weeks), it’s nice to have a routine again. There’s something about having to go somewhere and do something with a certain frequency that stimulates general productivity – I feel more mentally active when I’m working. (That said, working five days a week does seem excessive; I’d be happier with four.)

I’m still settling into my teaching skin, but then again, I never expected to be this comfortable, either. If you asked me five years ago if I could see myself teaching junior high school, I would have laughed at you: Me? Stand in front of a classroom and speak with authority? As a child, I was the little girl who hid behind her mom when new people were around. I was one of only two students with non-speaking roles in my kindergarten class play. (Hopefully I at least looked cute in the tutu?) So much of my high school drama career was spent set building and working backstage that at the thespian awards ceremony held my senior year I was presented a framed “Stage Manager of the Year” certificate – despite never having technically occupied a managerial role. It continued on until college; I still remember the failure I felt after giving a (much prepared for) speech on Margaret Sanger, and the teacher’s comments that confirmed my poor performance. Public speaking and Angie never got along well.

Nonetheless, here I am in the strange world of private girls’ schools in Japan, standing in front of classrooms full of students for four or five hours every day, and I’m enjoying it more than ever. This will be very likely become my last year here*, and I’m determined to make it the best one yet.

Though the term is only barely off the ground, already I can feel that my classes are smoother than last year. I started two and a half years ago as an assistant (which often meant being a repeat-after-me-bot) and progressed, one year ago, into a full-fledged test-writing discipline-giving teacher – without ever acquiring any kind of credentials. Both companies I’ve worked with have given brief training sessions, but as dispatch companies sending me out into the schools there was a severe limit to the amount of guidance they were able to provide. My schools have been so hands off as to frequently forget to give me class schedules; they basically gave me textbooks and said, “Go!”

The last year has been a battle, but a fruitful one – I’ve learned what makes an effective lesson, how to approach my students and what to expect from them, how to write a good test. Lesson planning takes much less time than it used to and my chalkboard handwriting has significantly improved. (Writing on chalkboards is much more difficult than I’d expected. Have you tried it recently?)

The more I learn, the more I like my job.

Today’s first period class is a good example.

(Background: I’m teaching seventh grade “returnees” – students who have lived abroad – four periods a week. I had the same students last year, which was their first year of junior high. It’s quite challenging to design a curriculum that accommodates their varying English levels, and even harder to keep these energetic thirteen-year-olds from chattering incessantly in Japanese. Since last year was my first year teaching, I relied heavily on the textbook and filled out the term with speeches, newspaper articles, and a few other projects. At the end of the term I asked for their opinions, and a few students mentioned that in their overseas classes they did more reading. I slapped myself on the forehead and went searching for books at the appropriate level.)

Today I broke my returnee class into two groups to read The Wizard of Oz. Both groups worked at the same fast pace, finishing two chapters and answering the corresponding reading comprehension questions in about thirty-five minutes. I was surprised at how quickly they digested the material, and it was really good to see them helping each other out with pronunciation and even intonation.

It seems that keeping their mouths busy reading is the solution I've been looking for to stop the chattiness and keep them focused on English. Not only that, but I think it's worthy of a good chunk of class time. After all, reading was the method by which I absorbed English; I’d never heard of “be verbs” before becoming a teacher. Of course we will continue to do grammar exercises, presentations, writing assignments, and speaking and listening activities – but at this point I’m looking at devoting about a third of my curriculum to reading comprehension, and I’m really excited about it.

These returnee girls are at this school because their parents were afraid that after returning to Japan their English skills would wither and decay. On the contrary, they’re improving. It’s especially visible with the lower level girls; their journal entries have improved, they’ve acquired more vocabulary, and – most importantly – they speak English with more confidence and fluency. I can’t express how good it feels to be a part of that.

If it wasn't hard, it wouldn't be this satisfying.



*That is to say, the plan is to leave Japan next year, but the U.S. economy is so bad right now – Oregon’s unemployment rate is up to 12% – that it seems unwise to leave behind a perfectly good job with nothing on the horizon. It’s time to do some serious thinking about what I want to do at home. Teaching junior high is rewarding, but it’s not my calling.