07/27/2008: "Payback's a WHAT?"

Being a teacher (and I still use the term with some hesitancy. I always expect someone to come in and shout 'FRAUD'.. but thus far it hasn't happened), I've gained a newfound respect for the profession. It's definitely something that I can do in the short term, but it's not something that I could do for an extended period of time while maintaining any degree of sanity. Moreover, I'd like to apologize to all the teachers I had wronged through my childhood.

You see, I was a 'good kid' for the most part. In my scholastic career, I had never received an infraction, never got detention, and never had to be pulled aside for stern talking-to. I didn't necessarily get along so well with the other kids (let's just assume that my solitary attitude and lifestyle is not a new development. Nor is telling people that I'm inherently better than them and don't care about what they have to say. Really.. I was a charming kid), but that's life. However, there was one quirk that did make teaching a bit difficult. Namely, if I didn't want to do something, I wouldn't do it. Period. I got over this as I got older.. slightly.. but up until about the 3rd grade, getting me to do certain activities was a living hell. I remember one day at preschool (I was about 4 years old) sitting there while they sang "If you're happy and you know it". Well, I wasn't happy, I didn't want to be there. So, I didn't clap my hands. I argued with the teacher that clapping is saying I'm happy, and I'm not, though apparently she disagreed. Being coerced to clap, I sat there and sang "If you're not happy and you know it". Oh yes.. I was a delightful child.

But now I'm sitting on the other side of the table, finding myself repeating "What's the answer to question 4" about 15 times to a child who simply refuses to talk. One delightful girl (8-9?) simply refuses to talk, except in a whisper when you're lucky. I'm going to go see her today. I never realized the infinite patience this must have required from my teachers, to just keep that smile plastered on their face and repeat over and over until they got a proper answer. Some of these kids just won't answer (seeing as this is an optional English class, I'm still puzzled why they're attending. Is it just to make my life hell?).

Though, I'm not without recourse. My general approach to children who refuse to cooperate is to latch onto the first thing that comes out of their mouth and exclaiming "Perfect! Good job, that's right!" and then repeating what the correct answer was. It makes the other students think they're participating AND lets me move on.

Now, when you have 3 six year old boys running around the room, screaming their heads off.. there's really nothing you can do about that to instill order (unfortunately, Japanese teachers--including those that teach with me in children's classes--have a VERY hands off approach). I'm also not allowed to speak in Japanese or scold the children, so it's basically a free for all. What's a poor teacher to do? Encourage it. Tell them to scream the answers louder. LOUDER. No. LOUDER. It lets them know you don't care about what they do and it won't upset you, and more importantly, my goal is to get them to scream themselves hoarse in the first 5 minutes. I'm serious.. it works. Sounds a little psychotic, but hey.. it works.

Aside from that.. I went to two festivals this weekend. Walked about 8-10 miles on Saturday.. god, that was tiring. But it was fun. Sunday was interesting too, as it was a local (not city-wide) festival. Both were fun in their own ways.

I'll write about those later.. right now I need to get ready for work. I have 'typing time' in the office today. Gotta sit there and write up documents for the company or proofread stuff. How exciting.

Later!


Jason