...alone in a crowd.
Alone like "no will help you or acknowledge you exist."
22 November 2005
17 November 2005
Kvetching (skip this one if you like...)
I'm not dead or anything. It's just been a bit difficult to find anything I felt like typing up. Perhaps a real teacher has a lot more in the way of emotional drain as well as feedback from the kids. But the nature of my work precludes getting to know many of the students very well. I spend about the same amount of time with all 650 of the junior high schoolers (that is, one visit to a class of 40 per week) and all 1100 of the elementary school kids (one visit per class of 40 about every five or six weeks). All of which is to say that when I hear about the intangible rewards of teaching, I have to assume they more frequently come to the people who don't shuffle from class to class six times a day.
All of which is to say that I'm not really getting so much out of being an assistant language teacher in Japan these days. Sure, hearing the kids crack wise now and again is a hoot. And I do feel a sense of pride when they trust me enough to smart off in front of me. Of course, that may have more to do with the fact that they probably don't see me as any sort of authority figure, but I'm going to continue assuming it's trust and not just a lack of respect/fear. But what I was trying to say is that it's not really enough.
For the first couple of weeks this job was fairly demanding. Not the actual class stuff, but figuring out how to function in a new environment without the recognizable social and language clues. Thanks to the "rote and repeat" learning methods favored by the ministry of education, I really don't have to do much more than demonstrate pronunciation and intonation. A moderately clever person with a script, some sound editing software, and a CD burner could cover about a months worth of my work in a two-hour session. Of course, they might not have access to a mellifluous voice like mine, but that's not really the issue. My job takes a lot of time and a fair amount of energy, but it really isn't much of a challenge anymore.
And honestly, a lot of the time there is a distinct feeling of futility. Think carefully here: how many times in the last year have you had to explain the same thing to the same group of people before you could start a meeting? Even though most people here seem to learn "I'mfainsankyu" as a single word to be used in response to any "how" question, the fact that children in speaking classes are trained to mindlessly repeat everything the teacher says means I have to re-teach the answer to "how are you?" every single time I enter an elementary school class.
How many times have I had to teach the answer to "how are you?" this year? Total count for 2005: 362 times.
Bear in mind, I didn't work in the public schools at all during the month of August, and do not teach children on weekends. And no matter how often I do it, it's not going to stick from my 40 minute sessions once every month or so. There seems to be an idea that if the kids are continually "showered with little drops of English," they will magically, osmotically become fluent speakers. But given the way they have memorize-response commands drubbed into them, I really don't expect them to learn how to apply any of the skills that would actually let them use the language.
All of which is to say that I have to exert a lot of effort to do the same tasks again and again, and I don't really see a lot of progress.
The junior high is a different kettle of fish. Not that I particularly like fish by the kettle-full, but the situation there is appreciably different. There are some chances to interact with the kids, and those moments can be a lot of fun. But the majority of my day is, as has been said two or three times in this post, going from class to class and providing model pronunciation, with occasional cultural explanations.
By way of example, I had to learn when and where trick-or-treating originated, what a Jack O'lantern symbolizes, and why they're made from pumpkins these days (instead of the original turnips) for a class last month.
All told, these aren't the kind of work experiences that really make for an impressive resume, and it's not the kind of job I want to cling to until retirement/death, whichever comes first.
Feh.
All of which is to say that I'm not really getting so much out of being an assistant language teacher in Japan these days. Sure, hearing the kids crack wise now and again is a hoot. And I do feel a sense of pride when they trust me enough to smart off in front of me. Of course, that may have more to do with the fact that they probably don't see me as any sort of authority figure, but I'm going to continue assuming it's trust and not just a lack of respect/fear. But what I was trying to say is that it's not really enough.
For the first couple of weeks this job was fairly demanding. Not the actual class stuff, but figuring out how to function in a new environment without the recognizable social and language clues. Thanks to the "rote and repeat" learning methods favored by the ministry of education, I really don't have to do much more than demonstrate pronunciation and intonation. A moderately clever person with a script, some sound editing software, and a CD burner could cover about a months worth of my work in a two-hour session. Of course, they might not have access to a mellifluous voice like mine, but that's not really the issue. My job takes a lot of time and a fair amount of energy, but it really isn't much of a challenge anymore.
And honestly, a lot of the time there is a distinct feeling of futility. Think carefully here: how many times in the last year have you had to explain the same thing to the same group of people before you could start a meeting? Even though most people here seem to learn "I'mfainsankyu" as a single word to be used in response to any "how" question, the fact that children in speaking classes are trained to mindlessly repeat everything the teacher says means I have to re-teach the answer to "how are you?" every single time I enter an elementary school class.
How many times have I had to teach the answer to "how are you?" this year? Total count for 2005: 362 times.
Bear in mind, I didn't work in the public schools at all during the month of August, and do not teach children on weekends. And no matter how often I do it, it's not going to stick from my 40 minute sessions once every month or so. There seems to be an idea that if the kids are continually "showered with little drops of English," they will magically, osmotically become fluent speakers. But given the way they have memorize-response commands drubbed into them, I really don't expect them to learn how to apply any of the skills that would actually let them use the language.
All of which is to say that I have to exert a lot of effort to do the same tasks again and again, and I don't really see a lot of progress.
The junior high is a different kettle of fish. Not that I particularly like fish by the kettle-full, but the situation there is appreciably different. There are some chances to interact with the kids, and those moments can be a lot of fun. But the majority of my day is, as has been said two or three times in this post, going from class to class and providing model pronunciation, with occasional cultural explanations.
By way of example, I had to learn when and where trick-or-treating originated, what a Jack O'lantern symbolizes, and why they're made from pumpkins these days (instead of the original turnips) for a class last month.
All told, these aren't the kind of work experiences that really make for an impressive resume, and it's not the kind of job I want to cling to until retirement/death, whichever comes first.
Feh.
03 November 2005
Small successes. Very small.
In a Japanese public school, the cleaning of the school is largely handled by the students. Every day a block of time is set aside for all the students to take out the trash, wipe down the desks, sweep the floors and clean the bathrooms. The duties are rotated between groups of students, so no one gets stuck doing only one job all year. And oddly enough, they seem to develop a sense of ownership in the school, and tend to keep the place pretty clean. The teachers are supposed to supervise and assist, so as an assistant teacher, I assist the assisting. Mostly with the stuff that's over five feet up.
But last week, while I was helping out with the science room clean up, I had to tell one of the kids to quit screwing around and get to work. Now, as a former slacker-student, I felt pretty bad about that. And given that this particular kid is one of my favorite wise-asses, well, that made it even tougher. And then, when we both tried to get back to work, he said something that just about made my day. He said, in English, "I hate you as a volunteer."
The second year students on recently learned how to pronounce "volunteer" as an English word, and the "as a" construction is not one that most of them ever master. So in one move he managed to use new grammar, correct pronunciation and he used the language in a pertinent, accurate fashion. And to top it off, he also managed to maintain disrespect for (assistant) authority. I was quite pleased with him, and told him so.
But we still finished cleaning the science room.
But last week, while I was helping out with the science room clean up, I had to tell one of the kids to quit screwing around and get to work. Now, as a former slacker-student, I felt pretty bad about that. And given that this particular kid is one of my favorite wise-asses, well, that made it even tougher. And then, when we both tried to get back to work, he said something that just about made my day. He said, in English, "I hate you as a volunteer."
The second year students on recently learned how to pronounce "volunteer" as an English word, and the "as a" construction is not one that most of them ever master. So in one move he managed to use new grammar, correct pronunciation and he used the language in a pertinent, accurate fashion. And to top it off, he also managed to maintain disrespect for (assistant) authority. I was quite pleased with him, and told him so.
But we still finished cleaning the science room.
They Say Music is Universal...
But I really have to take issue with that. I mean, maybe anyone with functional hearing can recognize that some kinds of sequentially arranged sounds are meant to be music, but what they're going to get out of it is so highly subjective that they may not even be hearing the same things. All of which is to say that most of the English classes taught at public junior high schools in Japan have adopted the practice of using pop music songs in English as a learning tool. Some people claim it's to teach pronunciation, others say it's so that the kids will get a sense of the rythms of English. Others say it's just to try and pique the kids' interest. But one thing is certain: I do not approve of most of what those kids have to listen to.
In theory the songs ought to be chosen to match the speaking and pronunciation levels of the students. It would be quite foolish to try and give beginners a song like "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious","Louie Louie", or anything by the Fu-Schnickens. And it shouldn't be too fast, too slow or much more than 4 minutes long. So what winds up being chosen?
Alas, this is one of the areas in which the ministry of education leaves everything unsaid and up to the individual teacher's discretion. Now, the teacher of the 3rd year kids at my school generally does a pretty decent job of choosing songs. From a learning standpoint, anyway. She generally tries to choose songs that have been used recently in TV programs or commercials so the kids will have heard them before. And then she tries to pick songs in which the grammar is about at a level the kids can understand. So far this group has done songs by Abba, Wham!, Journey and Earth, Wind and Fire.
In contrast, the 2nd years' teacher picks songs that he learned how to play on the bass guitar. So far these kids have had to do two Beatles songs and one Bryan Adams. Now, I understand that almost everyone thinks that the Beatles are the greatest blah blah yakkety schmackety ever. But forcing the kids to sing along to "Summer of '69" strikes me as being kind of sick. I can't recommend listening to Bryan Adams, mainly because I like you guys. But you oughta read the lyrics to this piece of crap. This prick is trying to romanticize, what, his best high school summer ever? What's so great about a garage band that goes nowhere, a job at a drive-in movie theater and a first love that clearly didn't last beyond that summer? And beyond all that, this song was released when he was 25 years old and a rising star in the early days of MTV. At this point in his career he had money, credit, fans, groupies, success and the potential to have even more. But he had the audacity to yowl about how much better things were when he was standing on some girl's porch, trying to work up the courage to kiss her? No. Fuck this song and fuck Bryan Adams.
And seriously, there's something a little careless and more than a little bit off about a middle-aged guy who intentionally chooses a song about how much better life was in high school and forces junior high kids to sing it without ever explaining to them what the words mean.
Fffffhhhhah. Maybe it's time for me to find something else to think about besides things about work that make me angry.
In theory the songs ought to be chosen to match the speaking and pronunciation levels of the students. It would be quite foolish to try and give beginners a song like "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious","Louie Louie", or anything by the Fu-Schnickens. And it shouldn't be too fast, too slow or much more than 4 minutes long. So what winds up being chosen?
Alas, this is one of the areas in which the ministry of education leaves everything unsaid and up to the individual teacher's discretion. Now, the teacher of the 3rd year kids at my school generally does a pretty decent job of choosing songs. From a learning standpoint, anyway. She generally tries to choose songs that have been used recently in TV programs or commercials so the kids will have heard them before. And then she tries to pick songs in which the grammar is about at a level the kids can understand. So far this group has done songs by Abba, Wham!, Journey and Earth, Wind and Fire.
In contrast, the 2nd years' teacher picks songs that he learned how to play on the bass guitar. So far these kids have had to do two Beatles songs and one Bryan Adams. Now, I understand that almost everyone thinks that the Beatles are the greatest blah blah yakkety schmackety ever. But forcing the kids to sing along to "Summer of '69" strikes me as being kind of sick. I can't recommend listening to Bryan Adams, mainly because I like you guys. But you oughta read the lyrics to this piece of crap. This prick is trying to romanticize, what, his best high school summer ever? What's so great about a garage band that goes nowhere, a job at a drive-in movie theater and a first love that clearly didn't last beyond that summer? And beyond all that, this song was released when he was 25 years old and a rising star in the early days of MTV. At this point in his career he had money, credit, fans, groupies, success and the potential to have even more. But he had the audacity to yowl about how much better things were when he was standing on some girl's porch, trying to work up the courage to kiss her? No. Fuck this song and fuck Bryan Adams.
And seriously, there's something a little careless and more than a little bit off about a middle-aged guy who intentionally chooses a song about how much better life was in high school and forces junior high kids to sing it without ever explaining to them what the words mean.
Fffffhhhhah. Maybe it's time for me to find something else to think about besides things about work that make me angry.
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