What I did in school today

A kid cried on me in class.

But not because of me thankfully. The other kid in his class was being a real jerk and was running around taking stuff out of this kid's hands. And this little guy was just done with it. So he turned into his mother's lap (parents sometimes accompany their kids into the really small kids' classes) and started to cry.

But you know what, I am a pretty damned good teacher and switched the game up as soon as I saw what was happening. Okay, I am not that good because I didn't prevent it from happening, but still. And within five minutes the little guy was smiling again and participating. It also helped that I played "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" which I found out is his favorite song. He loved that!

Also, several of my students have complained that I talk to fast. I. already. talk. like. this. in. most. of. my. classes. Iiiiii....guessssssss....Iiiiii....wiiilllllll.... haaaaavvvvveee... toooooooo....taaaallllkkk.... liiiiiike....thiiiiiisssss....froooommmmmm..... noooooowwwwwww.....oooooooonnnnnn.
I am at a loss in this case. Oh well. Either I will figure it out or they will figure it out or neither of us will figure it out and I will get in trouble.

Since Mom asked:

My work days are really long, but my teaching days aren't especially. My typical day starts at 1140ish (noon but in Japan on time is considered late, plus I have to change when I get to the school and get myself presentable looking) and lasts until 930 or so. I usually don't have any classes until after 4, some days I have one or two between noon and 4, but during the week that time is mostly free (of classes). The first half of my day involves preparing lessons for the second half of my day, and trying to get ahead on lessons for the week since my week is back-end loaded. My Fridays and Saturdays are almost non-stop lessons so I really need to make sure my lessons are planned prior to those days, otherwise I won't have time to do the prep. It usually takes me between twenty and thirty minutes to write up a lesson plan for each class and make props for the class. This time should cut down a good deal as I accumulate props. By the way, anybody want to send me any magazines, please feel free. I need the pictures. I don't want Japanese text on the pictures, and besides, I am afraid of their magazines. I can't tell which are porn and which aren't yet.

I typically get something to eat between 2 and 4 depending on my class schedule. Today for instance I had a class from 2-3 and then one starting at 4. So I went to McDonalds and got a burger (I know, I know, and I would have loved to have gone somewhere else, but it is quick and right across the street, and I don't know if I have time to go and order food and eat and get back and be ready for class in 45 minutes or so) at about 315 (after all of my students had chatted with the manager and each other and left the school after class). That means, if I am there until 930 I pretty much work an entire day after I eat without a meal break. I would love to be able to take my dinner break at 6 or 7 instead, but my schedule simply doesn't allow it. And after work I am always hungry and nothing is open except the convience stores and bars so I end up eating crap for dinner. I am going grocery shopping with a Japanese speaker tomorrow so hopefully she can show me exactly what stuff is and I can start cooking at home to eat better and save money.

After 4 my schedule gets really hectic. I typcially teach one class, have a five to ten minute break and then teach the next class. That "break" is what I use to put away the materials from the last class and get out the stuff I need for the next class. I am on constant run mode at this point. And by 9 I am wiped. This job absolutely forces you to be organized. There is really no downtime in the class time, and the classrooms are so small you can only keep the essentials in the room for each class during each class time.

And then at 9 I am done. Luckily my last classes of the evening are usually upper level classes and they are the most fun for me. These students can pretty much speak English. They might not know every word or phrase (idioms was a fun class I had last week) but they can speak and understand English at an almost bilingual level. In fact most of the higher level students have lived in an English speaking country for an extended period of time. These classes are the most fun for me because the students can have a discussion and the texts are more interesting to me. This is the same reason I want to teach High School or college, more interesting for me. I am selfish like that.

Actually, I really like the slightly older kids classes too. The 8-10 yr olds. They are just old enough that they don't act up all the time, but they are still kids and still really good learners. I can still do kids games with them without having to worry about them crying in the middle of it (hopefully). Yup, whatever is easiest for me.

Since i am being selfish and all. If anyone wants to send me stickers, send me stickers. My kids love stickers (they are Japanese after all) and I am having a hard time finding "boy" stickers. All the stickers I have found so far are really cutesy bunnies and Hello Kitty stuff. I need "boy" stickers, or gender neutral stickers. The last teacher had some good star stickers but I ran out of them almost immediately. Maybe I should ask where the sticker district is. I bet they have one.