The Daily Grind

So the first two weeks of the job that will be mine for no less than 50 more have passed. In this time I’ve had the chance to teach in more situations and styles than most ALTs do in their year of assignments. Elementary, Junior High, Special Needs, large classes, tiny classes, all with their own little quirks, good parts, and bad parts. At this point it’s difficult to say which I think I’ll enjoy more. My first school was an large elementary school, so I think this kinda shaped my early style. I took a lot from the training as far as mannerisms and behavior, and it seemed to work fairly well for me. Maybe the kids just knew the routine and what to expect. I hope to start pulling a few tricks of my own out soon, once I get a hang of all the schools. So far, where I’ve been in charge I think most of the students are enjoying themselves and learning at least a little bit, so I guess I’m not doing too bad, then.

Elementary School: One part teacher, two parts clown, two parts activity coordinator. Mix together and add to a class full of little Japanese kids and you have an ALT. Maybe I’m doing it wrong, but so far Elementary school has required the most planning for successful lessons. Granted I’ve been able to reuse quite a bit of my material and I like to keep some aspects of the class loose to allow for immediate change. And on-the-fly work is a regular occurrence in these schools. You never know when an activity will fall through for one reason or another or the lesson run through quicker than expected, or the class is either above or below the standard at which you’re teaching. I’ve noticed that I’m actually fairly good at pulling stuff out of nowhere or varying things to make it look fresh and that I had it planned all along.

Big classes are difficult as you have to keep everyone’s attention and make sure you’re not just focusing on just a few students. This is not always easy as school have a tendency to stick my class in the music room where there are plenty of distractions. Although it is nice when I get a music room or playroom as I don’t have to worry about desks getting in the way. The teachers usually stay with the class and help with discipline. So far, I’ve had no problems with teacher participation once they stay, and like to use them for demonstrations if only for the kid’s amusement and comfort. However, most teachers won’t know a bit of English outside what we’re learning and directions can be difficult at times. Usually they’ll catch on and be able to figure out what you want the students to do. Time usually goes by rather quickly with the large groups, but a day of large classes will take a lot out of you.

Small classes are interesting. Getting up in front of the class only to have four or five quizzical faces stare back at you is an awkward situation. My first small school didn’t go so well, mostly due to my own fault. I seriously underestimated how small the numbers I was dealing with was, and figured that lessons meant for middle-sized classes would work fun. Needless to say, I went through the lessons and even my back-up activities with an average of 10-20 minutes left to spare. I ended up using the same stuff way more than I would have liked, and I’m afraid that I may have given the kids way to much information in order to be able to play all the games we went through. It was a little better with the older classes as they already knew most of it. In the future I’ll come in a bit better prepared and take measures to have activities for smaller groups. Also, maybe it was just the one school, but in almost all the classes, the teacher wouldn’t stay for the lesson. This wasn’t a big deal as the kids in small groups were not very rowdy and were easy to keep focused, but this presented a few issues as far as translation and the ever-cherished ‘questions about ALT’ time-killing method. I was tempted to break the ‘no-Japanese in class’ rule a few times for greater ease towards this end. Although, I think that with the right amount of preparation, these classes could be a lot of fun.

Special needs classes, or at least the once I’ve taught, are a bit different than I imagined when I first heard the term. Well, if I learned at least one thing about them, it’s that there’s no uniform way to go about them and that you should leave any pre-conceived notions at the door. One of the Special Needs teachers took the time to sit down with me and plan something together, which I really appreciated. Went into the class of four kids with a lesson meant for first graders, then simplified a bit by the teacher, and the kids just killed it. Did just as good if not better than a lot of the older classes. Here I had to pull out a few extra activities from nowhere which actually went over very well. At the end of the class, everyone seemed to have enjoyed it quite a bit, especially the Special Needs teachers. Everyone of them that saw me afterwards made a point to thank me with a little less formality than I usually get. It was also one of the most fun classes of that week for me.

Junior High: One part lesson planner, one part cultural liaison, two parts human tape recorder. Mix evenly with shy Japanese teens weighed down by the education system and serve one ALT. My week of Junior High classes was quite an experience. I went into the job after having taught at several Elementary schools, so I think I was somewhat accustomed to the system I had worked out for myself. It was a bit of a rude awakening for some reason. I did little to no actual planning; having short conferences with the teachers as to what they wanted to do. During class I wasn’t exactly the star of the show, taking a true “Assistant” role. And the funny thing was, it was a bit uncomfortable. All the things I wanted in an ALT position, and the Elementary school warm-up had ruined it. I actually didn’t like not having control. Granted, this isn’t always the case with Junior High, probably just the first week where the teachers know I haven’t done this before. Junior High schools have actual English Teachers, who more or less already know some English. And since they can explain things a lot better than you, instruction falls mostly on them. Classes have been fairly straight-forward, with a lot less emphasis on game and more emphasis on actual English. Some of the students aren’t quite as enthused with these classes, but for the most part are agreeable. There are a few that simply don’t pay attention, but they usually keep to themselves and don’t disrupt the class. At this point, they kinda hesitate to ask me questions or get my help, and my not being able to use Japanese kinda limits what I can tell them to: speaking the parts for them to hear, miming, or giving veiled responses. However, outside of class more often than not they won’t hesitant to wave and say hello or goodbye, knowing it will probably only illicit a short response from me, which is what they’re comfortable with. I have taken time to try talking to a few, and will continue to do as such. It tends to be a bit livelier in the staff room for me as opposed to the elementary schools. I can usually chat with the English teachers and have them translate to talk to the other staff. Perhaps the biggest plus of teaching at Junior High schools for me is the culture experience. In Elementary school they start to learn the foundations but it’s Junior High when the kids really became ingrained in Japanese society, which for me is always nice to be able to experience and study.

So both situations have their advantages and disadvantages and both have their own little fulfilling moments. I’m kinda glad I got to experience both and not just be stuck with the same thing everyday.