Yaya's Goodbye Rap

Iacinta (a.k.a. Yaya), an OkiJET from New Zealand, wrote the awesomest rap EVER! She's a downright sweetheart and the most coolest girl I know! Thanks Yaya! This made me ugly cry at the airport. I plan to visit you in New Zealand soon! Hobbit holes!


Yo! Yo!
Let me tell you 'bout Gabie
Pretty girl from Miami
Likes having fun in the sun
Making Nuns Buns not puns

Nights out on the town
She'll be tryna "get down"
Causing good kinds of trouble
Sippin' drinks without bubbles

Ain't got no time for shy guys
So she gives them the side-eye
Such a powerful stare
That makes the typhoons disappear

But don't mistake her kindness for fierceness
For she is actually just fearless
We will miss dear Gabie sorely
But we'll catch up one day, won't we?
Surely!
Woooorrrdd.

Teaching Update...Again

It's a new school year and I have new coworkers! However, I wanted to discuss the situation before and after the staff change.

M. Elementary

Kindergarten = Weekly

3rd & 4th = Now, Monthly

5th & 6th= Weekly

M. Elementary quickly became my favorite school due to their super kawaii kindergartners, who I affectionately called, "The Kinderbabies." The students were so kind and well behaved thanks to their kind, yet firm kindergarten teacher. I really enjoyed English playtime with them, and I ruined my make up crying during our last class and their graduation. I see them in the hallways and wave to them goodbye when they walk home, but it's not the same.

Kinderbabies

The grandma-esque 5th-grade teacher was a joy to work with because she would become so frazzled during class. Her plans for English class always went array but somehow, it worked! My 同級生 6th-grade teacher always made English class fun for the students. Since we are the same age, he also felt comfortable enough to speak with me about things going on in  his life, like that he and his wife are expecting a little girl. 

My only issue at M. Elementary was watching the deteriorating relationship between the principal and the vice principal. There is a term in Japanese called パワハラ pawahara or "power harassment,"  which means that a superior is harassing a suborinate in the workplace. It's like a boss treating you so badly that it makes you want to quit. But why not fire the person, you ask? Because Japan; that's my only answer. Anyways, the principal needed to know where the vice principal was at all moments of the day. If the v.p. stepped out to use the restroom, the principal would walk in and, in a loud voice, demand to know where he was. On the day the principals and vice principals had to submit their transfer paperwork, he told me that he decided to move on to another school. He looked so relieved and I felt sad that I was the only person he felt comfortable telling. Not that anyone hated him, but my coworkers LOVE gossip and he knew I wouldn't tell anyone. My 同級生 6th-grade teacher has, thankfully, not changed and my new set of kindergartners seem very well behaved. Aside from planning more English classes, I don't see any foreseeable problems in the future.

K. Elementary

Kindergarten = Weekly

 3rd & 4th = Monthly

5th & 6th= Weekly

 I loved my coworkers at this school, but I was beyond bored with English class. My unofficial JTE just gave up and taught English class in Japanese. He was always late for class and, because he was also the science teacher, he would sometimes turn English class into an extended science lesson. I  became particularly upset when he would give the students the wrong information -  like how the words for "bat" (animal) and "bat" (baseball) were pronounced differently. In the midst of class he would run out of ideas and ask me if I had any games they could play; I had none.  I can't think on the fly for English; I need time to prepare.

My monthly classes with the 4th graders were absolute hell. They went through four homeroom teachers in one academic year! Moreover, their supporter teacher (from this post), left early as well! They were uncontrollable and there was a war occurring between the boys and the girls.  I lost all 英語の先生元気-ness when a saw a boy hit a girl. When I ordered him to apologize, he gave her the finger and told her to die. I did not have English class after that ordeal.

Because of the change, I had to say goodbye to my favorite vice principal. He was such an amazing fatherly figure. He always practiced simple phrases with me and it was fun to hear him say "oh my god" throughout the day. I have a new JTE-like person; the former 6th-grade teacher. He's really cool, but I am the main teacher for English class. I was worried about weekly English class with the new 5th graders but they have a super strict homeroom teacher and now they are a joy to teach. So far, I haven't had any issues and it seems like gender war is over. Hallelujah!

 

Kindercrazies

K. Elementary has a new principal but no one is happy about it. The new principal was a vice principal at this elementary and also worked at the B.O.E., but I've only heard terrible things about her. I was told not to worry, but I still tread lightly. During the entrance ceremony, I watched the principal speak rudely to my coworkers but with the sweetest voice - kind of like Umbridge from Harry Potter. I also noticed that the traditional Okinawan decorations, like the shishimai shisa and the haarii boat were gone. Luckily, I have a coworker that speaks Spanish and they update me on any drama that's occurring at the school.

 G. Elementary

Kindergarten = Never
1st - 4th = Bi-weekly or Monthly
5th & 6th = Weekly

This is an exert from this post because nothing really changed:

  The 6A class remains silent with only one star student answering all the questions. However, they will repeat a word or sentence after me and answer questions when asked individually. The 6B class is more active, but has a few pranksters like Rin-chan. What sets them apart from the previous Satan 6th graders is their lack of animosity towards me. I'll take that as a success! So far, my favorite class is the 4th grade. I am convinced that their homeroom teacher, Mika-sensei, will become Japan's first female prime minister. She's a tough lady and has a handle on her 40-student class! They have the best English out of all 3 schools and it's because she makes sure they both understand and diligently complete the activities. I do more advanced English with them and it's been a lot of fun! 

Helping out the 5th graders with a tug-o-war contest

Now for the update: Mika-sensei is now the homeroom teacher for the new 6th graders and boy has she whipped them into shape! They are a a lot less rambunctious than before, which is good since I am trying to get their English to the 4th-grader's level - it's that good. The new 5th-grade teacher was last year's 3rd grade teacher. At first, he seemed to be a little stressed, but once he saw how well the students did in English, he relaxed a bit. The 5th graders start the year with simple English, like "hello" and "how are you" but since they can already answer that in both English and Spanish, I try to to make it  harder in order to improve their English.

It's a little bit more work than last year, but I am up for the challenge.

It's Summer Vacation! You Don't Exist!

Today was the last day of the first Japanese school semester and the start of summer vacation. Even though I am still expected at work during the break, I've requested enough nenkyuu (paid vacation) to keep me away from the office. In all seriousness, I desperately need a mental break. Japan has a masochistic school schedule with summer vacations only spanning a little over a month; and even when there are no classes to teach (say, during spring vacation), the teachers are still expected at work. 

I sound a bit whiny, huh? 

Truthfully, I am exhausted with planning English lessons, games, and activities. For example, I planned a lesson based on Frozen and had the 4th graders at Ginoza Elementary sing a bilingual version of "Let it Go." A bilingual version of the song doesn't exist, so I had to use my nerd skills to splice together the Japanese and English versions of the song. I also made a handout with the lyrics and, since the kids can't read English, I inserted the Japanese phonetics for the English words. After teaching the 4th graders, all the other grades wanted to learn the bilingual version of "Let it Go" as well. After teaching the lesson 20 times at three different schools (I'm not sure if that's an exaggeration anymore), I wanted to punch Elsa in the face.

It begins to feel like Groundhog's Day, and what's worse is that some students give up without even attempting the activity because of the muri or "impossible" attitude that anything slightly difficult is impossible to achieve. So I have to begrudgingly cheer them on even though I want to shake the sense into them. I can't get upset, though. I just found out yesterday that my 6th graders believe I speak Japanese because they think I'm half Japanese. They just cannot fathom that I studied Japanese. 

Do you see why I need this mental break?

I have a lot of plans for this summer, but my first act of summer business is to ignore my students as though they don't exist.

Just kidding! I'm not that mean! Well, that actually depends on who you ask, lol! 

Arigato and Sayonara: Students

In March, English classes began to dwindle as the teachers used that time to practice for the kindergarten and 6th grade graduation. Although, only two classes were graduating, the other grades were involved in the ceremony’s preparation and performances. I welcomed the break from teaching, but I couldn’t help but feel a little sad when I realized I would no longer see my 6th graders. That feeling did not extend to my Satan 6th graders, as I counted the days to the final English class, only for it to be canceled. Thank you Japanese Jesus!

At the other schools, the homeroom teachers ran out of ideas and relied on me to plan the lesson. In elementary schools, it’s not encouraged for the students to learn how to write English, since they are taught in middle school. However, I decided to chuck the rules out of the window and have the students write compliments to one another. I taught them the basic 'You are' and added adjectives such as 'funny, beautiful, handsome, smart, nice, cool, etc.' Then, they would write their names on a blank sheet of paper and pass it to their neighbor. Their neighbor would see the name and write 'You are (insert compliment)' with the explanation in Japanese. The exercise went well and they were really excited about the compliments they received. Surprisingly, a few got daring and wrote “you are handsome/beautiful” to their crush. For the next lesson, I taught them how to insult each other. It sounds foul, but the insults were used to create a 'cootie catcher' or 'paper fortune teller' where fate would either give you a compliment or an insult. It was all in good fun and no feelings were hurt.

Cootie Cather! Will you get a compliment or an insult? Let fate decide!

Never underestimate the power of Pokemon for youe English lessons!

The day before the graduation, my favorite 6th grade class called me outside and thanked me for teaching English. Moreover, they sang a traditional farewell song and posed for a picture.

I'll miss them!

 Graduation day for all three of my schools fell on a Thursday, which meant that I would be forced to watch my Satan 6th graders graduate. Thinking ahead, I used polite Japanese to ask my coordinator if I could visit all three graduations. I would spend half an hour at each starting at Satan school, and quietly excuse myself to visit the other two.

My coordinator thought it was a wonderful idea and granted me permission.  Thank you once again Japanese Jesus!

Elementary graduation is not very different form our own in the U.S. The gym was beautifully decorated and the ceremoney consisted of slide shows, songs, longs speeches, and tearful goodbyes from their homeroom teachers.

Graduation decorations at Satan school

It was a wakeup call that the school year and my time with some of my favorite teachers had ended.