Where is Derek?

I went to the last of my JHSs today and what a disappointment. The teachers don’t know anything. This was the worst of the three schools because the teachers were boring and the lesson plans were dull. I tried to spice the lesson up with games but each of the two teachers that I worked with just choked the fun out of everything with their inability to grasp the idea of mixing their objectives with entertainment, ala edu-tainment. Yes, I said it… Edu-tainment.

The teachers that I worked with today just wanted to do a boring recite, rehearse and repeat drill. I know they are preparing the students for an upcoming English speaking test but this is ridiculous.

Sorry about bitching about my schools, I promise only to write about interesting stuff that occurs during my workday. I did run into a bunch of Japanese kids who grew up in the States but had to endure Japanese style English classes. I felt bad with these kids because during break time I was having actual conversations with these kids and later had to teach them this grammar point… I like [insert noun] better than [insert noun]. What absolute BS!

[ Life.Iz.Good ]

I have finished working at 2 of the 3 schools that I will be working with for the year and I must say that I am very disappointed with the teaching staff. I can’t believe these people get so much money for the crap lessons that they teach. They also get bonuses, in Japan the bonuses are equal to 4 to 6 months of salary, that’s ridiculous.

I thought I was going to learn something from these teachers who have been teaching for years but no, I am realizing that I am just refining my craft. I do notice a difference in how I am approaching lesson planning and yadda, yadda. Besides the work, I am having a lot of fun. The work is easy, I teach a maximum of 3 classes a day and sometimes only 1 class so this work is so much easier than what I did at ECC.

Its Friday afternoon here in Japan so I will go out and play some frisbee and go to a bbq tomorrow.

[ Life.Iz.Good ]

This week, I went to a different JHS in Kawasaki. The teachers in this school know what they are doing and it is much easier for me at this school but I only teach the 1st year students. This week, I teach only 10 classes and get out only one day past noon. This new job is turning out great.

I met up with Mina after work at Yomiuriland in Kawasaki and it wasn’t as shitty as I thought it was going to be. It was a small amusement park but the great thing about it was that no one was there. Mina and I basically had the run of the whole place and there were no lines. They had this wooden coaster called White Canyon and that thing could give Coney Island’s Cyclone a run for its money. Thought Mina and I had a good time in Yomiuriland, I wouldn’t go back, its a one time deal. It reminded me of a smaller Six Flags theme park.

[ Life.Iz.Good ]

This week was pretty easy, 11 classes and a lot of soccer. I really like this first JHS, the kids are great. The only problem is that I am doing all the teaching. The Japanese teachers of English really don’t know what they are doing and they get paid so well for it. Not only that but they get bonuses and long vacations. A good career choice might be for me to be a professor here in Japan, preferably art.

I practiced a lot of japanese during this week and I need to get away from speaking Japanese because my brain is liquified. But I found out that I am the most popular teacher in the school and I have my eyes set on being the basketball team’s coach. The guy who is coaching the kids doesn’t even know plays like the give and go and pick and roll. The center is pretty tall but he doesn’t box in or box out the other center. On second thought, maybe not coach but give a few pointers.

[ Life.Iz.Good ]

What a day it has been… A Kaowaase in front of the whole school and two lessons for the whole day. I am thankful that my teachers are nice and the students are great. I got out of work around 1230 today and the weather is awesome, I spoke a helluva lot of Japanese today and my head is still spinning. So far the experience was pleasant and I know by the end of the year, my Japanese ability will definitely improve. About the lessons, this is the first time that I felt like a real teacher. I made the lesson plan and implemented the material. Some material didn’t work so well so I had to improvise on the fly and it is harder that you think because there are 40 students in the classroom. I was used to having 10 students maximum in the class but I felt I handled it well. I can’t wait to see how the rest of my schools pan out. One thing cool is that for my school this week, Thursday is Sports Day and I get paid just to play sports with the kids. Awesome.

[ Life.Iz.Good ]

Yesterday I went to hang out with two friends of mine and my roommate came along. The funny thing was, while we were waiting in Shibuya for the train to pull in, I ran into Reina. I didn’t realize who she was at first but this girl kept eye-ing me. I was looking at her for a couple of seconds and had to do a double take. Last time, I heard from Reina, she was supposed to be going to the States to study or something for a couple of years but I guess that didn’t work out. It was nice to see that she was doing okay. I guess she’s enrolled at a Women’s University along the Den-en-toshi and out of Kamakura, which is a good thing for her. One thing that I do regret is that I didn’t take her dad’s offer to karaoke battle me for the keys to his porsche. Reina’s dad was going to let me drive his porsche for a bit. My goodness that would have been cool.

[ Life.Iz.Good ]