It's been a while since my last post. Many changes have happened at the school because the school year ends in March. I have also been away from Ishikawa on a few different trips for vacation, so this post that I started in early March will probably seem disconnected in parts of the entry now that I am finishing it in April.
Graduation
My mind is having trouble grasping the concept of time. I have only been here for four months. I have already been here for four months. Each day feels different because I may feel as if time has flown by so quickly, and then other days I feel as if I just arrived recently.
On graduation day, I felt a mixture of both. I have only been here for four months and the third year students are already graduating! The school year ends at the end of March, but for some reason they hold graduation at the beginning of the month.
There was a rehearsal ceremony on the 2nd, but the actual ceremony took place in the gym on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010. The walls were dressed with red and white curtains--colors they use in celebratory events. The students sat in the center and the parents and teachers were seated on the sides. There were so many mothers in attendance, but only one male for every five females there! Anyway, the whole ceremony was short and finished in one hour, but it was a very emotional ceremony nonetheless.
The students came in class by class and there were six third year classes. Instead of having the each student walk up to receive their diplomas, the students just stood up when their names were called, and then the class representative would go up and receive all the diplomas from the principal. The diplomas are distributed in the classroom after the ceremony.
I swear I wasn't going to tear up at all! Although I was happy for the students I taught, I didn't have a strong attachment to them. Actually, I didn't cry when they got up. It wasn't until another third year class, one that I didn't teach, got up that I started to get emotional. Each homeroom teacher has to announce the names of those students in their own class and one particular teacher promised her students that she would memorize all her students names in order. When she started to choke up and her voice started to crack, I cracked.
The whole ceremony is designed to evoke emotion from these usually stiff students and teachers. A few students gave speeches and also presented gifts to the school. I found the latter to be strange, since these students don't work, so I'm not sure how they can give a DVD player to the school. My favorite parts of the ceremony, and one of the more special differences between Japanese and American graduations, were the times that all the students sang together. We may have one person sing the national anthem at American graduations, but this singing was harmonized, beautiful, and emotional. I felt a sense of solidarity that I never really felt at U.S. high school graduations.
After the ceremony, the third year students went back to their homerooms to get their diplomas. I grabbed my camera and went to see the third years that I taught. I wanted a final picture with them and wanted to give them some parting words. To be honest, I wanted to see my favorite class last, because they are the more enthusiastic group and I felt like I had bonded more with them. However, the other class was taking longer and I was called in by the homeroom teacher. So, I ended up staring at the faces of my favorite students. They were smiling brightly and expressing how happy they were to see me. The tears slid down my face like waterfalls--just like in the animes. I couldn't stop! I tried to by laughing and saying, "I'm so happy for you!" I said goodbye to them and took some pictures. Unfortunately, I cannot post any pictures of students, but you'll have to just believe that they were super cute.
It was a short time, but I'm happy to have met them. T___T
Brass Band Concert
The biggest school club is the brass band. We have an excellent brass band at Meiho High School and the school is pretty damn proud of it. The last large concert of the year was the White Concert, and it was the first concert that I attended. It was meant to be in February, when the snow was still falling, but a lot of the students had influenza, the flu. A lot of the teachers attended, as well as current Meiho High School students, and a lot of hopeful/potential Meiho students from various middle schools in the area.
I don't know much about the pieces that the band played, but they put on an amazing performance. They started off with different sections and then the whole band came together on the stage at the end. There were classical pieces, music from Miyazaki Hayao's films, and even some singing! Actually, the whole band stopped playing their instruments for one song and busted out a cappella. It was a moving song, but at the same time it was a little too perfect like it was from a show from the 50s. They also had some of the members dance during parts of the show. It was incredible! I was happy to see some of the students I teach outside of school and doing something they love.
Final Classes with First Years
I had a chill lesson plan for the kids in the final class I had with each of the twelve classes. We went over vocabulary, key expressions, and then we did a couple activities including classroom Bingo. At the end of class I took a photo with each class. Many of them wondered why I was doing it and they thought I was leaving. I told them that I wouldn't be seeing them for a year in class because I only teach first years and third years.
Most of March I ate my lunch with one of the first year classes. It isn't common for teachers to eat with the students after middle school, but they seemed to enjoy it. I think a lot of them thought of it as an extra class, but I'm hoping to do it from the beginning with the new first years and hope that they just think of it as a good time to practice and learn. I wish I had more time to learn my students' names and get to know them better. In the last month I became closer with a lot of them and now I am rethinking how long I want to stay here. Maybe I want to stay until my first years graduate as third years?? We'll see.
Staff Changes
My supervisor left me!!! Actually she left the school because she's been here for ten years already. In Japan, they rotate teachers between schools every year. The teachers don't find out if they are staying or leaving until the last week of school and it's a secret until the closing ceremony when all the students find out. The closing ceremony was very emotional and my principal teased me later that night at the going-away party. He called me a "naki-mushi," which is the same as "crybaby." But the literal translation seems almost insulting to call a person "cry-bug/insect."
Four English teachers left. That's half of the English teachers. One of them will be back after she takes a one year leave for her Masters program. The party, enkai, after school included a lot of food and drink, as usual, and a lot of farewell speeches.
I created a last minute dvd with video clips and images from the bonenkai and farewell party for the teachers who had to leave. Those poor teachers had only a week to finish everything up, clean up, and say goodbye. Luckily, I got to see them before they left and before I left for my spring break.
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When I returned my desk had been moved, the teachers' room layout was tweaked, and different teachers surround my desk. I now sit even closer to the vice-principals. I keep telling myself that this will be great to start a new year, but I'm getting a little nervous with so many changes and so many new English teachers to work with. I think within those three months of "teaching" I got into a few habits and found a teaching style comfortable for me. Hopefully I will work well with the new teachers and have an awesome year.
Meiho High School's 30th school year has ended. Spring is in and that means a new year here in Japan.
With my supervisor
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