Being a "Teacher"

I'm going to use the word "teacher" in the loosest sense and meaning of the word. Yes, I teach the students. However, it is also overly emphasized that I am just an ALT -- Assistant Language Teacher. At times I wonder if the students should be calling me "sensei" at all.

I think the teachers here and the students are confused as well. I hear a good mix of "Megan-sensei" and "Megan-san" from the students. I don't mind. The staff knows that I am trying my best to motivate the students and plan lessons. I just had my review and it was better than I imagined, considering I thought I screwed up my first week of teaching.

Actually, let me share my experience of my first month here, and then I'll go back to why I'm not a "teacher."

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My time in the first week here was spent mostly on paper work and reading through my predecessor's previous lesson plans. The students had end of the term exams during that time, so I did some grading towards the end of the week. Note: Just because the students have end of the term exams, this doesn't mean they don't have classes after testing. The second week was the last week of classes before vacation. I worked hard on my O.C. II, 3rd year, classes and also on my O.C. I, 1st year, classes. O.C. stands for Oral Communication--its somewhat supplementary to their daily English classes, but not really because they have different books for the two classes.

When the second week came around, I was prepared for my very first lesson. The first lesson would be with my 3rd year students and I was looking forward to showing the 5 minute video clip I made of my friends answering various questions. The first class would also prepare the students for their next class, which would consist of their own video interview filming, and we also did a Secret Santa Clause lesson. HOWEVER, 5 minutes before the class starts, the Japanese Teacher of English (JTE) comes to my desk, as I'm preparing to leave, and she tells me that the video room, which I had reserved, was being used for testing. I had 5 minutes to change up my plans and so everything on my PowerPoint presentation would have to be written on the board. That was an EPIC FAIL for me.

Second FAIL came when I did my first O.C. I lesson and the Vice Principals and Principal were there to see it. I had way too much written content, not enough pictures, and I was boring the students with English above their level. I couldn't believe that I was being reviewed right away! But, its the scheduled time for all ALTs, so I came just in time. :T After those two lessons, I revised my lesson plans by shortening the content and creating back-up plans. Live and Learn and Laugh...Later (Much later).

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Anyway, back to why I am not a teacher. In addition to my lack of experience, the teachers here put in more hours and do so much more here. They are like the second parent to a student. My hours are from 8:20-4:15pm, but I usually stay a little later because I feel strange leaving so early when the teachers are still there. They are usually there from 8-6:30pm. :X

I've had some good lessons and some pretty bad lessons so far--mostly because the kids don't respond, but I will post more info on this later. Time to sleep.

New life in a New Home

My apartment building

In my last post, I briefly mentioned my adjustments in my new apartment, but there's so much more to talk about. I'm currently sleeping on a futon, which is a thin mattress on the floor, not the fold out couch beds. I bought a kotatsu, which is a table with a heater underneath and a blanket that covers it. I'm starting to regret this, because I don't have any chairs nor do I have a couch, so my legs get tired quickly from sitting on the ground all the time.

For three weeks, when I was just biking, I couldn't get any furniture on my own. That meant I couldn't get any furniture at all. So, I all I had were my futon and kotatsu. My kitchen and bedroom lacked shelves and dressers. Did I mention that my kitchen only has one stove and no counter space? I desperately needed a shelf to put food on and counter space to cut up ingredients. Also, my closet has these oddly large open spaces...it's easier if I just show you my apartment in my first week:

I'm happy to say that now I have shelf space in both my kitchen and bedroom. And, I've finally figured out how to dry my clothing! While the school lent me a washer, dryers are not common here in Japan. Everyone hang dries their clothing. I use a pole that I place right below my heater and my clothes dry overnight. Too be honest, I think its ridiculous. My clothes smell strange if I hang them outside and the jeans become hard and uncomfortable to wear. At least I have a car now, so I can drive to the laundromat whenever I feel like its worth it to spend $3 on drying my clothes (yes $3 just for drying alone). But unlike in the States, I have to do my laundry once or even twice a week since the washer is tiny and there's no where to keep my dirty laundry. :T Oops...TMI?

Anyway, even though I've been here for a month, I am still trying different ways to organize and utilize my space. At least I don't have to worry about the mess I make given that I live alone! This is my first time actually living on my own without any apartment-mates and family. I miss being scolded by my parents, Sandy, Mary-Ann, Christine, etc. :) I have to learn to motivate myself to keep up with the upkeep. ...Maybe I will once I've actually settled in and decided where everything goes...

I'm missing you all and all your smiling faces. <3