Hey Hey You You April 19, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Culinary Pursuits, Cultural Exchange, Dance Troupe, Student Moments.Tags: cake, Dance Troupe, dancing, elementary school, first year jhs, heartland, Japan, jet, middle school, singing, soup, spring term, The Japanese Best Friend
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Welcome to Monday! I hope that you all had lovely weekends.
Life here has been busy, as usual. The weekend was packed with social calls/culinary shenanigans/dance troupe activities, and so tonight is going to be focused on much-neglected lesson preparations.
So that I may attend to all of this work before it gets really late, here’s a (very) quick rundown of the past few days:
Friday: Classes!
This was my first day back at Friday’s elementary school, and things were a little chaotic. A few weeks of separation gave the children a great deal of time to write letters to me and recess was packed with conversation. I was really happy to see their enthusiasm, though, and even welcomed a few new faces to my Question Corner. The school has been so friendly and communicative with me this year; I feel very positive about this beginning.
Saturday: Cake!
On Saturday, I went to The Japanese Best Friend’s house so that we could make pizza, catch up, watch a movie, and (of course) have cake. The cake is always one of the most important parts. I’m not sure if I mentioned this or not, but she and I are going up to Tokyo at the beginning of May for a small vacation. A nice hotel, Chinatown, and unholy amount of shopping await.
And the best part of the whole day? Watching Mama Mia and occasionally breaking into intense and hilarious (often unrelated) conversation. That is the sign of true friendship – when conversation interrupts the movie and neither one of you care.
And there is cake.
Sunday: Culture …
…in the form of a festival in Wakayama Prefecture. It took the dance troupe about three hours to get there by car, so it made for an exceptionally long day. It also didn’t help that I got up at three in the morning so that I could bake bread and prepare this soup. (Do try the soup if you get the opportunity – it’s great!)
The festival itself was nice, although it was actually more like a dance exhibition instead of a typical “festival” (with food stalls and games and such). Not many of the members were able to go, and so I had a chance to bond a lot with the members that did attend. Perhaps the most significant event of the day though, was that Heartland (the band that we always travel with) wants me to start singing some sets with them this summer. They want me to translate a song from Japanese into English so that I can do an English version of it, and then they also want me to sing Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne. I’m not so sure that this is the greatest of ideas (singing is not my forte), but I’m looking forward to the challenge. At the very least, I get to wear a spiffy jumpsuit with the band’s name on it when I sing!
Monday: Everyone is still adjusting
Today, I think that my first years were feeling a bit cranky and discontent with their new middle school lives. The amount of work and homework in elementary school is nothing in comparison to what they have in middle school and they’re not exactly enjoying that element. Class was not quite as bright and cheery as it was before, and I had to deal with a few attitudes (nothing major, but definitely not something that we had last week). I feel a little bad for the kids, because they’re used to very conversation-focused English lessons and all they’ve been doing this year is practicing the alphabet over and over and over and over and over again. I think (and hope) that once we get into more interesting material that their spirits will pick up.
In the midst of all of the grumbling, though, many of them came up to chat with me and I received three letters today (with a great deal of actual English in them). Silver lining, my friends. Silver. Lining.
And that’s about it for now. I have lesson plans aplenty to turn my attentions to and a sink full of dirty dishes. -_-
I hope your Monday finds you free from both!
I can see the way
I see the way you look at me
And even when you look away
I know you think of me
.
Two Words: ICE CREAM! February 1, 2010
Posted by Earthdragonette in Dance Troupe, ice cream, Student Moments.Tags: culture festival, Dance Troupe, dancing, elementary students, hannah montana, hilarity, Jyona33, the first years, winter term, wisdom
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Where ICE CREAM = I Cant Exactly Choose (Raccoon!!) Enjoy All Moments!
Yes, just to show that there is always time for ICE CREAM (and thus, time for a post), I present to you in short, spastic bits, the contents of my weekend and Monday. It’s crude and inartistic at best, but in the interests of not progressing to a “Saturday-Sunday-Monday-Tuesday!!! Update!!!!”, it is quite necessary. I should be able to get back on a regular posting schedule as of Tuesday evening.
(Fun English Fact: It’s not “unartistic,” it’s “inartistic.” Fancy that.)
Onward!
~ Saturday, I cleaned. Cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. I also righted the balance of the universe with an epic conversation with Jyona33. I suppose I should be concerned with the degree to which this man has an influence over my daily affairs, but we all need a few people like this in our lives. Otherwise, who would tell me where I should go on vacation in Japan? Or how to subtly convey to my coworkers that I would rather they not ask me about how I lose weight? Or instruct me on how to improve in the centipede race?? These are heavy topics that require the most delicate and thoughtful of consultations.
~ Saturday, I also danced. Danced and danced and danced and danced. I danced in preparation for:
~ Sunday’s Culture Festival!
Actually, let’s take a break from our ICE CREAM and go into a little more of a prose style here, because the events of Sunday are worth slowing down for.
In short, it was chaotic. I don’t think I’ve ever been so busy at a culture festival, and this includes the years when I was co-running the music club at the middle school. Those years required a lot of preparation ahead of time, but after our performance at 9:30 in the morning I was free for the rest of the day. That was most definitely not the case last Sunday.
The morning started out responsibility-free. I showed up to work, and then went to the gym to entertain the third year students until the rest of the classes and their parents arrived. We then watched presentations from all the classes, most of which were musical ensembles of some sort. I have to say that the first and sixth grade classes stole the show.
Many of you are already aware of the deep affection I feel for The First Years. To say that they are my favorite class does not properly express the emotion I feel for them; it’s more substantial than that. They are, honestly, the most amazing group of children I think I’ve ever encountered. They’re sweet. They’re enthusiastic. They can dance. And most importantly, they are so fantastically innocent and earnest in their beliefs that they do the most ridiculous things.
Here’s an example: during the first month of school, The Mentor caught them running down the hallway. He’s the sixth grade teacher and so already quite an imposing figure to their first year minds. The Mentor can also be very intimidating, so 99.9% of the time his commands are followed. (And I have it on good authority that the one student sometime, somewhere, who didn’t do what The Mentor asked was never heard from again.)
Anyway, so The Mentor caught them running in the hallway and told them to stop. He explained that students are not supposed to run in the hallways at school and that it’s dangerous. The First Years were so taken with this notion and so altered by this encounter, however, that they took him to mean that they’re not allowed to run at school EVER. Their home room teacher was eventually able to convince them (after about a week) that they are allowed to run outside. Yet, to this day, if they ever see The Mentor watching them when they’re on the playground, they always slow down to a walk.
Now, how can you possibly not be enamored with these children??
So, given these emotional lenses that I had on while watching their performance (a recitation about their class and how much fun school is), it’s no surprise that it was my favorite. To be fair, the sixth grade play about traveling through time and bringing back noteworthy inventions from various historic eras was pretty sweet, too. I was impressed with how clear and loud their voices were; their public speaking has improved a lot over the last couple of years.
Okay, so the presentations ended at around eleven and then I lent a hand cleaning up the gym. This took awhile, though, and it only left me with about ten minutes for lunch, after which I went back to the gym to do my dance. I’d debated whether or not to leave my handsprings in the routine, but it was good that I did since I think that move was the crowd favorite. My dance was followed by the sixth grader’s final concert (they like to get dressed up, form bands, and sing to the school) and the afternoon activity corners.
As you will probably recall, my dance troupe lead one of the afternoon sessions, and that was also entertaining (if a bit busy). The kids did a really great job with memorizing the dance and I liked helping them out. The various five to ten minute breaks were also enjoyable as the children sought fit to drag me into a variety of games (most of them requiring me to chase the children around the gym). Some of my middle school students also stopped by, and so it was fun to chat with them when I had the time.
Okay, moving slightly back into ICE CREAM form now, let’s recap the specific memories we’re tagging here:
Saturday: Jyona33 provides timeless wisdom to aid me on my life’s journey
Sunday: I am a dancing fool and The First Years’ performance left me in such a state of beatitude that I hereby pledge my life (for the next year and three months) to giving them the best English lessons I can.
That leaves us with Monday!
Monday was quiet, and perhaps marked by numerous interactions with Hannah Montana and Aphrodite. The Savant and Mary Sunshine were at a high school orientation, and so my usual suspects weren’t around. This time of year is always interesting, because although the third year students haven’t graduated yet, they’re not around as much and I don’t do many things with them in class. It’s the time of year when I start to shift my attentions more to the first and second years, and I try to prepare to say goodbye. We only have about a month and a half left of the term, and it’s going to go by quickly.
Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen. A lot of interesting things are coming our way.
Fall Term Top 10 December 19, 2009
Posted by Earthdragonette in Dance Troupe, Enkai Aftermath, Julie Gets Philosophical, Lessons Learned, Student Moments, Taking Initiative, Time to Party, Top Ten.Tags: Characters, Dance Troupe, dancing, elementary students, enkai, fall term, fievel, Japan, Mary Sunshine, my little monkey, pride, shopping, The Japanese Best Friend, The JTE, The Mentor, The Savant
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At the moment (which would be Sunday morning in Japan), I have one day left of honest to goodness work ahead of me. Today’s plan is to make cookies for my coworkers at the elementary schools and to write replies to all of the letters that I got last week from my students. Once that’s done, then this week is all about preparing for my trip on Wednesday.
(And also making Christmas cookies for my middle school students on Tuesday, but that’s more fun and less work.)
I thought about writing memories from Thursday through Saturday as I usually would, but I think that this is a good time for me to take a step back and do a Fall Term Top 10 Memory Countdown. The week is going to be a little hectic and I’m not sure what my posting schedule will be like.
So, let’s get to it!
10) Jiman (自慢)
Last Friday, I went to a Bon Enkai, or an “End of the Year Party” with my coworkers from the middle school. I really enjoy these parties because it’s a chance for us all to relax and talk about the variety of things that have happened during the year. We also play games. One game that we played this year involved choosing a card out of a deck that one of the teachers had made, and then talking about whatever was written on that card. My card had jiman (自慢) written on it. It means “pride,” and so my task was to talk about something that I was proud of.
It took me a few minutes to decide what to talk about – I had a lot of memories to go through. Ultimately, I chose to talk about the feelings that I always have right before our school does the cultural festival. Everyone always works so hard and does their best to get everything ready for the students and parents. I remember my first culture festival three years ago, and how inspired I was by what the teachers were doing. I was proud to be considered even a partial member of the faculty, and I wanted to do my best to become an active member of the team.
Every year when the culture festival comes around, I remember this feeling and renew my resolution. I’m proud to be considered a teacher at my middle school, and I’m proud of the relationships and associations that I have with the other faculty members.
Incidentally, this party was also fun because they surprised me with a birthday cake. There are definitely some perks to being born near the holiday season. ^___^
9) Inspired By Halloween
Looking back at the different lessons that I’ve done over the course of the term, I think that my best ones were around the end of October. Some noteworthy activities included: assigning my JHS students to memorize parts of Thriller, and dressing up like a witch and turning my elementary students into animals. I had a lot of fun with my students and I think that they learned a lot. Trying to find a balance between those two elements is perhaps the perpetual tightrope walk that defines my job.
8) The Japanese Best Friend and I Help The Japanese Economy
The time between September and Now was a busy time of me as far as shopping was concerned. I made several trips to Nagoya and then The Japanese Best Friend and I certainly paid our dues in Yokkaichi and Suzuka.
To some degree, I have always enjoyed shopping. I like interacting with store clerks, talking about merchandise, and considering deals and bargains. I also like buying things for other people; some of my best memories in Japan are from sitting in department store coffee shops while going over gift lists. In this vein, I suspect that my interest in shopping has increased over the last few years; it’s pretty difficult to live in Japan for an extended period of time and not become fond of shopping. Quite simply, it’s a national pastime. Every Sunday, in lieu of the religious festivities that tend to characterize the American Sunday atmosphere, Japan embarks on Commercial Celebrations of all sorts. It’s the one day of the week that most people are guaranteed a day off (unless they work in retail), and so most families go out in force.
I particularly like shopping with The Japanese Best Friend because we are very good about helping each other Not Feel Guilty for any of the following: expensive purchases, embarrassingly good bargains, afternoon tea, extravagant meals, or clothing that is on the adventurous side. Afternoons with her also inevitably involve great conversation and more than a little social commentary that puts my life into perspective.
7) Connecting With the Elusive and Mysterious 6th Graders
I think that of all the classes that I teach, the 6th grade elementary school students are the most difficult. Personality-wise, they’re at an awkward age where they don’t quite connect with the younger kids at their school, but they’re not ready to become a part of the middle school culture. Each year, this class always turns into some kind of secret society. They don’t go out on to the playground as much, and they are more likely to stay in their classroom during recess, enjoying each other’s company and reveling the various inside jokes crafted over the last six years.
Creating lessons that are both interesting and helpful to these kinds of students is always a challenge. This year has been more challenging than others because the 6th grade home room teachers have also taken on the mantle of English Education and so they’ve been preparing their own classes. So far, we’ve been able to work together, but it’s hard to tell what the students think of all these changes. I’m concerned on their behalf because I want them to feel confident and prepared for English lessons at the middle school. I also want them to look forward to these lessons, and to another year of studying with me.
As such, I’m really happy that over the last term, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with more of my 6th year students. I’ve found a stable and reliable partner in Yoshi, and there are other people who are also coming out of the woodwork. I know that we’ll become even closer when they make the move to the middle school (and I see them three times a week), but I’m happy to see what we’ve already been able to accomplish.
6) New Hobbies and Friends
This fall also saw the introduction of DJ Ozma, his family, and the Dance Troupe. It’s good that I took the initiative to get involved in this group; it’s only been a few months, but they’ve already shared a lot with each other. I know that the winter months will be a little quiet as far as festivals are concerned, but I expect that the pace will pick back up once spring starts. I’m looking forward to having a full summer with them, and to all of the events that we’ll go to together.
5) How To Be a Better Teacher in Ten Easy Steps
Thanks in part to The Mentor and The JTE’s interventions, I’ve had the chance to go to a variety of seminars and open lessons this fall. I didn’t really go to these kinds of training meetings before this year, and so it’s another way that my schedule has changed with the fourth year.
I’m really grateful for this change, though, because I’ve learned a lot from it. Even though the seminars aren’t always focused on English, they have given me some insight into how the Japanese view education: what they think is important, what methods work best, and what the goals are. This helps me to tailor my lessons more to the students and the kinds of lessons that they’re used to, and it also assists me in discussing lesson plans with my coworkers. Even though my teaching style and methods appear to be successful, I think it’s important for me to remember that there are always new things to try and new philosophies to consider. There are still a lot of things that I don’t know.
4) And The Savant’s Ego Shall Have No Dominion*
Ah, The Savant. This fall term was a busy one for him – he’s been quite feisty and active since day one, beginning with a whopper of a lie about how he broke his leg and lasting up to last Wednesday when he and Macho Man wrote each other Christmas Love Notes.
I’ve mentioned this several times, but our interactions this fall honestly have been somewhat novel – he really did ignore me for the first two years of his middle school career. I’m happy about the change, though, because I enjoy our banter. I don’t have many opportunities to be perverse and contrary (as he puts it), because most of my students don’t have the ability to understand that kind of English. I can be silly and playful in Japanese, but I can’t be sarcastic – that’s an English device.
The Savant, though. He gets sarcasm, which means that he is able to understand me more fully than most of the other people that I interact with. I’m going to miss him when he graduates next March – a part of my voice is going to be silenced, at least for a little while.
*Incidentally, since this is now the second time I’ve made a reference to this particular Dylan Thomas poem, you should go check it out if you’re not familiar with it.
3) Lunchtime Dance Sessions
Ah, Mary Sunshine. She’s someone else that I’m going to miss terribly when March 9th (and graduation) comes around. Things were really busy during the first part of the term, and so our regular recess English study sessions were put on hold so that we could attend to other duties. Since November, though, we’ve been able to reconnect through our dance practices.
I’m grateful for these practices for a number of reasons. One reason being that it’s fun to dance with her. She’s got rhythm, and combined with a great attitude it means that she learns quickly and (if I may say so) we look really cool together. It’s also fun to show somebody this part of my culture, and this part of my past. A lot of the dance moves are things that I did when I was in marching band in high school, and it’s rewarding to share them with (and pass them on to) her. In the way that The Savant understands me more fully because he gets my snark, Mary Sunshine understands me more because she gets how I groove.
2) Christmas Cards
So, I mentioned earlier that I’m going to be giving my elementary school coworkers Christmas cookies. What I’ve also arranged this year, is to give each of the home room teachers a Christmas card from their students and me. This was a little tricky to arrange, as I needed to find a contact from each grade and send them out into the world with the Christmas card for a week in the hopes that they would get their classmates to sign it. The icing on the cake of this endeavor was that they were to do it without their home room teacher seeing it.
Many things could have kept this plan from working, including neglect, a general misunderstanding of what exactly it was that we were doing, or just plain forgetfulness. The 1st year classes at both schools had some problems. One class signed it and gave it to their teacher on the very first day (instead of returning it to me a week later so that I could give the teachers their cards and cookies together), and the other class didn’t understand what I wanted and so just copied a number of random English words that they found around the school. We also had some problems with the 5th years at Thursday’s elementary school, because they made the teacher sign his own card and then they gave it to him. I’m not exactly sure what went wrong there.
The rest of the cards, however, didn’t have any problems. The kids were excited about the subterfuge involved in getting the cards signed without their home room teacher’s knowledge, and they were extremely melodramatic enthusiastic about the process. My Little Monkey was my contact for the 2nd years at Thursday’s elementary school, and I think he walked around for the entire week with the card stuffed inside of his shirt.
Still, I now have eight signed cards ready and waiting to be delivered on Monday afternoon. I hope that the teachers enjoy receiving them. I really liked putting this whole project together; I feel that it shows something special about the way that the students and I can interact with each other.
1) Fievel VS My Little Monkey
By far, my favorite memories from this fall semester have revolved around the growing Fievel and My Little Monkey saga. On one hand, you have Fievel. Formerly small, quiet, shy, and introverted, he has blossomed into a very quick, brazen, and vocal young man (at least around me). I think that he wants to become a different person than the person that he was when we first met. When I was arranging for the aforementioned Christmas Card project, I asked him if he’d be willing to help me out with his class. I could tell that he wanted to help me, but he just felt too shy. When I gave it to one of his classmates instead, he turned to me and said: “Next year. Next year I can do it. Next year, I’ll be ready to do it.” If what he says is true, and talking with me is giving him the confidence to talk and interact more directly with the members of his own class, then that’s one of the most fantastic gifts that I could be given.
On the other hand, poised against this rising star, you have My Little Monkey. It’s been funny to see them interact, because although Fievel is older than the Monkey, the Monkey is, well… the Monkey. He is loud, hilarious, incorrigible, and never, ever knows when to back down. If you could call their interactions “encounters” or “battles,” then I would say that Fievel tends to be the victor because he stays long after the Monkey has lost interest and has gone to conquer other parts of the school. Still, the Monkey always comes back, and is kind of oblivious to Fievel‘s designs for Total Julie Dominion.
It’s quite funny.
I like having them both in my elementary school life because it gives me the opportunity to cater to two very different kinds of students. Typically, I work best with the loud students because they give me more material to work with. The quiet ones are more difficult for me to reach because I have to go after the content and pull the material out of them. That can be time-consuming and very tricky; I’m still not very good at it. Working with Fievel, though, I think I’ve learned more about how the process works, and I understand the Quiet Student Mentality a lot more than I used to. With the Monkey, well, he keeps my skills honed and my wit sharp – I need it to counter his brain and all of the havoc that it wreaks.
Looking back at the many events have transpired in the fall term, it appears that somehow, someway, I am managing to stay at the top of my game (whatever that may be). These top ten memories are perhaps the most vivid and expressive ways I can think to sum up the one particularly important thought I have about this fall semester: I survived.
And soon, it will be time for a well-deserved break in the Homeland.
Listen to the bells as they ring
Listen to the message they bring
Listen to the sound
As they sing as one voice in the night
The Zone December 16, 2009
Posted by Earthdragonette in Just Bizarre, Student Moments.Tags: christmas cards, dancing, fall term, Japan, Japanese, Macho Man, the boss, The JTE, The Savant, the zone
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It’s a shame that the first time I discuss The Zone it has to be under extremely brief and unforgiving circumstances. I thought about waiting until later on today to update but because of The Zone’s importance, it really needs its own post – however brief that post may be.
The Zone is a magical place that my brain sometimes goes. The circumstances under which I am given access to The Zone are mysterious and variable; I have never been able to make myself go to The Zone. I have noticed that it often appears after I have been under a tremendous amount of stress, but this is not something I can count on. It just simply happens from time to time. Visits to The Zone can last anywhere from ten minutes to ten hours, and the only person who has travelled with me to The Zone is my best friend from college (whose grasp on reality is probably about as tenuous as my own at times).
So, you are perhaps asking: what exactly is The Zone?
The Zone is a place that my mind goes to and while it’s there, I say and do hilarious things. This is a cold, hard fact. I don’t take credit for The Zone, so I certainly don’t take credit for being funny while I’m *in* The Zone. As far as I’m concerned, it’s The Zone that’s the comedian, not me. Somewhere, slightly tangential to this universe and only accessible to me through its own unfathomable and unexpected disposition, is a world that is made of Pure Hilarity.
And yesterday, I went there. For ten hours.
It started at school, right after lunch. I don’t know what happened, but all of a sudden, as I was walking to my fifth period class with my second years … there it was. The Zone. The world suddenly shifted and in its place were Opportunities. Opportunities to instigate the most ridiculous situations.
And did I ever.
In both my fifth and sixth period classes, my students were charged with making Christmas cards. I fully inserted myself into this project and as a result, some of my students wrote some of the most outlandish cards that I’ve ever seen. There are going to be some very confused card recipients on Christmas day. Among my most bizarre successful shenanigans suggestions:
* Tatsuki’s sister wanted to write a card to her boyfriend and asked me for suggestions. I took her pen and wrote the most absurd love note that came to mind (going so far as to compare his eyes to cupcakes and his arms to strong tree limbs that caught the wayward kite that is her heart). I forgot, however, that Tatsuki’s sister is kind of hyper and gets easily worked up. She loved the card and plans to give it to her Sweet Baboo on Christmas day. Here’s to hoping that it doesn’t break them up.
* The Savant and Macho Man couldn’t decide who to write their cards to, and so I suggested that they write cards to each other. They ran with this idea and I have never before witnessed such Bromance. There were hearts. There were oaths. There were an unusual number of Michael Jackson references.
*The Boss chose to write a love letter to Santa. I’m going to steal the letter and have my Dad write a response. The Boss’s shock should be worth the three week wait.
*I started a Conga Line sixth period to Jose Feliciano’s Feliz Navidad. The JTE had briefly left the room and we were all seated again before she got back.
And so forth.
My sojourn to the The Zone lasted an unusually long time. It saw me through the rest of the work day and then all the way through a dinner with friends in the evening. I’ve never been in The Zone while speaking Japanese before, and that’s a special memory for me. Being funny in Japanese isn’t something I’ve really been able to do before, but on Wednesday, I had that chance.
Like I’ve said before – new days and new experiences. I have to be thankful for that.
No one should take themselves so seriously
With many years ahead to fall in line
It only takes a moment… November 19, 2009
Posted by Earthdragonette in Julie Gets Philosophical, Student Moments.Tags: dancing, elementary students, fall term, Japan, Japanese, my first years, the macarena, The Mentor
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to be loved a whole life long….
And it’s true! Because today, something miraculous happened.
My first year students (at my Thursday elementary school) and I totally fell for each other.
As The Mentor once told me: “All classes are special, and great teachers will accept all of them, love all of them, and find a way to make a teaching situation work.” But? “But sometimes, a class and a teacher will meet and something extra special will happen.”
I have found that this is true. My sixth graders at the Thursday elementary school are fond of me, and we get along really well. We’re happy to see each other, and we like working together. My sixth years at my Friday elementary school, however, sometimes forget that they’re 11/12 years old and I have to remind them that yes, while I love them too, they can’t climb on my back anymore. (I feel that this is a product of them having known me since they were eight.) We meet each other and there’s always this moment of OH, HEY. IT’S YOU. WOW I LIKE YOU. WHY DID WE EVER STOP BEING TOGETHER? I can claim this relationship with my second and third year students at the Thursday Elementary School, and my fourth, fifth and sixth grade students at the Friday one.
Yesterday was already kind of insane because The Flu has finally come to the Thursday elementary school and brought with it glory, grandeur, panic, and a school-wide shutdown starting on Friday and ending next Tuesday. The second grade was already out for the week, and so I just had one class with the first grade. I did something a little experimental for this lesson, and instead of using one of my traditional games to teach them numbers, we learned a dance.
Specifically, I taught them how to dance the Macarena.
For those of you that have somehow forgotten this sacred ritualistic body contortion revered by Americans in the 1990s, let me remind you:
You’re welcome.
Still, love it or hate it, I think you have to agree that the Macarena is a collective memory and that most people will know where they were and what they were doing the first time they danced it. Despite the slight moral gray area that the song wanders into (repeatedly…) I thought it would be great for my first year students. It’s catchy, it’s fast, and I can count off the dance beats using the numbers 1-12 or 1-15, so we get to practice our numbers, too!
The Artistic Gods of All That Is Slightly Unbalanced Yet Cool and Effective must have been watching over me, because the first years loved this dance. We loved this dance like nobody has ever loved this dance. We danced it ALL. DAY. In every class. We showed every teacher, every student in the school who would agree to watch us, how to do this dance. By the end of the day, everybody was wondering about this “Macarena” thing the crazy Americans are into. I tried, several times, to point out that this was an OLD dance that is kept in our national chest of memories. We try to forget that it’s there, but once every few years we take it out, brush off the dust, and gaze upon it fondly, and maybe do a heartfelt rendition just to savor the past. Then we gently place it back in the chest, next to our wig in the style of Rachel’s haircut, and the Ricky Martin poster. You know, all the other stuff that symbolizes our journey to our present state of maturity and cynicism.
Wow. I did not intend for this post to become social commentary.
Back to my first years. They loved the dance, I loved the dance, and somewhere along the way, we had this moment where we looked at each other, and there it was.
Mutual adoration.
We had lunch together and there was a tangible feeling of, “Do you feel this way? I feel this way. I think you’re cool. Do you think I’m cool? Do you, you know, want to play dodgeball together during recess?”
In their honor, I’m hereby making them an official character of this Blog. Behold, My First Years.
I’ll be keeping you up to date on how they’re doing.
In a parallel universe, I update my blog every day. Part II. November 15, 2009
Posted by Earthdragonette in Apologies, Julie Gets Philosophical, Just Bizarre, Lessons Learned, Student Moments.Tags: Aunt Mia, culture festival, dancing, elementary students, fall term, fievel, Japan, Japanese, Jyona33, karaoke, late posts, meetings, mochi, my little monkey, old middle school, Rocko, The Mentor, thursday elementary school, Two Terrific Teachers
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I hope you took the opportunity to stretch your legs, get a beverage, grab a snack, let the dog (or cat) out during our break.
Now, back to my attempts to end Rampant Procrastination.
#11: I Guess I Like Attention?
I do write a blog (kind of…) after all. In fact, I think that liking attention is a requirement if one wants to be a teacher. Those who feel unnerved by many sets of curious eyes on their person, seeking wisdom, answers, and snark need not apply. That sort of thing.
So, given this personality quirk that I have, it makes sense that I would want to find a way to participate in the middle school culture festival, which I did by dancing during a very brief talent show segment. The schedule for the festival went thusly:
9:00: Opening Ceremony
~ Performance from the elective music classes (students performed on traditional Japanese instruments)
~ Speeches from 10 students about a variety of topics
~ Presentation from the student health committee on drug abuse
~ Presentation from each grade
~ First years: 20 second speeches about their first year in middle school
~ Second years: small play about an activity they’ll be doing this month (For two days, they’re going to go out and work in a variety of the town’s businesses. They’ll work in everything ranging from restaurants to hospitals to gas stations.)
~ Third years: presentation about their trip to Tokyo last April
~ Lunch break (At about 11:15)
~ Huge BINGO Game
~ 1:00: Talent show (which included my dance)
~ Afternoon chorus competition between the different classes
~ Special Guest: Traditional Japanese storyteller
~ 3:30: Closing Ceremony
And that was pretty much it. I wandered around for most of the day, taking pictures and talking to students and their families. My dance was something I’d put together myself, set to Chris Brown’s Forever. I think it went quite well – the kids certainly had fun with it.
#12: Reasons that I love karaoke
I’m not the best of singers, but I do like to do it. Unfortunately, I’ve found more often than not that karaoke in the States is a very public, very embarrassing, and often very unpleasant experience. The Japanese karaoke experience is totally different, especially if you go to a karaoke establishment. You get your own room, your own television/stereo equipment, and you can use a phone in the room to order a variety of refreshments. Jyona33 and I probably owe the success of our friendship to Disney duets and Bonnie Tyler.
Recently, I went out with Rocko, and I’ll go ahead and let you know that the boy has game. He can rap. Seriously. I will admit to my superiority on Sir Mix-A-Lot’s Baby Got Back, but that’s about it. For the real deal, you need to hook up with 50cent, Eminem, and Rocko.
#13: The growing dichotomy that is my life
This isn’t a specific moment exactly, but rather a growing feeling I’ve had over the last month. Put very simply: I go to work and immerse myself in whatever school I happen to be in. I play around with my students, discuss a variety of topics with the teachers, go to planning meetings and training seminars, have dinner with friends on weekends, dance my heart out on Wednesdays and Sundays, and sometimes speak coherent and intelligent Japanese.
I also spend hours talking to friends on Skype, read Anna Karenina, memorize Shakespeare (because everybody should), stalk Jay Sean’s new singles, and have dreams of somehow marrying Stephen Colbert.
Sometimes, I’m not exactly sure which country I’m living in, or which world for that matter.
#14: Visiting old friends… my second culture festival
I’ve talked on occasion about The Middle School That Closed. Earlier this month, my town’s new middle school (the one that resulted from the merger of the three that closed) had their first culture festival. I wanted to see my old students, so I decided to attend. I didn’t stay for very long – just long enough to see their morning speeches and performances. They also had their chorus competition in the morning, and that was very cute. Aunt Mia was present, and she and I had the chance to talk a little before she had to run off. I still predict that she is somehow going to end up godmother to my children.
#15: And The Flu shall have no dominion (over me)…
Although it’s everywhere. My schools have been cancelling classes left and right and it’s been weeks since all of the grades have been present at the same time. Two weeks ago all of my third year JHS students were sent home for the week (14 had the flu) and then last week my second years were shut out (10 cases there). It’s the second time this year that my second years have had this happen to them. The teachers are really stressed because everyone is behind in their lessons, but the students are obviously enjoying all of this vacation time.
So far, by some miracle, I’ve managed to stay healthy. I had a scare two weeks ago, because I started to feel out of sorts. I’m not exactly sure what it was, but it passed by without making too much of a fuss, and I’ve remained well enough to venture into the wild and germy frontier. I still predict that I’m going to get Swine Flu.
#16: Fievel VS The Monkey, Part 2
I think it was on the 5th of November that I saw Fievel make an actual claim on me in front of The Monkey. It really stands out in my memory, though, because it just showed how feisty my previously silent one is becoming.
The students had to leave school early because of a big meeting that the teachers were preparing for. I had my work more or less under control, and so I spent some time with the kids while they were waiting for the last bus of the day. Fievel decided to assert his newfound power over me and asked me to give him a piggyback ride. The Monkey saw this, got jealous, and tried to interrupt the whole process.
I kid you not – as soon as The Monkey tried to block Fievel and climb on my back, Fievel looked at him and said (quite clearly and without any hesitation whatsoever): “NO. MONKEY DOWN!”
Success! English has been acquired!!!
#17: Playing With The Big Kids
On November 6th, my Thursday elementary school had a huge meeting that most of the teachers in my district were invited to attend. All of the teachers were required to have open lessons, which were then followed by a lecture from the 5th and 6th grade teachers. After a small break, everyone broke up into smaller groups to ask the home room teachers questions about their lessons.
Although I don’t always understand everything that’s said at these functions, I like to go because, well, it’s an opportunity to learn more about teaching theory (which is where I am admittedly pretty weak). For the open lesson and small meeting portions, I stuck close to The Mentor, since I find his lessons to be consistently well planned and executed.
Overall, I really enjoyed the meeting. I also enjoyed the Celebrity Effect, because a lot of people were not expecting me to be there, and I got to see my presence distract them from their own lives (if only momentarily). I found the overall theme of the meeting to be extremely interesting. It focused on a teaching model by which students are encouraged to approach problems individually, and then through their own efforts and discussion with their classmates, broaden and deepen their knowledge of the given subject. The open lessons were supposed to be examples of this model in action, and then the last meetings of the days were opportunities for other educators to respond to the model and to the way that the school is trying to implement it.
It’s a little frustrating for me, because there are so many things that I wish I could ask or discuss with my fellow teachers, but that kind of Japanese is still out of my reach. Still, I think that I benefitted from attending the meeting. I particularly enjoyed sitting next to one of the Two Terrific Teachers and being his comment partner through the last meeting. Do not be fooled – Japanese people are polite, but snark exists in this culture and it is alive and well. ^o^
#18: If you haven’t ever made sweet potato, tofu, and coconut milk curry…
…then you should, because it is delicious. It is so delicious that it actually qualifies as a memory from this fall season. I make it once a week, eat it for two or three days, and enjoy a slice of nirvana. When I look back on Autumn of 2009, I will most assuredly recall sweet potato and coconut milk curry.
#19: It’s Sunday – let’s go to a festival!
My third festival of the year was at my Friday elementary school. The schedule for this festival was a little different from the one that my middle school had:
~9:00, opening ceremony
~ Fun Corner (1 hour)
~ Mochi Making Event
~ Lunch and Recess
~ Fun Corner #2 (40 minutes)
~ Closing ceremony (at about 2:00)
The Fun Corners were a series of stations set up around the school that the students went to. There was a jump rope station, a juggling station, a station for playing with traditional Japanese toys (kendama and spinning tops), a station for origami, and one for wood crafting. I spent a lot of my time with the origami corner, where my superior motor skills were invaluable to the first and second year students. I had a very odd moment where I looked around and realized that I (the American) was actually leading Japanese school children through the origami process. I suppose that sometimes, authority figures are authority figures regardless of nationality.
(Also, just to squeeze this in here: mochi is a rice cake that’s made by pounding down a special kind of cooked rice. By itself it doesn’t have much of a taste, but it’s often eaten with special soy powder, fruit, or red bean paste. Fresh mochi is a gift from the gods, and I’m so happy that I have an elementary school where they make it once a year.)
#20: Did I say this before? Sometimes I am not very smart.
I’ve asked my Thursday elementary school if I can dance at their culture festival. I’ve yet to hear back from them, but I hope that they’re willing to indulge me as I really want to contribute something to the day. Besides, it gives me an excuse to make up a new dance routine.
Sometimes I Am Not Very Smart October 19, 2009
Posted by Earthdragonette in Student Moments.Tags: dancing, fall term, Japan, Mary Sunshine, the usual suspects
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Because I get involved in one too many things and it leaves me with my head spinning ala the small girl-child in The Exorcist. Or perhaps Tom from Tom & Jerry if we want to reference a less frightening and more comical image.
So on October 31st, my middle school will be holding its culture festival, and I’ve agreed to dance for the students during the Talent Show Segment. Since it’s my Current Favorite Song, I think I’ll be using Chris Brown’s “Forever,” and God Help Me with the choreography. It’s going to be an interesting sight to behold, that much I can guarantee.
It’s also going to be interesting to see when I manage to get this done, as I also have other culture festival responsibilities, a festival to go to this weekend with The Troupe, numerous lessons to plan between now and then, and a partridge in a pear tree to plant before Thanksgiving.
This all being a long-winded and heavy handed way of saying, “I can make no promises about blog updates between now and the 31st.”
But as always, I shall do my best!
So, today’s memory!
Today was sort of strange, because my usual flock of children was off entertaining itself elsewhere and instead I found myself goofing off with some third years that I’m not that close with. It was particularly surprising for me, because even though I don’t talk to them all that often, they felt comfortable enough to drape themselves on top of me and lament about their love lives during the afternoon break.
(I really wasn’t kidding about all of the gossip that I hear. It’s absolutely fascinating.)
It was a nice feeling, though, because I often feel guilty about always gravitating towards the same people (you know who they are: Mary Sunshine, The Savant, Hannah Montana, Macho Man). It’s not always easy for me to try to connect with the quieter students who aren’t so comfortable with English. I do try, but oftentimes I get distracted, or I just really have something that I want to discuss with The Usual Suspects. Even today during lunch, Mary Sunshine and I talked nonstop for twenty-five minutes and had to rush to finish our meals. I could have spent that time trying to cajole some English out of the Silent One beside me, but, you know, Mary Sunshine and I had business!*
Anyway, the events that transpired during afternoon recess showed me that even though my social interactions may be unbalanced, I’m still managing to do something right in all of this. They felt comfortable enough to approach me and to talk with me (mostly in Japanese, but we did English as well), and they trusted me enough to divulge the dark details of their tormented romances. (Which, from my perspective, are neither that dark nor tormented, but at 15 the entire world might as well be bathed in black nail polish.)
As you can readily see, even after almost three years, these kinds of affirmations from the kids are in fact the bread and butter of my job.
*Mostly discussing why we like or dislike certain kinds of rollercoasters, what that says about us, and also how many hamburgers we plan on eating together when she eventually comes to do a homestay with me in the States.
Carry on, and I’ll live forever
P.S. Someone has requested that I elaborate on the centipede and relay races from my elementary schools’ sports festivals. I can definitely do that, but it’s going to take me a few days to get around to it. I avoided it before because they aren’t going to be easy to explain and it’s going to take me a little time to do it properly. I’ll get it up as soon as I can.
