english journals

Okay, so since I just came back from a 4 day fun-filled trip in Okinawa, so you'd think I'd have stuff to fill you in on, right? The places I went, the things I saw, the giant crotch-adorned things I bought... Well, I do, but I just don't know where to start, and since I imagine it'll be a fairly time-consuming post, I'll save it for when I've got a little more time.

In the mean time though, I thought I'd show this. As part of my decision to stay for yet another year in Japan (three... eeeshk..) I thought I'd try and make sure I make the most of my time - ie travel and job-wise. On the job front, I'm hoping to make my job more rewarding, by trying to start more things in my school. One of which was making the 3rd years write a journal, since everyone says their writing sucks. I figured that since I had enough time to study Japanese, read, email, and pissfart around, I could make a bit of time for correcting their journals, since the other teachers seem so consumed with... well, actual work. Plus, I thought giving 14-year-olds the freedom to write whatever they want, with the limited English skills they had, would be a reward in itself. And, after only a week of doing this journal thing, I think it's already paid off.

borderline obsession

You know when a hobby's becoming more of an obsession when you realise you're going on holiday in a week, escaping your landlocked prefecture for beautiful beaches, scuba diving, and a awesome food, and the first thing that pops in your head is the fact that you can get a new boner green dude to add to your collection.

This one's my most recent one from Nagashima spaland in Mie, despite what its name implies, is one of the largest amusement parks in Japan (second behind Disneyland). It also houses the longest roller coaster in the world, and the largest wooden roller coaster in the world as well. Unfortunately, despite being there this Steel Dragon phone strap is probably the closest I'll get to riding the longest roller coaster in the world. After a day trip there filled with lines, waiting, and rides, turns out I don't actually like roller coasters as much as I thought I did. Rather than excitement, I was filled more with dread, angst, and a dry raspy throat from screaming on too many rides. Being the genius that I am, it did take about five or six rides to realise that I hated them. The point I realised I was not a fan was seeing The Magic Carpet, a ride for kids, and just thinking about the whole list of other things I would rather do than go on the kids ride.

school lockdown

"They're here!"

The Vice Principal ducks down, and peeps through the blinds to see a number of legs walk past the window. He signals to the other teachers to prepare themselves for what's going to happen.

The new teachers, sitting at their desks they were just allocated the previous day, look around nervously, not knowing what to expect, or for how long it will go for. They sheepishly grin at each other, hoping that it will pass soon enough.

BANG BANG BANG!

The windows that span the whole length of one side of the staffroom reverberate the sound. All the blinds have been closed in preparation for this too, so only the slightest ray of sunshine comes into the staffroom. After each bang, the blinds sway little bit more each time.

"It's okay," the Vice Principal reassures everyone. "Just ignore them, they'll be gone soon enough." The banging continues for another few minutes, getting louder and louder, and moving in a wave from one side of the room to the other. "The main entrance doors are locked, right?"

I look at my watch. It's 4:47. If only I had left right on the dot at 4:30, as my contract says, and not wasted any time leaving, now I just have to wait patiently till this is all over. At least it won't happen again next week, when school starts.

At the moment, it's the school break. Just last week we had the last day of school. But unlike schools back in Australia, the last day of school is shrouded in secrecy. Teachers in Japan are employed by the prefecture, not by the school directly, meaning that once they become a teacher, they have little to no choice about which school they'll be teaching at, and they don't know how long they'll be there. All the placements are decided by the prefectures. So, teachers can find themselves working in a school 2 hours away from their home, in the middle of nowhere, and having to move without a single complaint.

It's usually the younger, less experienced teachers that get the short end of the stick though. Initially, as a qualified teacher, you're expected to work at a school for 3 years, before moving you to another school As they get more senior, they can request if you want to stay at the school for another year or not, and also request what area you want to teach in. To top it all off though, teachers only find out during the last week of school where they'll be going. So, theoretically, you might be asked to move to the middle of nowhere, find a place to live, and get ready for work within a week.

The secrecy though continues on til the very last day of school. Teachers aren't allowed to tell the students if they're leaving or not (despite how traumatising it may be) and students are kept in the dark until the last assembly, where they sit and wait in the hall for the doors to swing open, and see the parade of teachers who are leaving enter the assembly hall. It almost seems like a Japanese reality TV show aiming to toy with kids' emotions by giving them no sense of stability whatsoever.

Once school is over, and the teachers clear their desks and leave, the following day, new teachers come, and are kept up to date with the processes in the school and everything else. once they're officially welcomed with the first staff meeting, it's back to work, preparing for the new school year at their desks in the staffroom.

In the meantime, since the new teachers haven't been introduced yet, the school is now completely locked, and the blinds are drawn to stop any students from seeing the new teachers before they should.

Which is why I'm still at my desk at 4:58. I'm waiting for my new 2nd year students (who we just had a meeting about yesterday to fill in the new teachers) to stop banging on the windows and trying to take a peek at the new teachers before the new school year starts. Why are kids who hate school so much hanging around school on the last day of spring vacation anyway? I kinda feel sorry for the new teachers. To me, the banging comes from the little brats that I've been used to seeing for the past year, but for them, they're just faceless unknown attackers trying to smash all the windows at school.