Hello everyone!
What a month it’s been! It’s hard to believe that it’s already July! Time is really flying by! I know I said I would post something about what work here is like (for me at least because the reason I came to Japan was to work).. so here it goes.. hope you don’t fall asleep reading this..
6 AM: wake up and get ready for the day.
7:20-7:30- leave my apartment and head to work. Some days when I want to be a rebel I’ll leave at 7:35.. wild, I know!
8:10- school starts.. kind of. Students are in their classrooms with the teachers but the first period doesn’t start until 8:40.
In the elementary school, school starts at 8:40 and ends at 3:35 for 5th and 6th graders and 2:50ish for 1st-4th grade. There are 6 periods in a day for 5th and 6th grade and 1st-4th grade have 5. Each class is about 45 minutes. With a small recess break after the second period and lunch, cleaning time, and recess after 4th period. School’s here don’t have janitors to clean every night. Instead, everyone (students, teachers, etc.) clean the school. Cleaning time is only about 20-25 minutes which doesn’t sound like a lot, but when everyone is helping clean the school, you’d be surprised how much gets done. Since I only see the kids once or twice a week, cleaning time is a good way to get to know them a little better… In class I speak English to them but outside of class I do a mixture of both. Basically whatever I can’t say in Japanese I’ll say in English and for the record, no it’s not everything… Usually lunch is good time to get to know the students but since I’m gluten intolerant, I don’t eat the school lunch so I was asked to eat with the teachers. Bringing my own lunch can be a great thing and a bad thing. For one, there’s gluten in almost every meal so bringing my own lunch is definitely a good call. But the school lunches can look really good! Lunch in Japan in eaten in the classroom and the homeroom teacher eats with the students. Everyone gets the same exact meal. They start eating at the same time and they finish and clean up at the same time. After lunch we clean and after we clean we have recess (yes, I go out to recess). When it’s time to go home, the students line up by class outside and the teacher dismisses them and they all walk home… alone.
The amount of responsibility the kids have here is something else. In the morning they walk to school without a parent. They walk in big groups and the group is led by a 6th grader. The students wear yellow hats so everyone knows that they are either going to school or going home. No one bothers them but at the same time everyone makes sure that they’re safe. The older children are also in charge of help cleaning the younger classes during cleaning time. And at the start of each class there are leaders that lead the class in greetings to the teacher. Even though I can’t understand everything that’s being said, it’s easy to see that the student/teacher relationship is very different here than in America. At my main school, it can be stressful and crazy but I have a lot of fun with the students and I laugh everyday I’m there so the stress is worth it! After the 5th and 6th graders go home at 3:35, teachers will stay until at least 4:45. But most (all but me) stay later… much later. There they talk and relax, work on lessons, and have a teacher’s meeting. Most days, I’m kicked out at 4:45. But there are some days where I slip past them and stay longer (until 5 when they notice I’m still there).
So yeah… that’s basically what my school day entails! I know it’s super exciting right? I thought you all would enjoy it..
