I'd never taught at a Japanese elementary school so I was quite curious to check it out. Megumi and I arrived at the higashi-shiogama station where we were greeted by Yukie, my sister-in-law. I was happy to hear they were putting foreign teachers in elementary schools because by the time they hit junior high school, they are very self conscious!
The school was a typical 4 story white building with a patio on the outside, and a gymnasium to the side and a track and baseball field behind it. The bottom floor is the office and all teachers sit together. We came in and we immediately hustled to the principals office. Mr. Aoki was a gentle, kind man and he welcomed us to the school. They are running a program where used school supplies are sent to a school in Vietnam. Instead of throwing out cracked or damaged pencils, they are shipped to this school to see a second life. We also found out he is a jazz drummer who is also studying the tabula, an Indian drum that has varying tonal qualities. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he heard I was on a one year leave though. Quite dramatic to watch the Japanese lose their stoicness! The tea lady brought the tea and we had a couple of sips before rushing up to the top floor. Again, I had been forced to wear slippers that barely covered my toes. When I tried to climb the stairs, I had to press my toes against the risers to stop them from climbing off. You know those sessions where they simulate for young kids what being elderly is like? Well, I was living the dream! Megumi, as always, was helping by giggling as I tried to tackle each step. Finally made it to the top but lost a slipper mid way up and had to go back for it. Just like the ranger creed, "no slipper left behind!".
Got to the classroom which was covered in English posters and had the ubiquitous kerosene heater in the corner. We met Lise, Yukie's assistant who is a Canadian, born in Belgium, who has been in Japan for 4 years. She's married to a Japanese man.
The first graders came in, lined up in rows and then did the morning greeting of hello, how are you? Normally, the kids would bow to the teacher at the front before beginning. Theses guys were working on numbers and the pace was fast and furious but also very fun. I participated in the group making game and they weren't too shy about interacting with me. That was amazing. Time was soon up and they had to go.
The second graders were a tougher bunch but I found they were cool as well. These guys were doing fruits. I sang a "bingo" for them and they were pretty happy about that. I joined a line of kids for a game and the boy in front of me kept turning around and asking me questions. Mid way through the game, the class was getting a little noisy so he asked me how to say noisy in English. Each time we had to stop to cool down, he'd put his finger to his lips and say, "noisy". Found it funny that he also asked Yukie right after he asked me. I guess he was just keeping this white devil honest.
Once this class, was done, we got our school lunch and went up to the class to eat. At elementary schools, each student participates by serving lunch so there was a crew of 8 students, dressed in white at the head if the class doling out food to the rest of the kids who came by in a line. Once everyone got their food, we clapped our hands together and said "amen" and proceeded to eat. I sat with Lise at the head of the class and chatted about her life in Japan. She services about 7 different schools so she is never at one school too long. She seems happy to be living in Japan and belongs to groups such as steel drums and a traditional dancing group. She might be one of those people who feel more confortable living on Japan than back home. She's played the amateur music festival in Sendai which has hundreds of bands playing around the streets. Sendai has limited opportunities for playing live so it's a great chance for bands and listeners. I played it twice in my time here and loved it. I remember seeing a bluegrass band composed entirely of Japanese people and being blown away by how good they sounded. Might have to come back for that again someday.
We finished our meal with a group "thanks for the good food" and when Yukie announced the noon concert, many kids said, "I'm going to go!". First, we needed to do the school cleaning. Every student helps to clean the school and its neat to see them all whisking around and talking responsibility for their environment.
The bell to go outside rang and about 50 students from grades 1-6 came in. We did three quick songs including "hello everybody" which I do in Canada. They also enjoyed "Ham and Eggs". Soon, it was time to go and many of them came up to the front to shake my hand. I really do like music and kids and love doing my job in Canada. I really hope that doesn't change. To wrap up the day, we went back downstairs. I had learned to curl my toes in my slippers to keep them on as I walked but now felt like an 18th century concubine with binded feet. Still, those slippers stayed on! Some of the kids asked me why I was crying and I told them it was because I was so happy. :) We wrapped up the day by saying goodbye to the principal one more time and there was more bowing and apologizing. In Japan, you are always excusing yourself and apologizing for being rude. It's a good way to keep most people humble and maybe why Canadians and Japanese seem to get along so well. Yukie drive us back to the station and it was a fun day. I'd forgotten all the details about school life. I was lucky to stay at only a few schools so I got to make some strong friendships and connections with students and staff alike. A fun day and great to be interacting with kids and music again.
The school was a typical 4 story white building with a patio on the outside, and a gymnasium to the side and a track and baseball field behind it. The bottom floor is the office and all teachers sit together. We came in and we immediately hustled to the principals office. Mr. Aoki was a gentle, kind man and he welcomed us to the school. They are running a program where used school supplies are sent to a school in Vietnam. Instead of throwing out cracked or damaged pencils, they are shipped to this school to see a second life. We also found out he is a jazz drummer who is also studying the tabula, an Indian drum that has varying tonal qualities. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he heard I was on a one year leave though. Quite dramatic to watch the Japanese lose their stoicness! The tea lady brought the tea and we had a couple of sips before rushing up to the top floor. Again, I had been forced to wear slippers that barely covered my toes. When I tried to climb the stairs, I had to press my toes against the risers to stop them from climbing off. You know those sessions where they simulate for young kids what being elderly is like? Well, I was living the dream! Megumi, as always, was helping by giggling as I tried to tackle each step. Finally made it to the top but lost a slipper mid way up and had to go back for it. Just like the ranger creed, "no slipper left behind!".
Got to the classroom which was covered in English posters and had the ubiquitous kerosene heater in the corner. We met Lise, Yukie's assistant who is a Canadian, born in Belgium, who has been in Japan for 4 years. She's married to a Japanese man.
The first graders came in, lined up in rows and then did the morning greeting of hello, how are you? Normally, the kids would bow to the teacher at the front before beginning. Theses guys were working on numbers and the pace was fast and furious but also very fun. I participated in the group making game and they weren't too shy about interacting with me. That was amazing. Time was soon up and they had to go.
The second graders were a tougher bunch but I found they were cool as well. These guys were doing fruits. I sang a "bingo" for them and they were pretty happy about that. I joined a line of kids for a game and the boy in front of me kept turning around and asking me questions. Mid way through the game, the class was getting a little noisy so he asked me how to say noisy in English. Each time we had to stop to cool down, he'd put his finger to his lips and say, "noisy". Found it funny that he also asked Yukie right after he asked me. I guess he was just keeping this white devil honest.
Once this class, was done, we got our school lunch and went up to the class to eat. At elementary schools, each student participates by serving lunch so there was a crew of 8 students, dressed in white at the head if the class doling out food to the rest of the kids who came by in a line. Once everyone got their food, we clapped our hands together and said "amen" and proceeded to eat. I sat with Lise at the head of the class and chatted about her life in Japan. She services about 7 different schools so she is never at one school too long. She seems happy to be living in Japan and belongs to groups such as steel drums and a traditional dancing group. She might be one of those people who feel more confortable living on Japan than back home. She's played the amateur music festival in Sendai which has hundreds of bands playing around the streets. Sendai has limited opportunities for playing live so it's a great chance for bands and listeners. I played it twice in my time here and loved it. I remember seeing a bluegrass band composed entirely of Japanese people and being blown away by how good they sounded. Might have to come back for that again someday.
We finished our meal with a group "thanks for the good food" and when Yukie announced the noon concert, many kids said, "I'm going to go!". First, we needed to do the school cleaning. Every student helps to clean the school and its neat to see them all whisking around and talking responsibility for their environment.
The bell to go outside rang and about 50 students from grades 1-6 came in. We did three quick songs including "hello everybody" which I do in Canada. They also enjoyed "Ham and Eggs". Soon, it was time to go and many of them came up to the front to shake my hand. I really do like music and kids and love doing my job in Canada. I really hope that doesn't change. To wrap up the day, we went back downstairs. I had learned to curl my toes in my slippers to keep them on as I walked but now felt like an 18th century concubine with binded feet. Still, those slippers stayed on! Some of the kids asked me why I was crying and I told them it was because I was so happy. :) We wrapped up the day by saying goodbye to the principal one more time and there was more bowing and apologizing. In Japan, you are always excusing yourself and apologizing for being rude. It's a good way to keep most people humble and maybe why Canadians and Japanese seem to get along so well. Yukie drive us back to the station and it was a fun day. I'd forgotten all the details about school life. I was lucky to stay at only a few schools so I got to make some strong friendships and connections with students and staff alike. A fun day and great to be interacting with kids and music again.