Work flow

I have been at Takasu for two months, but looking back over my schedule since April 7, I realize that I have only had three weeks of regular classes. It feels very strange. I only have a few weeks left before we will return to the states, but I haven’t written anything about it. It has been difficult to get into the flow of the school’s routine. The reason I haven't been in the flow of work yet, has a lot to do with the culture of Japanese education. It is centered on ceremony.

The Japanese school year begins in April and the new school year brings new routines and introductions. During the first week at Takasu, I didn’t teach any classes. The first day was only ‘Opening Ceremony.’ The Japanese are huge on ceremony, which is exactly opposite of my preferences. I hate ceremonies. I don’t like parades. Chrissy says I am selfish, she might be right. I only like doing things that I want to do. It’s stating the obvious, but I only like what I like. This goes back to my independent days in Alaska, where everything I did was on my own. Luckily, I like learning about new cultures so the ceremonies here in Japan are at least interesting to live through once.

The second day of school was the ‘Welcoming Ceremony.’ This ceremony is essentially graduation in reverse. The new class of students is welcomed to the school. The kids walked in with their new uniforms. A lot of the uniforms were very large for the kids. Several kids still didn't have a hem in their pants and the legs were six inches too long. It was obvious that their parents bought them uniforms big enough to last a year and hopefully into next school year. Once the ceremony was finished the students went to their club activities or home just like the day before and there were no classes.

The third day they actually held classes, but just like in the states, the classes were dedicated to housekeeping, setting up the rules for the school year and getting the kids off on the right direction. The fourth day classes were interrupted for physical checks. In the gym and other places around the school the students marched in to be weighed and measured. Their eyes were checked as well as their hearing. They even had a van out front with an x-ray machine where the kids had pictures taken of their lungs. Friday that week was only their second day of classes.

The routine had not been established yet. On Monday they held farewell ceremonies at each school throughout Nishinomiya. I had no idea what this ceremony was until I showed up that day. The ‘Farewell Ceremony’ is for teachers who have left the school to return to say goodbye. The news of the seven-year teacher rotation is revealed to the teachers after the last day of school in March. So many teachers do not have an opportunity to say goodbye to their students or the school. These teachers come back for the ‘Farewell Ceremony’ to give a speech to the school and to move on.

Takasu had nine teachers and staff returns for the ceremony. Takumi, another teacher with whom I worked at Kawaragi returned to our old school to say goodbye. Katsumoto said that the students asked about me, but my farewell was done on the last day of school. Everyone knew I was leaving.

The second week of classes were mostly routine, except that I didn’t have any classes with the first grade students (seventh graders). The first graders were still getting instruction on the rules and life of the school. It wasn’t until the third week that we had a normal week of school, where I finally met with all of my classes.

The fourth week of class, Chrissy and I left for Viet Nam and we wouldn’t return until the final three days of the fifth week. The sixth week only had regular classes for the first three days. Thursday and Friday were test days.

The seventh week both the third grade (ninth) and second grade (eighth) students were out for the entire week. I only had classes with the first graders. The third grade students took a weeklong school trip to Hokkaido. In Hokkaido they stayed with farm families for a couple of nights and experienced life in a more rural part of Japan. All of the Japanese junior high school students take a similar trip. The students from Kawaragi traveled to Nagano. The second grade students had ‘trial week,’ a week long work experience program. The students are placed in businesses around town to get a flavor for work life. Kagari, Takasu’s main English teacher, took me to visit several of the students in the Takasu neighborhood. They worked in bakeries, fitness centers, supermarkets and kindergartens.

The last week of May was only my second ‘normal’ week. I met with all of my classes without interruption. Maeda, my supervisor from Sogo came in and observed the final class of the week.
It was pretty cool to see my observation on the blackboard during our morning meeting.

The first week of June should have been a normal week, but Sogo scheduled me for my annual health check on Monday morning, so I missed all but one class on Monday.

Today, I was supposed to be at school, but Takasu had a ‘Parent Day’ on Saturday. ‘Parent Day’ is their open house. Takasu held two actual classes where parents could come and observe. I didn’t have any classes scheduled, but was able to show up for an hour and count it as a workday. So today, the ninth of June is all mine.

Looking ahead at my schedule, this week is only four days. The following week is another test week. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be lost to the final exams. The Japanese hold their final exams for the semester several weeks before the final day. The teachers still fill out the report cards by hand. The last week of June and first week of July are normal classes. It is possible that the second week of July will also be normal, but I haven’t seen that schedule yet. The third week of July is the last week of the term with their closing ceremony on the 18th.

With all of the interruptions, it has been tough to get into the flow of the school. I have a feel for some of the classes, but each week, since I only meet with most of the classes once a week, I seem to have to remind myself of what I am doing with each class.