I went through a box of old school related Yaeyama photos, mementos and writing from my students. I actually really miss how much closer in some ways I was with my students there than I am here (even though I only visited once in a while, I was able to spend more time with my students at the small island schools). I also feel like I experienced more cultural celebrations and activities -- maybe because I lived on a small island. For instance, last year I celebrated 節分 (Setsubun) with my students. We created masks and threw soybeans (well, we ate more than we threw) and the teachers and students taught me "鬼は外! 福は内!" . Yesterday, it wasn't even mentioned (actually, I mentioned it in relation to bringing fortune/good luck for my students as I was helping them review for their final exam). In many ways, while I had a really hard time dealing with the small island inaka mentality, I am missing the elements of culture that I rarely see while living in Naha. Don't get me wrong, I love living in a city much more than I do a small town on an isolated island (though I did enjoy the beautiful of those islands). I think though, that part of the problem is that I am now at a school that is far too big. I teach close to 500 of them and so I only know a handful of them by name. Another part of it is that I feel like I haven't done a good enough job integrating into the school, at least in getting to know my students beyond the classroom. I guess it's a two-way street though.
昨日 は節分でした. |
I think out of all my experiences here in Japan so far, I have enjoyed teaching elementary school students the best. They have so much imagination and they are so sweet. There isn't the cynicism that I have seen in some of my students at the HS (and, unfortunately, even JHS level). I am wondering if I would enjoy teaching little ones instead of older students. I only had a chance to do this a handful of times, since I visited combined 小中学校 schools several times last year. This year, while I've had so much more control over what I teach and more independent teaching experience, I feel somewhat distant from my students. One of the reasons for this might be how far away my classroom is from the homerooms of the students I teach. Proximity to where I sit most of the time does make a difference. After the 3rd graders I eat lunch with this year leave (and that's next Friday) I have resolved to spend much more time visiting classes that I can participate in (Art, Home Economics, etc) outside of my Oral Communication class. In April, I would like to join one of the student clubs and attend regularly.
世界 平和 at 川平 小中学校 |
Its definitely different to go from small to large! I went from small to medium, so I get a bit of both. There is good and different, but overall new experiences are worth it!
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