Day 2: First Rainy Day

Today was my first rainy day, but it started with another great breakfast with the Hotta family. The breakfasts are not that different from those in America: eggs, bread, yogurt, sausages (which are more like hot dogs), coffee, milk, orange juice, etc. We didn't have the TV show yesterday, so I was a part of it today. I introduced myself, told everyone how excited I am to be here and that I hope to meet them all soon. I was a bit nervous, but maybe it was just the heat and humidity getting to me. I am impressed at the students ability to use technology. Americans recognize the Japanese as very advanced in their technologies, and they start using them at a young age. The students sit at the control desk and produce the show, moving from live video to picture slide shows with voice-overs. I prepared a map of the United States by tracing Wisconsin and marking Green Bay with an arrow labeled "Koko desu," meaning here. I am sure I will be on the TV again soon.

Sister Beatrice wanted to get my input as far as what I would like to do. I will be helping with the English classes daily, but I told her I would also like to learn with the first graders and work my way up. Since I am new to Japan, it is a good idea to start with the most basic things. Therefore, I joined the first grade class in Room 3. This class, like the others, had forty students under the supervision of one teacher, Kitamura Sensei. The first thing I noticed was that there are no types of learning centers around the classroom. Instead, the students are seated in straight rows facing forward. Suprisingly, all of the children seem to be attentive. It seems like the students are more focused in this school than in those I have experienced in America. I think that the uniform requirement eliminates a lot of distractions for the students and allows them to focus on other things.

The students gave their first presentations of the year, sort of like "show and tell" in America. The students placed their notebooks or reports on the overhead (which is basically a camera) and their materials appeared on the large flatscreen TV. Most of the students shared something that they had found outside, like the leaves of a tree, for example. Next, the first graders went to the library for some free reading time, referred to as Silent Sustained Reading in the United States. Once in the library, the students collectively thank the librarian for the use of the books and bow. They thank the librarian again before going back to their classroom. I observed the students and thought about first grade in the US; we don't usually have SSR for students at that age! We typically have some sort of guided reading which helps the students and provides necessary feedback for the teacher. This really amazed me! One thing I noticed about the library itself is the shelving system. The students carry colored cards about the size of a book, which have their name and ID number on them. When they remove a book from the shelf they place their card in its place. This allows the students to replace the book or take it with them and the librarian will know who has it - what a simple and efficient way to do it!

After returning from the library, it was time for manners class. I was especially excited to learn some Japanese manners myself! We all walked to the large tatami room, took off our shoes and formed lines on each side of the room. The teacher demonstrated the proper way to kneel and the proper way to stand up. We all knelt down and then Kitamura Sensei taught us different bows we should know how to do depending on who you are bowing to. By this time, my American legs were in pain from kneeling like the Japanese. I did my best to continue with the lesson in giving and receiving things, such as tea, while kneeling on the tatami floor. Although it was somewhat painful, I am glad to have been a part of the manners class.

I went to Junnpei's class, Room 5, at noon so we could go to lunch. Today we had Chinese food: rice, corn soup, a kind of stir fry, and some fruit-flavored tofu. In was a good lunch and the students cleaned up all the dishes again. They help each other a lot without ever being asked and they even fold their milk cartons and bundle them together for disposal!

Since I plan to be a part of the English classes, I attended the English teachers' meeting after lunch. Mr. Yukita seems to be the head of the department and he is very helpful to me. The meeting was with teachers I have met for the most part: Afrela, Kimi, Chuck, Miko, and Mr. Yukita. We discussed the plan for this Thursday, which is a day off from school for a teachers convention in Osaka. I am looking forward to going to the convention and comparing it to those I have experienced in the US. I will be attending the English seminars, and it will be nice to understand everything they say. We also discussed my role as a teacher in the English program. I will be assisting with the after school clubs and Returnee/Advanced English classes. Also, I will be helping a lot for every English class while Yukita Sensei travels to Wisconsin for a visit. My schedule is beginning to fill up and I will be able to help more and more, especially with the advanced English students.

Mr. Yukita team-teaches the fourth graders with an American from Chicago, Chuck. Chuck seems like a nice guy and is a very creative English teacher. The classes start with Chuck saying, "Hello, how are you?" The students reply, "Fine, thank you. How are you?" Chuck replies, "I am fine, thank you. How are you Ryan Sensei?" Of course I answer, "I am fine thank you." Chuck Sensei and Yukita Sensei use Powerpoint in creative ways for teaching the students. Today they learned to describe what people like or dislike. Chuck made a Powerpoint with pictures of students for a game called Who am I? The student's picture is covered with picture of foods or activities and the children have to make a sentence like, "He likes to play soccer" in order for the soccer ball to disappear and reveal more of the student's face.

I was able to review the V, PH, and F sounding words with the students. The pictures were on the board and the students repeated after me. We then sang the song of the month, which happened to be Doe-Ray-Me from the Sound of Music. Yukita Sensei made me lead the class in the song, which was funny because it is hard for me to sing loudly, but it was fun. I spoke to Mr. Yukita after class and he told me that the English department doesn't try to teach reading and writing English as much as conversational English. He calls it communicative English.

After school, I went with the Hotta family to the Kinkaku Temple (Rokuon-ji). Kin means gold in Japanese, and the temple is covered with gold foil and is quite a sight to see. The water and gardens around the temple are spectacular. It was a rainy day for a temple visit, but I think it added to the mystique of the temple. Mrs. Hotta had to stop at the bakery, so I went with her. I really didn't know what everything was, but it smelled good. I also made my first purchase in Japan: a coke at a convenience store. At home, Junnpei and I played with some legos before dinner. For dinner we had an excellent dish called Okonomi Yaki. It was really good! We also had wine, miso soup, fresh tomatoes, bread, cream cheese and chips, and beer. After a shower I had some time to write emails until Junnpei brought out some more things to build with. We went to bed at about 9:30pm.