Yesterday I was at one of my special needs schools. Of all
the unexpected things that I’ve done here, this is the furthest outside my
comfort zone. As I’ve said before, teaching was not the reason I came to Japan.
It was merely the means by which I could live abroad and see an interesting
country. I’d never spent any sustained time around special needs kids and I
didn’t know what to expect really.
This particular school is massive. It has elementary, junior
and senior high kids. It has the biggest staff room I have seen since arriving
here-it’s like an aircraft hangar. There are often as many staff members as
students in the lessons, particularly where the students require a lot of help
and attention.
In some of the lessons, I have been introducing myself with
my well worn self introduction materials that I have probably used about 30 or
40 times now. I’ve had to change them in order to keep it interesting for
myself and I recently added AKB48 to my list of “Dislikes”, not because I
especially dislike them but just because it always gets a reaction and I enjoy
that. Previously, I used Justin Bieber for this purpose but sometimes younger
students wouldn’t know who he was. In saying that, one of my students at my
base school is always coming up to me with pictures of Justin Bieber and
thrusting them under my face with a “why don’t you like him. Look at him
Ben-senseii! Look at him!”
We also played some games in which I had to sing. I can’t
sing. Not at all. I was okay at singing when I was very little but ever since
my voice broke it’s been a fairly dreadful noise. But it was fun. None of the
students or teachers could sing either and it was all about just trying to be
enthusiastic and not being “above” it or letting on that you’re tired/embarrassed/whatever.
I think they appreciate that. So much of being an ALT in Japan is about just
doing exactly what you’re told to do but doing it with the right attitude and
going out of your way to please people (whilst at the same time not showing too
much initiative). In the end, people on youtube/forums/whatever go on and on
about what this job is really about but I don’t think it’s all that different
to any job back home. Regardless of your level of ability, just being
professional, co-operative and calm goes 80% of the way to doing the job well.
There’s a 20% which is natural teaching ability which, frankly, I don’t have.
But there are other ways you can make up for this and if you are self-critical
you can definitely improve over time, like in any job.
Anyway, it was a pleasure to play games with friendly kids
all day. I’m really going to miss these random, testing experiences that I come
across on a regular basis in my Japan life. I’m constantly having to stretch
myself and that’s a really healthy thing. The other thing that I like about the
special needs school is that it’s in a really beautiful part of Okayama and
surrounded by the greenest rice fields and hills that you’ve ever seen. Every
time I go there I get a huge buzz just from looking out the window.
In case it isn’t obvious from the above and from recent posts,
I’m starting to freak out about leaving.
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