Sleepwalking

I’m sleepwalking through my job right now, pretty much on autopilot as far as my day to day duties are concerned. It’s difficult to be genki when your inclination is to lie down and catch your breath, but I am trying. Nonetheless, the past couple of days have been pretty satisfying.

I had a great conversation with some of my junior high second year students yesterday about the perils of juku (cram school) and homework. Even though some of my second year classes have become a bit rowdy these past few months, they are probably my favourite group of students. Their level of English has advanced at a frightening rate. This is one advantage of teaching at an academic school. When I first met them they could barely do a self introduction. Now, they are intermittently confident English speakers, able to express themselves and capable of understanding 60% of what I throw at them.

I don’t mean to imply that this improvement is down to me. It’s mainly due to the excellent teachers at my school, its emphasis at early junior-level on genuine communication skills and the students’ hard work. They have put my lazy Japanese skills to shame.

I feel really proud of them in a way that I never expected to when I came here. Teaching English was never a motivational factor in my decision to come to Japan. It was merely a means to an end, which was to experience a foreign culture and properly explore a country I was fascinated with. I have no particular love for kids, especially teenagers and the idea of spending my time surrounded by them made me slightly nervous to be honest.

But it hasn’t quite turned out how I expected. Firstly, the kids are great. There’s a unity to the group and a carelessness about their nature that’s really appealing and which can totally put you at ease. I’ve found myself really rooting for them on so many levels. So much so that it makes me want to work hard for them and improve my teaching on their behalf.

Secondly, I’ve enjoyed the creativity of teaching. I’m pretty decent at it. There’s nothing like watching a lesson you’ve planned run perfectly with happy students cavorting around the classroom and enjoying English. It is a genuine thrill and I envy my friends who are teachers who get to do that on a regular basis with the proper experience and skill that teaching for a living imparts upon you.

Thirdly, through family and friends, a whole rash of babies and young children have entered my life in the past few years. Now I’ll be honest. Babies are really boring. Only if they are your own do they hold any real appeal. They moan, they cry, they have very little personality and they are incredibly demanding. They drive the parents crazy. It’s just the inevitable side-effect of 24/7 babytime.

But toddlers…toddlers are fun. For a start, you can talk to them. They are little people with individual personalities. You can play with them and hang out. Sure, they are, if anything, even more demanding than babies. But you get something back from a toddler. Babies just ask for your attention, get it and go to sleep if you’re lucky. Toddlers can actually lift you and make you feel good. So I suppose my attitude towards children has changed in the sense that I can actually envisage enjoying their company to some extent.

I’ve enjoyed the teaching, even if I have major reservations about the specific role of an ALT. I will miss being on my feet for 3 hours a day and the challenge of interacting with people on a personal level so regularly. But if I’m honest, I’d rather be a civil servant. Which is lucky, because that’s what I’ll be again on August 7^th.

I’m not pregnant by the way. I don’t have Danny Devito as my doctor. I’m really not.