I teach English in Japanese elementary schools but I’m not directly hired by the schools. I actually work for a contracting company that takes care of things like schedules, communication with the school boards, visas, and the like. They also provide training and observe one of my classes once a year. That was this week.
It went pretty well, I think. The guy who came was quite strict during the initial training so I was bracing myself for the worst but everything turned out okay. He even had some great tips on how to make particular parts of the lesson flow more smoothly. He said that I did a great job controlling the class while being just the right amount of fun/silly. I never thought I would be able to “control” a group of 35 sixth graders so I was really happy to hear that.
I’m finally starting to feel like I’m settling into this job. I still get butterflies before I teach a new lesson or go in front of a demanding class but things are becoming easier day by day.
All of this being said, I don’t think teaching is the job I’m meant to do. It’s something I’m good at, sure, but it doesn’t capture my mind and imagination. At least, not when I’m travelling to five different schools and seeing roughly 1000 different kids every two weeks. If I had my own class it might be different… but then again, if I had my own class I would have to deal with a lot of problems I conveniently sidestep now.
Originally I was thinking I would teach for one year and then move on to something where I can use my Japanese more effectively and learn more as I go. But with the economy being so bad and jobs being so scarce I’m now thinking another year of teaching might be a good idea. I get home in the afternoon and have lots of time to study. Sometimes I even get the chance to study during work where there’s always a super-nice, understanding, patient teacher around if I have a question. While teaching isn’t my life’s work doing it for a little longer may be my ticket to Japanese fluency. I don’t have to decide anything right now (the school year runs April through March) so we’ll see how it plays out.
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