The Japanese Teacher Experience………..
Ever wonder what it’s like to be a native teacher in Japan? Well, I’m still wondering too. J But here are some things I’ve observed about being a native teacher in Japan.
One of the first things I noticed when I first started keeping regular work hours at my JHS’s was that the principal, vice-principal, head teacher, as well as all other teachers, would show up in the teachers room every once in awhile looking like they just trekked through Amazon – faded gardening clothes, water and grass stains on their clothes, wearing gloves, and gigantic hats with brims and gloves, sometimes with netting to pull over their faces. Then they disappear. As you’re sitting in the teachers room minding your own business, your gaze wanders to the window and you catch a glimpse of Kocho-sensei (principal) trimming the hedges along the sports field fence. And the Head Teacher rides by on some kind of contraption meant to rake the dirt of the sports fields. And the janitor wanders in with bunches of dirty, gigantic white radishes you’ve never seen before clutched by the stems in her hands. You realize she’s been gardening, and it must be the school’s garden. The science teacher is in the hallway cleaning the small aquarium. Just as the students are expected to help with basic maintenance of the school and school grounds, so too are the native teachers expected to help with the upkeep of the school.
One of the first things I noticed when I first started keeping regular work hours at my JHS’s was that the principal, vice-principal, head teacher, as well as all other teachers, would show up in the teachers room every once in awhile looking like they just trekked through Amazon – faded gardening clothes, water and grass stains on their clothes, wearing gloves, and gigantic hats with brims and gloves, sometimes with netting to pull over their faces. Then they disappear. As you’re sitting in the teachers room minding your own business, your gaze wanders to the window and you catch a glimpse of Kocho-sensei (principal) trimming the hedges along the sports field fence. And the Head Teacher rides by on some kind of contraption meant to rake the dirt of the sports fields. And the janitor wanders in with bunches of dirty, gigantic white radishes you’ve never seen before clutched by the stems in her hands. You realize she’s been gardening, and it must be the school’s garden. The science teacher is in the hallway cleaning the small aquarium. Just as the students are expected to help with basic maintenance of the school and school grounds, so too are the native teachers expected to help with the upkeep of the school.
posted by Mandy | 3:34 PM
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