Pomp and Circumstance
Today was graduation for the 3rd graders (= 8th grade) at my Junior High School. Naturally it was a very special day for them, but it ended up being a special day for me too.
Most of the time I don't know what's going on at school to any extent; generally it's just enough to feel like I have at least part of a foot on the inside of "the circle," which has been just fine. But determining the relationship the students have with the teachers, as well as with each other within each grade, not to mention between grades, has been less than easily discernable without understanding the language. Is the student visiting the teacher in the teacher's room just because they want to hang out with the teacher, or is it because the student failed to turn in their homework recently and are being reprimanded (people in Japan can be completely stoic even in the most joyful of events, which can give a misleading impression to someone outside the cultural loop)? Is the banter in the hallway and during club practice in good fun? I've never had a chance to witness how students and teachers interact in the classroom outside of English classes. But today I didn't have to understand a single word to understand what kind of impact their time together at Tokigawa Junior High School has had on the students and teachers.
Yesterday after watching the graduation ceremony practice, the principal asked me if I thought Japanese Junior High School graduation ceremonies were like military exercises. When one of the English teachers reminded me that he would be at his own daughter's JHS graduation ceremony today and I told him I hoped he would enjoy it, without batting an eye or missing a beat, he made the comment that it is difficult to enjoy graduation because it is so formal, as I had witnessed. Okay, touche, but take lots of pictures, I said. It's difficult to take pictures, he immediately replied, because most of it is everyone just sitting. I suppose in some sense their comments are truthful. The fact that a couple of hours each day for 3-4 days are dedicated to practicing for the ceremony gives you a bit of an idea about how precise they are. Setting up the chairs in the gym yesterday was definitely a militaristic operation involving a very long tape measure. But today emotion softened all the sharp edges....of the teachers' disciplinaric guardian/educator role, of the students' stoic, proper behavior, of the formality and rigidness of the graduation ceremony itself.
At the start of the ceremony, with the 1st and 2nd graders, as well as the teachers, parents and town officials already seated, the 3rd grade students filed into the gym behind their homeroom teachers to a round of applause. The Japanese national anthem was sung (gotta learn that sometime soon) as well as the school song (that one too). Then, to my surprise, they dove right into handing out the diplomas. I only saw one girl already crying during this part of the ceremony, but she started crying about 2 days ago, so I took that one with a grain of salt (she's my bud, so I can take a shot at her here). There were a number of speeches then by the principal and various town officials. Then the Student Body President turned on the faucets as he gave the final speech. I wish I could tell you what he said, but since I can't (cuz I couldn't understand it), all I can relate is that by the end of his speech most of the 3rd grade girls were crying, as well as some of the 3rd grade boys, some of the 1st and 2nd grade students, many of the parents, and most of the teachers, most notably the 3rd grade teachers. Even the rough-and-tumble 3rd grade Head Teacher (Social Studies teacher and coach, ironically enough for those of you who know my father :-) ) and tough-as-nails principal were teary-eyed. The Student Body President himself was having trouble getting through the very end of his speech and had to wipe tears away before he left the stage.
Immediately following his speech, the 3rd grade students had to sing a 'thank you and good-bye' song to the rest of the audience. The irony of the fact that a good portion of the girls were crying so much that they couldn't even sing the first part of the song was not lost on me as I simultaneously recalled the numerous "one-more-time" rehearsals of the song that had been performed the previous two days to make sure it was just right. :-)
At the end of the ceremony, the 3rd grade teachers stood at the very front of the gym in front of the 3rd grade students, who, homeroom by homeroom, would bow to their teachers, then file out as the 1st and 2nd graders played "I Did It My Way" on recorders (it sounds funny, but it was really cute). It was probably the most emotional part of the ceremony as the teachers, some of whom were in serious tears, had to accept their student's respectful bows for the last time, watch them turn their backs and head out the doors towards the awaiting world of high school.
After the 3rd grade teachers, students and parents mingled for about an hour in the 3rd grade classrooms, everyone congregated outside, lining either side of the walkway leading from the students' entrance of the school to the front parking lot area to applaud the 3rd graders as they exited the school for the last time. The atmosphere was a bit more relaxed; a lot of hand-shaking, calling out "congratulations," but still a lot of tears. After the last 3rd grader exited the school, everyone shuffled to the front parking lot where the 3rd graders performed their own surprise good-bye for all the teachers. Each teacher and staff person's name was called out and various forms of "thank-yous" were hollered. I got a "Mandy! Thank you very much!" in English. :-) Made me smile. Special thank-yous were delivered to the 3rd grade teachers, usually by individuals or smaller groups of students that were especially close to each teacher. It was really touching. One of the teachers told me that in all her years of teaching, she had never had such an experience where the students so creatively added their own touch to the end of the graduation ceremony; that this was a special group of students. I have to agree. I only spent about 2 months with this group of students, but I was just as proud, sad and excited to be sending them off. Their acceptance of me into their community during such a short timeframe, not to mention probably the most stressful time of their JHS careers, and during my still uncertain early-stages of life here in Japan, will make them a memorable group.
Of course everyone was running around taking pictures together before the 3rd graders headed home, including me, so check out my photo site in the next few days if you want to experience Japanese Junior High School graduation through photos.
Most of the time I don't know what's going on at school to any extent; generally it's just enough to feel like I have at least part of a foot on the inside of "the circle," which has been just fine. But determining the relationship the students have with the teachers, as well as with each other within each grade, not to mention between grades, has been less than easily discernable without understanding the language. Is the student visiting the teacher in the teacher's room just because they want to hang out with the teacher, or is it because the student failed to turn in their homework recently and are being reprimanded (people in Japan can be completely stoic even in the most joyful of events, which can give a misleading impression to someone outside the cultural loop)? Is the banter in the hallway and during club practice in good fun? I've never had a chance to witness how students and teachers interact in the classroom outside of English classes. But today I didn't have to understand a single word to understand what kind of impact their time together at Tokigawa Junior High School has had on the students and teachers.
Yesterday after watching the graduation ceremony practice, the principal asked me if I thought Japanese Junior High School graduation ceremonies were like military exercises. When one of the English teachers reminded me that he would be at his own daughter's JHS graduation ceremony today and I told him I hoped he would enjoy it, without batting an eye or missing a beat, he made the comment that it is difficult to enjoy graduation because it is so formal, as I had witnessed. Okay, touche, but take lots of pictures, I said. It's difficult to take pictures, he immediately replied, because most of it is everyone just sitting. I suppose in some sense their comments are truthful. The fact that a couple of hours each day for 3-4 days are dedicated to practicing for the ceremony gives you a bit of an idea about how precise they are. Setting up the chairs in the gym yesterday was definitely a militaristic operation involving a very long tape measure. But today emotion softened all the sharp edges....of the teachers' disciplinaric guardian/educator role, of the students' stoic, proper behavior, of the formality and rigidness of the graduation ceremony itself.
At the start of the ceremony, with the 1st and 2nd graders, as well as the teachers, parents and town officials already seated, the 3rd grade students filed into the gym behind their homeroom teachers to a round of applause. The Japanese national anthem was sung (gotta learn that sometime soon) as well as the school song (that one too). Then, to my surprise, they dove right into handing out the diplomas. I only saw one girl already crying during this part of the ceremony, but she started crying about 2 days ago, so I took that one with a grain of salt (she's my bud, so I can take a shot at her here). There were a number of speeches then by the principal and various town officials. Then the Student Body President turned on the faucets as he gave the final speech. I wish I could tell you what he said, but since I can't (cuz I couldn't understand it), all I can relate is that by the end of his speech most of the 3rd grade girls were crying, as well as some of the 3rd grade boys, some of the 1st and 2nd grade students, many of the parents, and most of the teachers, most notably the 3rd grade teachers. Even the rough-and-tumble 3rd grade Head Teacher (Social Studies teacher and coach, ironically enough for those of you who know my father :-) ) and tough-as-nails principal were teary-eyed. The Student Body President himself was having trouble getting through the very end of his speech and had to wipe tears away before he left the stage.
Immediately following his speech, the 3rd grade students had to sing a 'thank you and good-bye' song to the rest of the audience. The irony of the fact that a good portion of the girls were crying so much that they couldn't even sing the first part of the song was not lost on me as I simultaneously recalled the numerous "one-more-time" rehearsals of the song that had been performed the previous two days to make sure it was just right. :-)
At the end of the ceremony, the 3rd grade teachers stood at the very front of the gym in front of the 3rd grade students, who, homeroom by homeroom, would bow to their teachers, then file out as the 1st and 2nd graders played "I Did It My Way" on recorders (it sounds funny, but it was really cute). It was probably the most emotional part of the ceremony as the teachers, some of whom were in serious tears, had to accept their student's respectful bows for the last time, watch them turn their backs and head out the doors towards the awaiting world of high school.
After the 3rd grade teachers, students and parents mingled for about an hour in the 3rd grade classrooms, everyone congregated outside, lining either side of the walkway leading from the students' entrance of the school to the front parking lot area to applaud the 3rd graders as they exited the school for the last time. The atmosphere was a bit more relaxed; a lot of hand-shaking, calling out "congratulations," but still a lot of tears. After the last 3rd grader exited the school, everyone shuffled to the front parking lot where the 3rd graders performed their own surprise good-bye for all the teachers. Each teacher and staff person's name was called out and various forms of "thank-yous" were hollered. I got a "Mandy! Thank you very much!" in English. :-) Made me smile. Special thank-yous were delivered to the 3rd grade teachers, usually by individuals or smaller groups of students that were especially close to each teacher. It was really touching. One of the teachers told me that in all her years of teaching, she had never had such an experience where the students so creatively added their own touch to the end of the graduation ceremony; that this was a special group of students. I have to agree. I only spent about 2 months with this group of students, but I was just as proud, sad and excited to be sending them off. Their acceptance of me into their community during such a short timeframe, not to mention probably the most stressful time of their JHS careers, and during my still uncertain early-stages of life here in Japan, will make them a memorable group.
Of course everyone was running around taking pictures together before the 3rd graders headed home, including me, so check out my photo site in the next few days if you want to experience Japanese Junior High School graduation through photos.
posted by Mandy | 2:23 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home