#student chronicles

Let it be known, D will start doing her work on time and stop submitting literally on a countdown to the due time.

Also realised I could fcukn be a 90s baby if I just dedicate enough time to my work.

So...today was the final class day with the 5th grade. And we we're finishing a worksheet and speech practice in which they had to talk about their hero. The examples in the kid’s textbook calls for the to talk about a family member. However, I said they could talk about literally anyone they wanted. Family member, fictional character, a celebrity, a friend, their cat, favorite pokemon, etc.

When we forward to the speaking portion, the kids had to put their worksheet on the projector so everyone can read along with them. Kyohei-kun did everything just fine. Near perfect, except he wrote everything in kanji and hiragana when he was suppose to use English. Also, he took some liberties with the clip art I used and...

...the real kicker was he was talking about Goku (Dragonball), not All Might.

No one could stop laughing and I had to try to so hard to keep a straight face and listen to his speech, but then he went into with “This is my hero. He is my Goku. He can Kamehameha very well!” There was no stopping anyone at that point from hysteric laughter and it was only  improved with the fact that Kyohei was just standing with the brightest smile on his face, so proud of his work.

Saki, 2nd Grade - She’s easily one of the faster learners in the class, and from what Shiorii-sensei tells me it’s like that for her in every subject, not just English. Thou...at times when she runs into difficulty she can become easily overwhelmed and “tap-out” of doing the exercises and games. She’s only 9, but harbors a lot of shame over literally any failure to a point of tears. Well...one day she and I were alone after class. While everyone else left to go back to their respective classroom, Saki stayed to help me take down all my materials for the board. The same day, she had gotten frustrated and quit doing the activity so I took the opportunity to talk to her. So I just said, 「さきーちゃん、落胆しないでください。時々、英語がちょっと鵜難しい。でも、英語はいつも楽しい。毎日、僕は日本語の語彙を忘れています。君が大丈夫ですよ。- Saki-chan, please don’t be discouraged. Sometimes English is a little difficult. But, English is always fun. Everyday, I forget my Japanese vocabulary. You are alright.」

I think she understood me, because she just gave a very affirmative nod and 「はい！」before smiling and heading off to join the rest of her class.

Reto, 1st Grade - In Ippei-sensei’s class there is this one boy who sits at the front, right by the door. Funny, but up until now he’s been extremely shy to a point where I thought he was afraid of me. Tho in an odd twist it turns out he’s been attending the kids class at the same after-school program I’ve started working at and as a result we’re seeing him not only improve during English conversation at school, but also be more social.

This month he randomly gifted me a picture he drew and asked me to come to the Judou Club after school. It’s the after-school program for kids whose parents won’t be able to pick them up from school or won’t be home until much later, and so they must wait at school an extra hour or so. Since then a few times a week I just go there and play with him as well as all the other kids (usually drawing or playing House with Hello Kitty legos). I can’t really say why he suddenly has taken such a liking to me, but I certainly don’t mind at all. I’m more than happy to spend time with any of the kids like this.

Mika, 3rd Grade - Sadly our Chinese student is no longer with us. I had noticed that she was gone but for the first day or so I figured she was sick since November-January is prime flu season. I’m writing this now, 4 months later and I am only now learning that Mika told her parents how miserable she was here in Japan, and so...she and her mother had decided to go back China. Tho her father is still in Japan (from what I am told).

Aya-sensei’s Class - There’s no one person I can single out for how much of an impact they make on me, because the truth his...all 15 of them are amazing. Truly they all work so hard and really want to succeed at every English lesson, to a point where I decided to challenge them a bit more. For example, the usual lesson calls for only learning 5 or 6 vocabulary words for the month, and that’s all. This class...picked some of it up so quickly that per month they could learn 10 or even 20 depending on subject.

Another example, after we learned colors and fruits I decided to test them. Usually each lesson includes the vocabulary, a simple expression, and a question that corresponds with it all. We might learn “What fruit do you like? - I like apples.” So...we reviewed colors and fruits side-by-side, in which every color was arrange in rainbow order, and then every fruit was placed under their corresponding color. Apples under the red card, lemons under the yellow card, and so on. We’d point to the color card and ask “what color is it?” and then the fruit card and ask “what fruit is it?” which is all basic stuff. But...then I spoke a little slower, pointed to whichever fruit and would ask “...What color is it?” and you’d see several of them pause, really think about what I had asked before finally giving the correct COLOR of the fruit.

Another example? After learning emotions, foods, fruits, vegetables, numbers, days of the week, and animals I decided to read them The Very Hungry Caterpillar in English as a little test. There is a Japanese translation of the book they’ve all heard, but this time it’s a little different. Not only is it for me and their teacher to gauge how well they comprehend what we’ve learned, but it’s for them to really see how far they’ve come in just a few short months. As someone who has been needed to learn a new language for the sake of functioning and not just academical purpose, I know how joyful and proud one can feel when they see for themselves that their skills are improving.

The first few pages were a bit rough, but the second we got to the segment describing the days of the week and which food he ate you could really see them enjoying the story, almost shocked, some of them responding as if I was reading it all in Japanese.

Anri, 6th Grade - Commonly, the 6th grader’s are more shy than the rest of the classes. So, in an attempt to help then get over their shyness, I thought it’d be a nice change of pace to teach them a few more casual greetings as a way of saying “we’re friends here. We can just relax and have fun.” They already knew ‘what’s up’ so I decided to teach them how to say “AY-YO! Wuzz poppin’? It’s a boi/gurl.”

Even with an explanation, some of them thought it was really weird, but they practiced anyway and some seemed to have fun, particularly...Anri. She’s one of the shyer kids in the class by far, even if she does understand the lesson, she almost always refuses to talk. Yet today, she thought saying “Ay-yo, wuzz poppin’? It’s ya gurl, Anri,” was so funny that I don’t think I’d ever see her smile that big before. After that, she was more than calm and happy to participate in other speaking exercises.

Well...it may not have worked for everyone else but now, at least Anri is having fun.

Yusuke #2, 5th Grade - There are two kids named Yusuke in my 5th grade class. Only this one is a lot more calmer than #1. Yusuke #2 is still rather talkative and casual, more than happy to try any English he can remember. He seems to be aware of I’m a very non-judgmental person and that any mistake isn’t taken seriously. Both have taken up the hobby of having stare-downs with me and each other in the hall all for a game or two of Rock Paper Scissors. It’s quite fun, actually.

Now, usually whenever we see each other, Yusuke and I say hello, good morning, etc and I am sure to speak clearly. However...one day I accidentally let my tongue slip and I greeted him with friendly UWU SPEAK. I actually heckin’ said to him, “0w0, hewwo Wusuke-kun.” To which...he was just quiet, and then you could see the light bulb go off in his head right before he responded with “0w0, hewwo Koga-sensei.”

Midai, 6th Grade - We had physical exams and as part of such they had to do a small jumping test to see how far one is capable of leaping. Midai, having near crippled ankles, isn’t really able to jump, even if she can walk on her own. Plus, if she does manage to jump, there is certainly no way she can land properly without falling over. So...the school pushed a small stunt cushion out for her to just fall down on afterwards. Perfectly safe, and no penalty for failing to stick the landing.

The average 6th grader was doing about 100cm per leap. They all got a single shot. Midai was given five attempts. Her first...only 30cm. Everytime after she did somewhere between 35-40cm depending on timing, balance, etc. But...in her final attempt you’d swear she suddenly gained super powers because somehow she leaped a full 50cm.

We were all shocked, but...none of us were as shocked as Midai when she saw the measuring tape. I had never seen her so energetic after that, running and hobbling around the gym telling everyone she could, whether it be the principle, school nurse, her classmates, and so on.

I think Midai knows that she will never be the best in terms of athletics and physical performance. But to her- none of that matters. Only a year ago I am told that she was still in a wheelchair. To her, it doesn’t matter if she’s not given a gold trophy in a race, or at the top of the list in gym class. All that matters to her is that she does better then where she used to be, and she has every reason to be proud of herself.