My favorite weekly website

I think I got this link from my friend, fellow Blogger and fellow ALT Koren...

It's a blog called "Post Secret" and every week they post pictures of Post Cards sent in by real people that divulge some anonymous secret. Many are really interesting and thought provoking. They update the site every Sunday.

You can check it out by clicking Here.

Enjoy....

Trivia - Sat & Sun, April 30th & May 1st

In the 1997 film Titanic, who actually drew the picture of Kate Winslet's character wearing the necklace?

Friday's Answer (highlight line below):
Air

Trivia - Friday, April 29th

Which French duo recorded ethereal sound track music for Sofia Coppola's directorial debut The Virgin Suicides in 1999?

Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
C. He had bad breath.

The Izumo Gang

Interview practice with Taisha Sho 6th graders - 14
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

So these 5 people are my best friends in Japan - my compadres and fellow teachers who can sympathize with my struggles and don't compliment me on how well I use chopsticks or speak Japanese. And even tho these people ended up being my friends out of simple geographic happenstance - they're the only other westerners around - I got lucky and they're all really cool people and I enjoy hanging out with them. So it was great fun to have all six of us teaching together.

Left to right they are: Lisa, Mark D., Mark M., Rusty and Dustin. I'll introduce them each individually in the photos below.

One of my great Elementary school teachers, Nagami-sensei, asked me if i could invite some of my friends to Taisha Sho to help his students prepare to interview foreigners at the peace park in Hiroshima on their upcoming school trip. I said I'd ask and to my delight, all 5 agreed to come.

So all 6 of us descended on Taisha Sho on Monday, April 18th and joint taught two combined classes of roku nen sei (6th graders). First, everyone introduced themselves. Some of the ALTs spoke really s-l-o-w-l-y, and I had to mention that these were sixth graders with limited English, not the mentally handicapped. Then, we sang a really fun song involving the days of the week. Then it was on to a group reading of a favorite children's story - "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"
We each took turns reading one page of the book, which had been replicated on big cards for the kids to easily see. Dustin started us off well, doing voices and making animal sounds, and we're all laughing in the picture above as Rusty asks Mark if that's how an Irish duck sounds. We had a good time just laughing at each other - I'm sure the kids wondered if all foreigners were this weird.

We then split up into groups and the kids asked us practiced questions, like "What is your name?" and "Where are you from" and "Do you like Japan?"
We then asked them easy questions, like "How old are you?" and "What's your favorite school subject?"
They did great and I hope they got plenty of chances in Hiroshima to speak with non-Japanese people.

After we left the elem school, we walked back over to my junior high, where I showed them all around. The next day, one of my JH students came up and asked me if they were my family. Hahahaha :)
But thanks guys - you made it a great day and I really appreciate you helping me out.

Rapt attention from the 6th graders

Interview practice with Taisha Sho 6th graders - 12
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

Here is our audience and pupils that day - the two classes of 6th graders at Taisha Elementary. They were all used to me by now, as I'd taught them thru most of their 5th grade year, so I had to bring in the "Dream Team" of JETs to show em how it's done.

They're great kids and I'll see them become 7th graders and join me at Taisha JH next April - but boy am I getting ahead of myself.

Mark - the quiet Beatle

Interview practice with Taisha Sho 6th graders - 10
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

So now I'll introduce you individually to each of the five JETs who came to Taisha this day and helped out with the 6th graders.

First up is Mark McEvoy. Now this Mark (there are two of them - pay attention) is from Ireland, which is some little island close to England I think. They talk funny there, but I try not to let that bother me when Mark is letting me watch his Cable TV feed of the English Premiere League.

Mark is the only one of us there that day who is not an ALT. He's a CIR - which stands for Coordinator of International Relations. Which basically means he actually works for his salary, as compared to us ALTs who sing songs and write the alphabet on the board and speak our native tongue to the astonishment or bemusement of those around us.
Mark works at the City Hall in Izumo and has actually met the Mayor - and I'm not talking about Mayor McCheese - who's Irish I think. He translates stuff and interprets and mentally crushes all those in his path with his sardonic wit.

Mark rarely gets to schools at all, so this was a fun day for him too. This picture shows Mark having fun - no really, he's having a grand old time - can't you tell?

Mark is recontracting for a third and final year on the programme - so the Friendship House will stay intact and the nonstop party will never have to end - well, at least not until July of 2006.

Mark is a great guy and he speaks really good Japanese, which you'd know if you could ever get him to say anything. But just insult Arsenal football club, and he'll start talking.... :)

Rusty - he's "dishy"

Interview practice with Taisha Sho 6th graders - 6
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

This is Rusty Kelty, the most Californian Non-Californian I've ever known. He surfs (in Japan) and likes the outdoors, thus combining the Southern Calif and Northern Calif ethos.

Rusty keeps the parties happening at the aptly named Friendship House in Izumo, the apartment building that houses Mark M., Lisa, and Rusty. Always up for a good time, as long as cookies are involved, Rusty will probably see much more of Japan than I ever will - perhaps because he actually leaves his apartment at times and has already found a Japanese girlfriend he fooled into thinking he's actually from California and thus much cooler than he really is.

Rusty actually hails from Vermont, which is famous for nothing apparently, because he tells people he's from Colorado, which at least has a good football team and a decent film festival.

Rusty teaches at 3 of the Junior Highs in Izumo. Lisa teaches at the other three. Neither of them regularly go to elem schools, so this was a fun day for them, mostly becuase we all sang the "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday..." song, which involves a great deal of jumping around.

Rusty's a good guy, and I'm glad he's recontracting as well. He also has an Apple iBook - so I know he's got taste as well as the dashing looks. :P

Lisa - the lone woman

Interview practice with Taisha Sho 6th graders - 9
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

This is Lisa getting up close and personal with her group of 6th graders. Lisa is a Jr High ALT who hails from Ohio in the USA. We try not to hold that against her. Anybody that comes from someplace that begins and ends in the same vowel is usually trouble. Of course most of us come from America.... errr.....

Even tho Lisa is a woman, or so I've been told, we still let her play in all our reindeer games. Lisa keeps us all on our toes with her random observations, her salty language, and her "adventurous" driving. But don't let that biscuit-like flakiness fool you - she has laser focus at times, especially when playing air hockey at the local Sega arcade, where she routinely beats all us he-men with her "tiger-crane" style.

Lisa lived in Shimane before as an exchange student and also speaks pretty good Japanese, or so it seems to me, but how would I know anyway.

Lisa is also re-contracting, simply to keep her crown as Air Hockey Queen. We're all happy cuz she's the only one of us with a car. :)

Mark - charming the lads and ladies

Interview practice with Taisha Sho 6th graders - 7
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

This is Mark DeFusco, or as we call him in Izumo, "The Don."

Mark hails from London, England and speaks with a funny accent, just like my parents.

Mark teaches at only one school normally - the top academic High School in Izumo. So this day was a treat for him, as he had never been to an elem school before.

Always up for just about anything, especially if it involves a trip to the local McDonald's in Izumo, Mark is a good guy to have around - just don't ask him about his favorite movies. :)

Mark is recontracting and will be around next year as well, which is good for all of us, cuz karaoke just wouldn't be the same without the unique song stylings of "The Don."

Dustin signing his life away

Interview practice with Taisha Sho 6th graders - 5
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

This is Dustin Kidd, and he hails from Oregon in the USA. This is his FIFTH year as a JET and his third year in Izumo. After three years, you can only stay on the JET programme if you take on the assignment of teaching solely at Elementary schools, which is what Dustin does. He teaches 1st thru 6th graders at FOURTEEN local elem schools. And even tho this is his last year as a JET, he's staying in Japan. He got a job with a private high school up in Hokkaido, so he's moving in July. He'll have to prepare for harsh winters, as Hokkaido gets more snow than any other part of Japan.

So this day at Taisha Sho was almost routine for Dustin, and he had some good advice for the kids. He can also speak flawless Japanese, which means he was able to communicate with the teachers better than I ever could. :)

The Education System in Japan

This is an article that ran in a recent edition of www.japantoday.com

I'm still formulating my thoughts on what it says - so I throw it out to you, my good readers, to leave comments or see what you think....

>>>>>>>>

Tokyo Gakugei University Professor Masahiro Yamada says that the educational system no longer provides students with hope.

Addressing the issue of declining academic performance, Yamada claims that even if school education is insufficient, children can still raise their academic ability by studying at home or at a cram school.

What is taking place, he says, is a polarization between students who study and those who almost never do. In the postwar period, through the years of rapid economic growth up until around 1990, a setup existed guaranteeing students that their study and effort would be rewarded, he asserts, and school was a symbol of hope.

According to Yamada's analysis, the system had the following characteristics: (1) School fulfilled the function of shuttling students into employment commensurate with their ability, providing them with future prospects and peace of mind; (2) it served to quell unrealistic hopes; and (3) it gave students the expectation that study would allow them to attend better schools and thus lead to a better life later on.

But the penetration of the new economy brought on by globalization has made the working world unstable, Yamada argues, giving rise to a situation in which the "certainty associated with academic effort" has vanished. In this way, the polarization in expectations has led to a similar gap in motivation, he states, noting that the end result is a polarization in academic ability.

Yamada says that as this is a problem emerging in the "seam" between the domains of school and work, the decline in academic performance will not be rectified only by improving educational content or devising new methods of teaching. (Foreign Press Center)

April 25, 2005

Trivia - Thursday, April 28th

On the set of Gone With the Wind, Vivien Leigh was reportedly reluctant to kiss Clark Gable because:

A. She was married
B. She didn't like his moustache
C. He had bad breath
D. They hated each other in real life

Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
A. RuPaul

Trivia - Wednesday, April 27th

Who appeared as a dancer in the B-52's video for "Love Shack"?

A. RuPaul
B. Jennifer Tilly
C. Winona Ryder
D. Lenny Kravitz


Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
D. Shirley MacLaine

Trivia - Tuesday, April 26th

Warren Beatty's sister is also an actor. Who is she?

A. Candace Bergen
B. Diane Lane
C. Meryl Streep
D. Shirley MacLaine

Yesterday's Answer (highlight line below):
He dyed his hair to play a stand-in for Richie Cunningham in the Weezer video "Buddy Holly."

Kada-sensei and Yamane-kun and Kendo captain, Tatsuya

Kada-sensei and Yamane-kun and Kendo captain, Tatsuya
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

So my new desk position, as descibed below, now faces the main courtyard of the school, shown here. This photo was shot at the end of the last school year, and shows Kada-sensei, one of my favorite JTEs, and two of my students and fellow kendo teammates - Hitoshi and Tatsuya.

Japanese teachers, especially the younger ones, get moved around alot, so we had nine new teachers at Taisha Chu after spring break, and i had a new kendo coach, and two new JTEs (Japanese Teachers of English). Which means that other teachers left, including Kada-sensei. But we'll stay in touch via email and he lives close by, so we hope to watch the upcoming Japanese national soccer team matches for qualifying for the World Cup next year together.

You'll notice in this pic that the name of the school is written in English in large letters above the genkan entrance. I wonder how many of my students could write "Taisha Junior High School" if I asked them too, even tho they pass under it everyday. :P

New desk position @ TJH

New desk position @ TJH
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

So they moved my desk while I was in America over Spring Break. I now sit with the ichi nen sei teachers and instead of facing the main door into the teachers' staff room, I now face the window. Hard not to daydream a little at times... :)

REMINDER: if you want to see any of the pictures on my blog in a slightly larger format, just click on the photo itself and it will take you to my photo album on flickr.com

Trivia - Monday, April 25th

Why did director Spike Jonze become a redhead in 1994?

Weekend's Answer (highlight line below):
Sally Field

First Day for new Ichinensei at Taisha Chu

First Day for new Ichinensei at Taisha Chu - 12
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

Here is the board in one of the 7th grade homerooms, decorated by the 8th and 9th graders, welcoming the new 7th graders to Taisha Junior High.

The board says "yookoso" next to Ampanman, which means "Welcome." It also says "Omedetoo" across the top, which means "congratulations," and "we love Taisha Chu."

The opening ceremony for the new 7th graders was a formal assembly in the gym with their parents and local dignitaries in attendance. Each students' name was read off and then a few of the students made short speeches after Kocho sensei (the principal) made his welcome address.

We have 4 classes of 7th graders this year, as opposed to the 5 we had last year. So a slighly smaller incoming class in total, altho each homeroom has 37 or 38 kids in it, so they're very full classes.

Ichinensei homeroom at Taisha Chu

First Day for new Ichinensei at Taisha Chu - 14
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

Here is one of the 7th grade homerooms on the first day of classes. They decorated the rooms a bit and even the halls, and had these massive stacks of materials and texts waiting for each student as they came into their new classroom. Their parents also came up to the room with them and listened to a short speech by each homeroom teacher.

Not sure who pays for all these supplies. In addition to all the books, the new 7th graders have to buy a new backpack that says Taisha JH, a new tracksuit for gym clothes, new indoor sneakers and sandals, a new school uniform and other incidentals. I've heard that some of these items can be very expensive.

I sit this year with the ichi nen sei teachers, so I'm suspecting that I'll be involved with 7th grade activities much more than last year, when I sat with the 9th grade teachers.
Of course this year, all the 7th graders know me already from me teaching them as 6th graders at one of the 5 elementary schools I visit. Other than the upperclassmen who are their friends from their elementary days, I'm the only other familiar face at first, so that's kinda cool. I was greeted with shouts of "Jason sensei" by many of the 7th graders as I made the rounds that first week.

close up of stack of texts

First Day for new Ichinensei at Taisha Chu - 13
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.

Here is the huge stack of BRAND NEW textbooks that EACH 7th grader had waiting on his/her desk as they entered their new homerooms after the opening ceremony.

They don't have hand-me-down text books here, like we did in America. They use their books much more here, writing in many of them, and they are all soft covers, which decreases durability but also makes them less heavy in their backpacks.
You can see the one slim volume for English tucked in the middle of this stack. It's not a bad textbook, and I don't mind teaching it, I just wish we could go "off-book" in our classes more and not adhere so strictly to making sure the kids memorize every detail of the book.