11/01/2008: "Because I know I'll forget.."

Got 'Judges Choice'/'Special Award' at the speech contest today. And! I got a $100 gift certificate to a book store in town. Not too shabby.

Now for some stats: There was 1 American (me!), 1 German, 1 Thai, 3 Chinese, 2 Korean, and 2 Taiwanese. 4 men, 5 women. 'Time in Japan' ranged from 4 months (me) to 5 years (cut off was 6 years). Unfortunately, I don't think that tells a whole lot, as I studied Japanese full time for 4 years in university. However, still interesting.

I'm tired, so that's about all I have for you for now, but figured I'm mention the results of the speech contest. Also, not only did I so kindly leave Halloween pictures on the previous entry, but I also have my newsletter article posted under 'more'. Not terribly interesting, but I wrote this for the high school.

Anyway, I'm tired. But, I have 2 more days of vacation, so it's not too bad. Tomorrow, I will go wander around the book store and see if there's anything I need/want. Now.. sleep. Later!

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Do you remember the first day of class? Every year in April you change classes, and you always have a new classroom, new teachers, new books, and maybe even new students! When I was younger, I was always nervous about my first day of class, but also a little excited. Of course the subjects would be difficult, but I also would improve a lot in math, science, English, and history in just one year!
But today I want to talk about my other first day of class: my first day of teaching. When I was 19 years old (in 2005), I went to Kushiro for my summer vacation to work as an English teacher. I worked for a small English conversation school and taught classes at many different places, from 3 year old children to adults! Just getting there was interesting. To go to Kushiro from Tokyo, I took a subway, train, ferry(!), bus, and car. In total, it was 34 hours! So of course when I finally arrived, I ate dinner and went straight to bed.
The next day, they told me that I had a class to teach already. So only 12 hours after arriving in Kushiro, I went to my first class. I never taught a class before, and I especially never taught about English to Japanese students. When we arrived at the vocational school, I was so nervous I could barely speak! I was early, so I stood next to the classroom, thinking about what I should say. Should I be casual? Very serious? What level are the students in English? Can they even understand me?
Finally, I stepped inside and saw my students for the first time. I looked about and noticed that they were all the same age as I was, and were more interested in purikura pictures, their cell phones, or just talking to friends. In fact, only a few students noticed I entered the room! When I saw them so busy with their own lives and playing games, I felt much better. They were really just students and people, just like me. Every single word I said wasn’t important. Instead, it was important to express the meaning of what I’m saying. So, before class I talked to several students and asked about their hobbies, their life, and other various things. I wanted time to stop moving, but finally class started, and I had to teach my first class.
To be honest, I don’t remember what I said on that day, in front of 40 students at Kushiro Vocational School. But I still remember how I felt on that day, and I hope I don’t forget. When I was a student, I was excited about what I would learn in one year. Now, as a teacher, I’m still excited. But instead, I’m excited about what you will learn. So study hard, okay?

Jason