My First Day Teaching English Abroad at a Preschool. It was sort of a Disaster.
587 sats \ 6 comments \ @speakingyourtruth 1 Apr BooksAndArticles
Okay, so, this is not book related, but I am currently living abroad in Japan. The past three weeks have felt like three years, and adjusting has been some tough and brutal shit. It's crazy how much this place is romanticized. But, I am slowly (like sloth and snail slowly) coming around to it nonetheless. I have met some cool and really nice people, eaten great food, and seen some beautiful things so far.
And today was my first actual day on the job teaching English at a preschool.
Don't get me wrong, kids are kids. Sometimes they are manageable, and sometimes they are not. That's not in my control, and not my main role as an English teacher. I'm not here to play babysitter. As long as they can attempt to speak a few English words, or phrases, then my work is done.
But the management, communication, and organization of the school? Absolutely. Terrible. Unexpected things came up, shitty lessons pulled out of my ass were given, and some students were screaming, hooting, and hollering galore. I sent them an email telling them how I felt about it all, and I hope they understand. If not, well, that's not my problem.
Things could've easily been resolved or better prepared if I was given the proper opportunity to get acquainted with the school, and students a few weeks before (when I was sitting around in my apartment doing literally, NOTHING). But we all know that didn't happen. Today, I cried out in frustration, stress, and feeling overwhelmed by it all.
But hey, at least I made it out alive. And I will give myself all the credit in the world for just that.
Haven't raised the white flag. Yet.
Even though there have been so many close calls in the past week and half.
As for the rest of the week, will I survive? Yeah, I'm not really sure about that. But, at least I am still here right now. And that's all that matters.
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217 sats \ 1 reply \ @cryotosensei 1 Apr
Hullo! I taught in Japan for two years. Some days, I was attached to a preschool. I was baffled at how they just expected me to play onikokko with the kids. But I guess that’s Japanese preschool education for you. Hugs, I hope things get better soon. Do you have to go back tomorrow?
—/ Also just to share with you something I wrote last Dec. I married a Japanese lady, so our son is bicultural
In a previous life, I worked as an Assistant Language Teacher in Kumamoto City, Japan. I was occasionally attached to a kindergarten for a day. What really shocked me was that the Japanese kids played and played throughout the entire day. I should know, because I was always unceremoniously cast as the demon for their favourite game “鬼ごっこ”. Maybe I would play some light games and introduce to them how to say colours in English, but that’s it. They don’t even study the hiragana alphabet in preschool!
I confess that I was judgemental, but you must remember that I hail from Singapore, where seven-year-olds are expected to know the past tense and recognise various Chinese characters in their first year in elementary school. School isn’t a place for kids to learn from scratch; it's an arena for them to outperform one another.
This focus on unstructured play in Japan baffled the hell out of me.
Guess what? My bicultural son is enrolled into a Japanese kindergarten for this month. When I picked him up today, he leapt off from his tricycle and hugged his friends goodbye. Later, he told us about how he had picked up acorns earlier today. His teacher thoughtfully packed some acorns for him to bring home, so we know that he’s recounting something authentic.
You know, I’m sure he is happy studying at PCF Sparkletots but can I cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die say that he is leading a carefree life? I doubt so. At the end of the day, I just want his kindergarten to nurture his joy and carefree spirit. He has plenty of time to become an “economic unit” in time. There’s no rush.
Attaching the various goals of preschool education that I encountered on the following newsletter 👇
Zapped you my signature 108 sats. Hope it helps somewhat!
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @elvismercury 1 Apr
If I was supreme dictator, helping school be a place where kids became more socially connected to each other, worked on social interaction, emotional regulation, and generally how to get along with others, would be vastly preferable than trying to turn them into little scientist robots.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Signal312 1 Apr
How did you find this opportunity - what kind of program is it?
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @BenAllenG 1 Apr
ESL teaching can be tough! Any time you feel like some order is necessary the kids or (co-workers) always seem to magically not understand! My recommendation for the coming month is to get your sea legs under you, keep your head down and focus on building some rapport with the kids, they'll walk all over you if given a chance!
It will get better! Just don't expect any changes from the top as they won't come from management! If the contract is for a year+ you'll find little ways to optimize and make your job easier and more seamless day to day.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @BenAllenG 1 Apr
If you are given the freedom to design the lessons yourself my recommendation is to give everything an associated game. You don't need to play them every day but preschoolers will do anything to play a game lol
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @BenAllenG 1 Apr
As for the management, unlike the kids, they are unlikely to be persuaded into behaving with the promise of some 200¥ candy on Fridays lol. I would try not to ask too much of them early on, but as you prove to them you are there to stay they will be more receptive to your feedback.
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