If you were to walk through the hallways of a primary school in Japan in the time between periods, you would think that there is no such thing as order or rule in the schools here. You would not completely correct, but it certainly does seem that way sometimes. Students are all over the place, running and playing and roughhousing around, doing things that would certainly get them a bit of a scolding back in the US.
After getting over my initial surprise and confusion though, it started to make more sense. Those breaks between periods give the kids a chance to use up a lot of the energy that might otherwise get let out during class time. That is not to say that during class all of the kids are perfect little angels, because that is definitely not the case, but overall I think it helps the situation. And since the rules with regard to roughhousing and physicality are a bit relaxed, sometimes that even extends to the teachers getting in on it too.
Like just yesterday, for example, when I went downstairs after cleaning time and came upon some students and their homeroom teacher, just closing up the room that they were cleaning. The students kept messing with the teacher, and I jokingly said "judo?" to the teacher, since I knew he was trained. He kind of laughed and the one student started to back away a little.
Two seconds later the kid was on his back in the hallway with the teacher on top of him saying "ippon!" (one / winning point) and the student repeatedly saying "bad teacher! bad teacher!" It was pretty hilarious.
After the teacher let him back up the kid just kept saying "bad teacher!" and joking around. In the US the teacher could easily face a lawsuit and termination but here it is not even a consideration. Maybe there is a balance between the two extremes, but I feel like maybe that balance ought to be a little closer to this side of the Pacific rather than the other.
Regardless of any pedagogical debate though, watching the two of them go flying through the air and hearing the students English (protests made my day, and what more can you really ask for?
judo chop!
-greg.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
interesting blog.... I was a JET in Oshima 10 years ago - also teaching at the junior school and working for the local board of education....would be interested to see if any of the folks I worked with 10 years ago are stil there today.....
Drop me an email - slotzy44@hotmail.com I'd love to see if any of the folks I worked with years ago are still around. I've lost touch with all of them.
Thanks
Post a Comment