There was a little excitement at work today when one of the older part time teachers who came in to administer a test collapsed in the classroom. I guess he was up and moving around soon afterwards, but they got him out of here and to a local hospital pretty quick. You should have seen all the teachers running around freaking out – it was like when you accidentally step on an ant hill and suddenly the ants are swarming all over.
I spent the morning at school studying a little bit, and chatting with teachers. I met with Mori sensei to recommend a book for a class she is teaching next year. In a move that kind of sums up the approach to English at my school she showed me the proposed class syllabus and content after I finished recommending a book. I feel like I could have made a little better recommendation if I knew what they were teaching.
While marking some exams, Nozaki sensei asked me which is the correct answer for this question: The boy threw a ( ). Is it “rock” or “stone”? She asked me which one like there was only one right answer. I did my best to explain that either would work in the situation, and Mori sensei, who wrote the test, looked a little perturbed. She tried to explain to me that a rock is bigger than a stone, and I had to kind of put my foot down and say that I’ve thrown more than a few rocks in my life. They should let me review the test before they put it in front of the students. Sometimes it is scary what my students learn from other teachers.
I’ve got a few extra lessons at the end of the term that don’t count towards anything, so I’ve got to think of some fun stuff to do. One thing I want to do is another paper airplane making contest – I did it my first year and had a blast. What else would be good? Anything goes, and we could just play games or watch movies. It might be a good chance to test out some games that might be a little too crazy for my normal classes. Maybe I can teach all the different ways you can say “vomit” in English. Maybe something more practical…
I got out of there around noon and headed home, and walked with Miyake sensei as far as the train station. It was pouring rain on the way back, but I had my trusty umbrella with me and there was no problem. I stopped at IY for some lunch goodies, and then came home and ate and read for most of the afternoon.
Now I’m getting ready for Kuniko to get home. We’re having a simple dinner of rice and super spicy kimchee and miso soup. The weekend is officially on!
