Today at school one of my classes was observed by the head of international studies for the city of Nishinomiya. I have met the lady before, when I first started my job. She’s a really nice lady, and she has great English skills.
Today she came just before the third period class, and the principal called me in to chat with her before the class began. I sat and talked with them, and the principal was full of praise for me. It was almost embarrassing to hear what he was saying, but I was also glad to hear that they were happy with my performance. The observer, Ms. Sakurai, said that she had heard in advance how well I was doing and how well-received my lessons were.
With all that build-up, we went upstairs and I stepped in front of a class with Harada sensei with Ms. Sakurai in the back of the class watching. The students were remarkably well-behaved. It didn’t hurt that the peeping-tom student, Shimizu-kun, was absent. Still, it was uncanny how nice the students were and how much effort they put into learning English today.
The only hitch in the class came from the other teacher, Harada sensei, who seemed a little nervous about having an observer. He made a few mistakes in the lesson plan and occasionally had the students repeat after him, instead of after me. Those were little details, though, and I think the lesson came off well.
After the lesson wrapped up, Ms. Sakurai said goodbye and left with a smile but no comment. I hope she liked what she saw. When I went back to the staffroom, Matsunaga sensei asked how it went, and told me that she had told my students earlier on that the class would be under observation, and urged them to make an extra effort to make me look good. I knew something was up!
My other classes today were really good. All the students performed really well, and the last class of the day was a “quiz show” lesson that I dreamed up. I’ve done it before and it’s always a big hit. The winning team got USA stamps as prizes, and all the other students were so jealous. Kuroda sensei was grinning from ear to ear after the lesson, and I could tell she was really happy with how it went.
After school I came home and boxed a couple of rounds on the Wii before Kuniko got home. We had ham and cheese omelettes in an effort to clear out the fridge a little bit, and then after dinner we took a walk to Saty to get some supplies for our trip. The walk back was exhausting – it was like the day caught up with both of us. We went up the stairs and were ready for bed. Kuniko is in bed now, and I’m heading in that direction.
Tomorrow after work I’m going to meet up with a teacher that I used to work with at Takasago Minami, Inoguchi sensei. He’s an interesting guy and very international-minded. Can’t wait to hear what he’s been up to lately.
