My first class on Tuesday was with the youngest students, and it was probably the biggest disaster in my teaching career so far.
I don’t know if you know this old Arnold Schwarzenegger movie called Kindergarten Cop, but I have new respect for that movie. Tough guy brought down by mischievous kids – nothing new, but now I can see clearly understand the basis for that plot idea. I gotta see that movie again.
My students were just flat out misbehaving, and we had a new student trying out the class with her mother. I’m pretty sure they won’t be coming back. The worst two students were Yuzuha (the three year old) and Karin (her five year old sister). Yuzuha talked and talked and talked and screamed if nobody talked back to her. Karin did her best to try to do the opposite of every activity. Here’s some alphabet cards to hold… she throws them in the air and jumps up and down on them. Let’s listen to a story… she leads the class in a sleep-in revolution, moving the other students under the table for a nap. She was also teasing her sister and making her cry throughout the class. Kento was no picnic either. During bingo he threw his cards across the table and told stories in Japanese about his father’s bathroom habits.
The new student kept looking around wondering when the lesson was actually going to happen, but I probably only got in about 20 minutes of teaching during the 50 minute class. The mother had this look that was a mixture of disapproval and sympathy, and afterwards she was surprised that I was able to survive the class. I tried to explain that it was my most challenging class, but I think she already understood that pretty well.
Anyway, after that class I had much better classes with my older students. I had a minor breakthrough with Ikumi, a super-shy girl who usually freezes up when I ask her questions. She’s really smart – and she’s starting to get more comfortable with me, and we’re starting to develop a rapport. She put a few stickers on my back when I wasn’t looking, so I’m thinking that’s a good sign.
One of my super students (Mana) missed her class on Monday, so she came in today to sit in on a class that is on the same lesson. The class has a completely different vibe than what she is used to, and I used her as an example to show the other students that the questions that I am asking in English aren’t so impossible after all. I do think Mana will be happy to be back in her regular time slot.
I had a night class with my usual junior high school students, and I had a great time with them. I really look forward to those classes – I think that junior high is my favorite age level to teach.
After school I dragged my dispirited ass back home and Kuniko cooked up some pasta to cheer me up and gave me a little pep talk. I’m going to have to try to think hard about what I can do to get the kiddies in line. The challenge is the different age levels and agendas. Maybe it’s time for bad cop to make an appearance…
