Fransisco passed away one month ago today. I feel that it is now time to move forward and begin to post again.
But what do I have to post about? So much and so little. It seems like a million things have happened since January 1 but none seem too terribly noteworthy.
I am back at Britannia Secondary and will be there practicuming (as dirty as it sounds it's quite a serious little endeavour) for the next 13 weeks at the end of which I will hopefully get a big shinny stamp of approval to become a top notch English teacher.
I have to say that I am struggling a bit with my new identity as a real high school educator and not the gaijin monkey ESL instructor that I was in Japan. I have come to realize that teaching is a fine art that takes a very long time to master. Being an overachiever (or "nerdolator" as my friend Kevin calls me) I must admit that I am really struggling with the fact that I am not perfect yet. In fact I am FAR from perfect and it kills me. I keep trying to remember back to my first few days teaching in Japan and times that I had to duck into the staff coat room with tears in my eyes after a lesson bombed so badly I could barely see through the smoke and say to myself "you ended up getting the swing of that in no time, so just relax." I don't know, it just seems different this time. I guess because I felt that having taught in Japan for so long that I would be able to just jump right in. Not quite.
That being said, it's only my first week and I am anticipating to move from full blown life jacket to waterwings to doggy paddle and finally a nice smooth front crawl. I got 13 weeks to gain back my "nerdolator" title.
Ready, set, swim (and hopefully not sink)
It also looks like I might have a prospective job offer in Dubai for September as long as I don't sink like a stone to the bottom of lake Britannia. Dubai...that place might be even more adventurous than Japan or the Brasilian outback...maybe.
Cheers from the Blackboard Jungle (I'll holler if I need a life preserver)
J
P.S I never did get the full 2 weeks out of my pre-Fransisco "who the hell are you" post so if you didn't say hello then, say hello now.
But what do I have to post about? So much and so little. It seems like a million things have happened since January 1 but none seem too terribly noteworthy.
I am back at Britannia Secondary and will be there practicuming (as dirty as it sounds it's quite a serious little endeavour) for the next 13 weeks at the end of which I will hopefully get a big shinny stamp of approval to become a top notch English teacher.
I have to say that I am struggling a bit with my new identity as a real high school educator and not the gaijin monkey ESL instructor that I was in Japan. I have come to realize that teaching is a fine art that takes a very long time to master. Being an overachiever (or "nerdolator" as my friend Kevin calls me) I must admit that I am really struggling with the fact that I am not perfect yet. In fact I am FAR from perfect and it kills me. I keep trying to remember back to my first few days teaching in Japan and times that I had to duck into the staff coat room with tears in my eyes after a lesson bombed so badly I could barely see through the smoke and say to myself "you ended up getting the swing of that in no time, so just relax." I don't know, it just seems different this time. I guess because I felt that having taught in Japan for so long that I would be able to just jump right in. Not quite.
That being said, it's only my first week and I am anticipating to move from full blown life jacket to waterwings to doggy paddle and finally a nice smooth front crawl. I got 13 weeks to gain back my "nerdolator" title.
Ready, set, swim (and hopefully not sink)
It also looks like I might have a prospective job offer in Dubai for September as long as I don't sink like a stone to the bottom of lake Britannia. Dubai...that place might be even more adventurous than Japan or the Brasilian outback...maybe.
Cheers from the Blackboard Jungle (I'll holler if I need a life preserver)
J
P.S I never did get the full 2 weeks out of my pre-Fransisco "who the hell are you" post so if you didn't say hello then, say hello now.
6 Comments:
Hey Nerdolater, don't sweat it...who can be an ace teacher after one week? Especially at Brittannia. Cheers
Hey Joe,
You may remember me from living with you in Kameyama for a year. I started reading your blog then, since we hardly ever got to see each other; I never really stopped.
Besides, your life is much more exciting than studying for a neurology exam.
At least with what you're doing now, you hopefully don't feel as though you should be wearing a clown suit to school. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in no time.
cheers,
-louis
Hey Joe-chan. All you need to do in the practicum is NOT SINK. Even if you stay in that stasis mid-level where you're not floating and not sinking, you're still doing GREAT! To get to front crawl... wait about 10 years. Go slow, and just gambatte. I hear you to a tea, nerdolator. Not being perfect at teaching kills me. And it takes a lot longer to get anywhere near where you want to be than you can stand. You just have to hang in there. Gambatte, Joe-sensei!!!
OMG, you weren't kidding about this Dubai thing, were you? How AWESOME!
I will be in Cali in March, so if you ever feel the need to take a break from the kids come on down! I know you will defo get the swing of it though. You're cool, and kids can sense cool. Just maintain that fine balance between cool and respectable authoritarian, and you're golden.
Hey - if you're serious about living in Dubai, maybe I can ask Rob's sister to e-mail you or contact you about it. She didn't recommend it for us, funnily enough. She said it was too shallow and all about money, so we probably wouldn't enjoy it. I think it would probably be a whole new challenge as far as teaching goes as well... but a completely new and different experience. I think to live there, though, you'd definitely be a part of the expat community, so I wonder how much you'd get to know the traditional culture. You won't be able to Skype, though! Unless you download special spy software to avoid being shut down for illegal video-conferencing! It could definitely be an adobenchaa!!
Ms. English teacher,
You are going to be a phenomenal high school teacher..I know it - I know it - I know it.
Hey, try teaching grade 1. "The b sits upstairs, the a is on the middle floor and the p sits downstairs"...and the word FUN is not allowed in your writing.It's a fluffy word...try exciting, great, wonderful, amazing..
I love my job- it's a challenge, never the same and I love it.
If you have time, want to come into my classroom to teach an English lesson? They need to learn how to write a sentence with a capital and a period while sitting properly at their desks.
We have been practicing all year.
Hope to talk on the phone soon.
Yor're really doing it!
Nicki
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