The second week of classes went mostly OK, I think.
I did have trouble remembering the names and faces of the students! I did re-remember them quickly at the start of each class, and I took pictures of the classes so I could practice their names and faces in between classes, which is going to help a lot. In one of my Interactive English classes, a girl gave a nice, interesting self-introduction speech in which she talked about her pet rabbit Chacha, saying he likes eating papaya and dandelion greens. Interestingly, the Architecture students as a group are more into volunteering to give speeches and ask questions than my English major students... The two Reading and Writing classes were OK, I suppose, but I HAVE to find a way to do the class that makes them more involved than I managed last year. My American culture class was OK, but the students seem to sit as far away as possible from the front of the room, so next week I WILL make them move forwards a bit. We covered Easter. One boy asked a neat question: why did it take Jesus three days to resurrect and not a longer time? (I could only say that western culture likes the number three, in fairy tales and in Christianity...) Another student asked why Easter isn't as popular as Christmas in Japan (I could say that it seems more strangely religious than Christmas--a birth being more relatable than a resurrection--and Santa is more recognized in a universal kind of image than the Easter Bunny, and many presents are more interesting than chocolate and candy) I fear that i took too much time introducing paintings of Jesus' life like the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. I must remember to stay on point and not digress. I do like the names and sets of names in that class, of mostly third-year English majors with a few fourth years: three students called Mizuki and three called Rina; Karin and Karen; Ayami, Ayuri, and Ayami; Tomoki and Motoki; Junpei and Junsuke; and my favorite names to say, Tsuguko and Kirara! Finally, my graduate school classes are fine, though I fear I'm not guiding my students well enough and worry about their MA theses or PhD work...
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Whew--
The first week of classes in the new school year is over--I survived! But ... I needed all Saturday and most of Sunday to recover my energy etc. They were OK, I think. Classes and students etc. I enjoyed meeting a bunch of new young people, really. I have three graduate school classes (PhD seminar, MA seminar, MA lecture) with small numbers of students (one, two, one respectively). Then I have five university classes: two Reading and Writing classes for commerce and pharmacy sophomores (32 and 25 students), one Interactive English class for architecture freshmen (27 students), and then two classes for English majors, one Conversation for freshmen (25 students) and one American Culture class for juniors and seniors (50 students). That means that I challenged learning the names and faces of nearly 150 students last Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I could do it! But only during each class... After each class, I started forgetting most of their names and faces. I'm trying this time to review by going through the class lists before sleeping at night etc., but I can now after a few days only remember a few from each class, apart from remembering where they were generally sitting in the classrooms... So next week I'll have to take about ten minutes at the start of each class to memorize them again. **I used to make the students give me photo cards with their names on them so I could practice them at home, but I finally realized that it was a burden on them to do that, and I started accumulating too many cards that I'd never need again...** I noticed last year that it's kind of like living in an Islamic country except one that makes both men and women wear masks, so I have to really focus on their eyes and hair styles to try to remember them. Also their personalities. It's interesting how in almost every class there'll be one or two loners who sit by themselves, with the majority sitting by friends in pairs or trios or groups of four or so. I started each first class by getting them to practice calling me "JP," and then by taking 15 or so minutes to call roll, memorizing and reviewing them as I went. Then I went through the class description handouts with them, and finished class by asking them to ask me questions about anything. One funny guy asked me how much I get paid! A cute girl asked me to tell my love story with my wife. One interesting guy asked me if I knew how to write eggplant (茄子), because I'd said when another student asked me what Japanese food I like that I like any eggplant dish, and when I said no, I asked him to write it on the board, so I learned the kanji for eggplant... The best class for all that was I think the pharmacy one, because I'd managed to read and print their pre-class ("start-up class") writing about themselves, so as I went through the class list calling roll, I could refer to different things they'd written about themselves so as (I believed) to help me remember them better. It didn't really have that effect, but it was fun. Oh! And I had a great new family name I am sure I've never encountered in nearly 30 years teaching in Japan: Hebshima, which means Snake Island in English! Someone back in the Meiji era when all Japanese got family names (I think) had a neat imagination... ANYWAY, the new year is under way, so I can stop having school nightmares at night and just get back to working. |
Jefferson Peters (JP)
Can you find me in the picture above? Archives
December 2023
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