other random February news...
...I've been a bad blogger again, but since things are pretty quiet during the end of the school year, I have some time to catch up.
Other than the HoriMara, I don't think there are any major events to report. The third semester of the Japanese school year (January to mid-March) is incredibly short, but very busy. Compulsory education ends with junior high school in Japan, so continuing with high school is considered more of a privilege than a right... which means that students need to apply to high schools and pass an entrance examination (sometimes an interview test as well). In big cities, the more competitive and prestigious schools are private, usually with ties to large universities, but in the more rural areas (where parents can't always afford to pay for private high school) the best schools are public. This can amount to a lot of pressure being put on 14-15 year old kids, to not only get into the best possible school for the sake of their own future, but also for their family's economic situation. Needless to say, the 3rd year students start to become walking zombies, with many of them sleeping less than 5 or 6 hours a night and doing nothing but study in their time outside of school. It's both exciting and heartbreaking to be around when the test results come out, as they are dealing not only with the individual pressure to get into a good high school, but also with the fact that they probably won't be going to high school with most of their friends...
To break up the monotony of test prep, we had our second ALT Day a few weeks ago and the 2nd year students prepared a 2-hour "farewell celebration" that was held last Friday afternoon.
The 1st and 2nd year students sang some songs, made some nostalgic/funny slide shows of the 3rd year students, a "which teacher's baby picture is this?" quiz and performed a funny parody of Cinderella... then the 3rd year students sang a few songs (and some students cried). It was a great afternoon, but reminded me how soon the 3rd year students will be leaving (graduation is the 13th).
Their regular classes are already over and they're starting to plan their spring vacations... sad! I'm definitely closest to the 3rd year students as a group and am so sad to see them go, even though I know I'm supposed to be excited for them and blah blah blah. I could never be a real teacher and say goodbye to a new group of students every year... it's too hard!
Finally, I went skiing again in Naeba this past weekend. It was beautiful and sunny, but far too warm for good ski conditions... the road sign reported an air temperature of 68ºF when we drove home on Sunday (up in the mountains!!). I think we're already seeing the end of the mildest winter I've ever experienced... I haven't seen it snow once all year.
Other than the HoriMara, I don't think there are any major events to report. The third semester of the Japanese school year (January to mid-March) is incredibly short, but very busy. Compulsory education ends with junior high school in Japan, so continuing with high school is considered more of a privilege than a right... which means that students need to apply to high schools and pass an entrance examination (sometimes an interview test as well). In big cities, the more competitive and prestigious schools are private, usually with ties to large universities, but in the more rural areas (where parents can't always afford to pay for private high school) the best schools are public. This can amount to a lot of pressure being put on 14-15 year old kids, to not only get into the best possible school for the sake of their own future, but also for their family's economic situation. Needless to say, the 3rd year students start to become walking zombies, with many of them sleeping less than 5 or 6 hours a night and doing nothing but study in their time outside of school. It's both exciting and heartbreaking to be around when the test results come out, as they are dealing not only with the individual pressure to get into a good high school, but also with the fact that they probably won't be going to high school with most of their friends...
To break up the monotony of test prep, we had our second ALT Day a few weeks ago and the 2nd year students prepared a 2-hour "farewell celebration" that was held last Friday afternoon.
The 1st and 2nd year students sang some songs, made some nostalgic/funny slide shows of the 3rd year students, a "which teacher's baby picture is this?" quiz and performed a funny parody of Cinderella... then the 3rd year students sang a few songs (and some students cried). It was a great afternoon, but reminded me how soon the 3rd year students will be leaving (graduation is the 13th).
Their regular classes are already over and they're starting to plan their spring vacations... sad! I'm definitely closest to the 3rd year students as a group and am so sad to see them go, even though I know I'm supposed to be excited for them and blah blah blah. I could never be a real teacher and say goodbye to a new group of students every year... it's too hard!
Finally, I went skiing again in Naeba this past weekend. It was beautiful and sunny, but far too warm for good ski conditions... the road sign reported an air temperature of 68ºF when we drove home on Sunday (up in the mountains!!). I think we're already seeing the end of the mildest winter I've ever experienced... I haven't seen it snow once all year.
posted by Kristine at
12:16 PM
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