A Fresh Start
The weather is slowly getting warmer, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and the new school year has started in earnest. April 9th was the first day of the new school year, while it would still be a bit before I started teaching classes again, I was excited to get back into the swing of things.
The first week was a bit of a different schedule. On Monday we had the opening (?) ceremony with the returning 2nd and 3rd year students. It seemed to be a quick refresher on school rules, expectations, those sorts of things. The next day was the entrance ceremony for the first year students and their parents. There was the usual gauntlet of speeches, complete with a student representative speaking on behalf of their class.
This is probably one of the best represented things for anime set in high schools. The visuals of the cherry blossoms and students dashing off for their first day in high school has been featured in countless series. It was a little surreal experiencing it firsthand, though unlike in anime, it was raining quite a bit for our entrance ceremony.
On Wednesday, the first year students gathered in the gym for two blocks and were given presentations by the various school clubs. I got to sit in on this too, and it was really interesting to see all the different clubs that go on at my school. I was also hoping it would be a good set towards getting involved with a club at school.
First up were the cultural clubs, there was a broadcasting club, junior red cross, art club, brass band, calligraphy club, tea ceremony club and even an English club! Each club gave a short presentation and introduced some of the members. Presentations ranged from slideshows, demonstrations of their work, or just quick speeches. I didn’t know our school had an English club, so I was a bit surprised when they went up.
Even more surprising, was that they mentioned my name a few times while they were talking about it! I didn’t really mind though, since as soon as I saw it existed I was hoping they would ask me to get involved with their activities. My job is to help encourage students to learn and take an interest in English, and doing so in a bit more relaxed environment outside of class seems like a great vehicle for that.
After the culture clubs came the sport clubs. Understandably, these demonstrations were a little more hands on. Some of the students stuck to videos and quick speeches, but some of the other clubs wheeled in goals to kick soccer balls into, and even a tennis net for a quick demonstration. There was girls volleyball, soccer, tennis, basketball, kendo, judo, track and field, and table tennis.
I was probably the most interested in kendo and judo in terms of the sports clubs. Other than volleyball and tennis, I didn’t really care for any of the sports myself. Plus kendo and judo are sports we don’t really have in Canada. Judo is a Japanese martial art, mostly consisting of throws and pins. Kendo, also a martial art, uses bamboo swords and is (sorta) similar to fencing.
I did taekwondo as a kid and eventually got a black belt, and while it’s been a long time since I’ve done any martial arts, I definitely still hold an interest in it. I’ve seen some judo displays before and always thought it looked cool, but had never seen kendo in real life. After seeing someone get whacked in the head with a bamboo sword, even with protective gear on, I think I might stick to watching. Even if being thrown by an opponent is probably just as jarring or dangerous in practice, it’s at least an experience I’ve had before.
I might float it to my supervisor next week that I’d be interested in watching the judo club practice if that was alright with the teacher in charge. I don’t want to come out the gate insisting I should be a part of the club without talking to the teacher, and also gauging the reaction of the students. Some students might not love the idea of having another teacher, and a foreigner at that, hanging around while they do their club activities.
Speaking of clubs, it would seem my wish is coming true, and I was asked to help run the school English club! It seems there was an English club last year that the previous ALT was running, but there was only one student. This year we seemingly have 3 interested students, and I’m plotting to do a little light recruiting at the beginning of some of my classes. We’ll be meeting on Thursdays after school for around 50 minutes each week.
I’m both nervous and excited to be running a club. I want to keep it more fun and relaxed so students feel more comfortable trying to speak English. I’d also like it to be more student driven if I can, rather than turn into auxiliary English lessons. For our first meeting I’m thinking we’ll start with some introductions, maybe play an icebreaker game, then brainstorm some goals or ideas for the club all together.
I took to Reddit for some ideas and saw that lots of people played board games, or watched movies during club. Focusing on English media seemed like a good place to start if the students didn’t have anything specific in mind. I became interested in learning Japanese after watching Japanese media, so it makes sense that hopefully the reverse is true as well!
It’s a pretty small change, alongside much bigger changes like my schedule or the teachers I’m working with, but it’s one I’m excited for nonetheless. A new school year feels like a mini fresh start for me at work. Coming in part way through the year was tough, and was mostly me trying to find my footing. I’m hoping I can start this year a little more confident and maybe get more involved or take on a little more responsibility.
After being a little down lately it feels like there’s a little more wind in my sails with the new school year kicking off. It certainly helps that the sights around town are beautiful with the cherry blossoms in full bloom. I can absolutely see why this time of year is often featured in anime, there’s a lot of excitement in the air and some beautiful sights to boot. I’m excited to see what this year has in store for me, this will likely be the only full school year I get to experience here in Japan, and I plan to make the most of it!
