Education

I love teaching at hoikuen, especially during the holidays. All three that I visit are completely different in regards to individuals, groups, teachers, learning environment, kyushoku (school lunch), etc… Today I went to Ubuyama hoikuen, after not coming for the two previous weeks (they were practicing for their Christmas-kai, a sort of Christmas festival unique … Continue reading »

I suspect I will be using one of these techniques on the long flight back. TIP FOR ALL DIVERS: Practice clearing the night before the first dive of your trip, and immediately before your first dive. It will loosen “things” up. EAR-CLEARING TECHNIQUES Valsalva Maneuver: The most common ear-clearing technique, this maneuver involves holdnig the … Continue reading »

I think that education is fascinating. I always have. When I was in class with a burnt out teacher I often thought: I can do a better job than this! I can remember that I frequently got in trouble in science related classes, either for screwing around (usually with the bunsen burner or acids and … Continue reading »

In case you were curious, this is what I have been working hard on for the past few weeks in conceptualization, development, collection, processing, and articulation of my survey and the resulting feedback. I was chosen to give a presentation on the relationships between JTEs (Japanese Teachers of English) and ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers), and … Continue reading »

My Japanese Teacher of English (JTE), Sato sensei, asks me to come up with stories that relate to the textbook often 5 minutes before we start class. This can be quite challenging because the text is super boring and whenever anyone looks at it you can literally see the glaze build up in their eyes. … Continue reading »

What kind of savage beast could possibly do this type of damage to my forearm??? You are probably picturing this, the mighty T-Rex, in your head! But no, this creature is much more cunning and dangerous. She is so dangerous that they keep her behind a reinforced set of iron bars, and use modified supercharged … Continue reading »

Tiny exploring hands. This is my concise description of what a Hoikuen (nursery school) is. I no longer keep anything on me when I visit because my kids are all pickpockets of varying skills. The mob technique is employed every time I go, with two kids clamping onto each leg, while two apiece grab onto … Continue reading »

Lessons are proceeding better than I had expected. I have tweaked my lessons to up the game time, to introduce a more broad range of cultural content, and reinforce past lessons. This is the culmination of years of observation, cognition, and experimentation: As Hannibal says “I love it when a plan comes together!”. Last night … Continue reading »

When people hear that I get to work at 3 hoikuens every week, they generally say either “Awwwww, they must be so cute” or “Wow, that sounds cool”. Well these two statements are true, but babies are really disgusting things. They piss all over the tatami, they smell like feces at times, they drool whether … Continue reading »

Today I decided to change my lessons in all of my classes, increasing the duration and range of games played. I have decided that not all games need to be ones that involve practicing English, as long as they serve the purpose of motivating the students to develop their language, cognition, social, motor, and various … Continue reading »