Deconstructing Gyro

Ah, me and Gyro.  Gyro and me.  He's the kind-natured guy who loves to make people laugh at his own expense.  I'm the somewhat ambitious English teacher with hopes of inspiring even the worst students to find some joy in English.  Doesn't sound like a bad team, until you give us the class we've been given.  We just aren't the right pair for these kids.  Gyro just wants to have a laid back class where kids understand effortlessly.  Me?  I want a class of kids who can focus for more than 5 seconds.  These kids seem more American than Japanese.

When I first came to Japan, I was floored by how obedient the kids were.  They never spoke out of turn, always faced the front and had incredible posture. They held their teachers in high regard, and wouldn't dare try to make of fool of any of them.  But with each year, and with each new school the behavior of the children seemed to get worse.  The teachers didn't seem to see this as out of the ordinary; they seemed to know they were fighting a losing battle.  That was honestly my first and only taste of culture shock: Japanese students are not as earnest as we think they are, and my first school was apparently a haven for first-year ALTs, before they kick us out into the real world.

In terms of concentration, this is the worst groups of kids I've ever had.  They aren't BAD.  They don't cause any sort of destruction, only distraction.  They simply do not like being controlled.  If you say, "listen", they begin talking.  Ask them to read quietly, and  they write in their notebooks.  Need someone to volunteer an answer?  Completely quiet.  Choose someone to answer a question, and every other student begins to blurt out the answer.  But leave them to their own devices, and absolutely nothing happens.  This class has destroyed Gyro.  His smoking has doubled...maybe even tripled since he got this class.  Granted, Gyro isn't the authoritative type, but that doesn't mean he can't teach.  I just feel sorry for him, because I can't help without completely emasculating him.  And if I do that, it'll be even worse on the weeks when I'm not there.

But we got two new teachers, and I used today's class with the obstinate second-years as a chance to toughen up New Girl.  I encouraged her to be the enforcer, which allowed me and Gyro to focus on delivering the information and keeping the kids moving.  I noticed that her defenseless act disappeared in that moment.  So maybe she's got some potential.

As for today's lunch...  Take a look!

And here's the little bit of progress I made on the building.  Most people won't notice the difference...

I'm out...  Still didn't sleep well last night.  Weird nightmares...

J