Hey there,
Prepare... I'm about to have a moan!
On Thursday the 1st my school had their graduation ceremony and on the 2nd the students started exams. I asked two (note that, not one but TWO) teachers if we have classes after exams. Both said no, there are no more classes.
Guess what? In a conversation on a totally different topic with Nakamura-sensei, she mentioned the classes running next week and the Monday of the following week. Wtf??
I know it shouldn't be a big deal, because I'll just play some games and maybe get them to write a paragraph, so it doesn't require any big prep or anything. But I THOUGHT I was on holiday! I thought I wasn't teaching all month, so I had plenty of time to catch up on my marking, prepare classes for next school year (has to be done early because I'll be teaching first day back after NZ), make resources, study Japanese, work on my infamous book and do all the little planning/sorting things involved in a new school year.
It's not like I don't have enough time to do it during exam week, but if I had known I only had that week, I would have done more on my To Do list instead of relaxing, writing blogs and books and doing less important stuff!
As it is, I feel totally ripped off. Here I was, enjoying my holiday, when I find out I was under false impressions... I am not, in fact, on holiday! Instead, I have been squandering a small break in my schedule!
*** Interlude ***
I just had a conversation with the teacher who informed me last year that I'll be teaching from a grammar textbook and that I may be teaching classes of 40 students. The good news is that my classes will be staying at 20 students (although it's not officially okayed by the Board of Education yet), while the bad news is that I'm only going to see them every second week. That sucks because currently I have a great schedule - two or three classes a day (with the occasional four, usually at Tode High School), with a total of 12-14 classes each week. But there are lots of ALTs out there who spend most days twiddling their thumbs, considering a two class day as a heavy workload. They get bored stupid, so I really really don't want that! Of course, there is a chance they will therefore get rid of the second ALT at this school and have me five days a week, but considering I have no idea why they swap me out for one day a week, I also don't know what would induce the Board of Education to keep me here all week.
The other bad news (which will sound familiar to Jeff), is that all the big changes will be announced by the Board of Education on next week, Friday. In theory, this leaves all the teachers two weeks to prepare for the new school year. This is not much at all, considering the changes we will hear include which teachers are being moved out of the school; whether our 20 student classes are approved; and for me which schools I will be posted at and which days of the week. I had assumed my schedule wouldn't change, but if Myoodai is dropping from 14 ALT classes a week to only 7, maybe they will keep me here all the time. I don't know... Seven classes a week BEFORE removing the ones Sam will teach... that's so few!!
Anyway, the result of that situation is that while most teachers have two weeks to get organised, because we are leaving for NZ I will have only three working days to plan my lessons and figure out what I'm doing. I have been told that my textbook is being revoked and, if I understand correctly, I can teach a totally textbook-less class. I asked if I could then follow the lessons I was teaching this last year (because I never had the students open the textbook anyway) and was told that the third year teachers were going to formulate a plan for what they wanted taught in first year. Fair enough, but they will probably do that while I'm in NZ. Class starts on the 2nd of April, when Sam will be teaching a lesson according to my lesson plan, but I will still be in NZ. So I need to have that first lesson ready to go before I leave. I guess I'll just have to make an intro lesson that is based on writing self-introductions and introducing the ALT. Nothing related to the course because I won't have a clue what they will need me to teach.
Hmm... only just occured to me that when I say Sam will be teaching on the Tuesday I'm in NZ, I'm making an assumption based on this year's schedule. It may just be me missing a class. Gah, I hate this period of the year! I know Jeff is made just as antsy by it, waiting on tenterhooks to find out a) how/if his schedule is changing (it's not) and b) which teachers are changing (he has his fingers crossed regarding a few teachers). We have had several conversations about how we could never be Japanese teachers, getting passed around from school to school with minimal warning and no say as to where you go!
Sorry about that moan there! In case you haven't noticed we are super homesick and can't wait for our holiday!!
Hope you're all doing well.
Charly
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