Sensei and Sensibility
Tuesday, March 26, 2002
Nara. Springtime, 750 A.C.E.
The mists are swirling through the great valley, obscuring the rolling hills and making your clothes cling to your skin like moss hugs a stone. Stooped over in your rice field you can hear the sound of wood cracking in the distance. A crane swoops down to the river and stands there, watching you. The ache in your bones intensifies, and you straghten your ageing back, one vertebrae at a time. You sigh. it is almost time for the Cherry blossoms to appear, marking the end of winter. It has been a warm winter, and you know there will be problems with bugs this year.
Slowly, your gaze turns toward the rapidly rising city of Nara.
Founded only 40 years earlier, in the year you were born, you can`t help but remember the hope your people had for this new capital city. Would your people ever see the unification of your country come to fruition? Maybe. Emperor Shoumu is trying, as are all the peasants who are labouring on the new temples. The trees have all been cleared to build the grand temple, Toudai-ji, and all that remains are the swaying bamboo groves. They say that this temple will be the grandest, that it will house the largest statues of Buddha, and you hope that it will bring your people peace.
You can`t possibly know what the future holds; that the construction of the Great Buddha and it`s hall, and all the grand temples, shrines, and pagodas of Nara would lead to the demise of the economy and the utilization of all the resources of the country. You can`t know how many fires would come to destroy the revered wooden buildings, requiring the artisans to begin their work again. You can`t know that the Emperor`s daughter would fall in love with a renegade monk, and subsequently die causing the Emperor`s clan, the Fujiwara, to move the capital to Kyoto. And you can`t know that 1252 years later, the grand temples of Nara would still be revered by millions of your people, and by the people of foreign lands.
All you know is that you can hear the wood cracking in the distance, the snap bouncing off the mountains and echoing through the valley. As you peer through the mist, you can slowly see the grand pagodas rising tall. Great phallic structures they are, symbolizing what you feel in your heart: that your people will rise to the occasion. That they will unite these island peoples and stand strong against whatever comes their way. And that every year, when the first blossoms appear on the chery trees, your people will remember their past, their struggles, and will find a way to keep their hope for the future.
 Sabine . 9:54 PM . Comments
Thursday, March 21, 2002
Sand from China
I have been sick for about a week now. Well, not really sick, but my tonsils are so swollen that I can`t swallow, and all my glands in my neck are irritated. I have not gotten better, but I am not getting worse.
I have been thinking that my new car is a dirt-magnet. I clean the windshield and five minutes later it is dirty again. The sky is overcast, but it isn`t really raining. The rain that does fall, cleans the car, but then five minutes later it is dirty again.
I thought a trip to an herbal onsen would help my throat. Yesterday was a holiday to celebrate the Spring Equinox, so we all drove to an onsen which was known for using herbs in its waters. We soaked in the green tea onsen, and in the milk onsen. We even sat in these weird little steam capsules - the steam was scented with lavender. I was sure that this would soothe my aching throat.
But here I am today - in so much pain that eating half an English Muffin had me almost in tears.
If that wasn`t enough, my car was once again covered in dirt when I got in it this morning. Sigh. I can`t wait to go to Okinawa next week, to sit on a sandy beach and drink something tropical and alcoholic (preferably with a little umbrella in it).
Today, I heard one of the other teachers lamenting the dirt all over her car. I thought, "Wow! This must have something to do with the fact that we both drive Toyotas!" and went about with my day.
At 2 pm, I received an excited e-mail from curly-haired Sara in Wadayama - she had heard that these clouds were not just rain clouds, but clouds carrying fine sand from China!
I ran to the window, and Mrs Murasaki (an English teacher here) asked what I was doing. When I told her, she confirmed the story. We are slowly being coated in sand from the Gobi desert. This is also the probable reason for my sore and swollen throat - it is being scraped every time I breathe by the fine sand particles in the air.
Sometimes I forget that I am in a land far away, a land that is filled with exotic mysteries. Sometimes I look around me and all that I see is just my home. Japan has lost some of its wonderousness. Then I find out that I am breathing Chinese sand, and *poof* I am reminded that I am, indeed, in a land very different from my own.
Now I will have to do as the local Japanese people do - and get a little white surgical mask to wear everywhere I go.
Sabine . 9:27 PM . Comments
Tuesday, March 19, 2002
My Best Lesson Plan Yet (Thanks Vee for the inspiration!): English Olympics 2002!
I originally wrote this for a website that compiles lesson plans for us JETs, so I`m sorry if this sounds a little impersonal. I just thought you might enjoy seeing the kinds of things I am doing here AT WORK. Just to balance out all the stories of me at play... :)
At first I thought it would be too daunting to do an English Olympics, but it really wasn`t that hard! The kids absolutely loved it, and they were so proud of themselves when they came up to the front to get their medals! Basically, I only had one week to prepare it, so I designed games which could use existing materials and games they knew. It was to celebrate the last class of the year - a kind of review of everything we had done. The most time consuming part was making all the medals - I have three Elementary Schools! We were limited by time to one class period, but next year we will make it bigger and longer.
The Logistics:
I had the teachers divide the class into fair teams (mixed ability, gender), and assign an English speaking country name (South Africa, Australia, USA etc) to that team. They made nametags and a flag for their team before the day. I gave each team an envelope with their country`s name on it - this would hold their points cards. Basically, the winning team of one event got 15 points, second place got 10 points, and third place got 5 points. I made ample amounts of points cards before hand. I bought a whistle at the 100 yen shop and taught the students that one whistle meant "go" and two whistles meant "stop, sit, be quiet" This worked really well and saved my voice in the cavernous gym. I also made a big banner saying "English Olympics 2002" which I decorated with symbols from their countries - next year I will have the time to let them do that themselves. I also made posters for each event - nothing fancy, just colourful. They really helped to divide the gym into different event spaces.
The Events:
The Race:
I placed most of my vocabulary flash cards face down in a path along the gym floor. The students did "Rock, Paper, Scissors" to see which team would go first, second, etc. The team selected one person to run the race, and the others would be helpers. The rest of the students cheered on the team who was going. Basically, this was a timed race, so the team which completed the race in the least amount of time won 15 points. The second and third best times got 10 and 5 points, respectively. This worked out well - all we had to do was to photocopy our existing flashcards.
"Rock, Paper, Scissors" (In Japanese: Jenkin) Tournament:
It is a bit difficult to explain the set up for this, but it is based somehow on Sumo. Essentially, all the students form lines with their teams. The first row team faces the others and when the whistle blows, they must jenken the member of another team in front of them. If they win, they proceed to the next row (the next team), and so on and so on until they have won against the people in the last row. Every time they lose a hand of Jenkin, they must go back one row. This is a timed event also - the fastest team to win against members of the other teams, gets 15 points (10 for second, 5 for third). Some of the teams just could not get through the other teams to save their lives though - so we decided to cap the time at 2 minutes, 15 seconds - they were disqualified if they went over that.
Go Fishing Game
I taught the students "Go Fish" earlier in the year and they loved it. I used it to teach both the months of the year, and opposites (the person with the "big" card must find the "small" card). We were short on time, so we did it this way: The students sat with their team mates and dealt the cards (three each). When I blew the whistle for "go", the students began playing. The first team to have one member get rid of all his/her cards got 15 points, and so on. I would have liked it if we woud have had the time to go one step further - for each team`s winner to go on and compete against each other. Then award the first one out 15 points and so on. I thought that this would prevent cheating. But, we were pressed for time and the students didn`t cheat anyhow.
The Awards Ceremony
This was the cutest. The students brought up their envelopes and waited patiently while I counted the points cards held within. Only once was there a tie so the teams picked their strongest English Jenkin member to settle that. I tried to keep it a secret as much as possible though. I had made medals from gold, silver, and bronze coloured origami paper, and got ribbon at the 100 Yen shop, and I wrote "Gold Medal" and "English Olympics 2002" on them with a permanent marker. It took a while (6 video rentals to be exact) to make them all, but it was worth it - the students were so proud, and even wore them home that day. It brought a tear to my eye as I imagined my wee first graders showing their medals to their parents. We played "Ode to Joy" as I announced the winners. They came up and I hung the medals around their necks. They posed for their photograph (which is proudly displayed at the school) and the Gold medal winners got a special certificate in English.
Everyone was so proud of the students - they loved it and didn`t even realize that we were testing them. I wish I would have thought of it earlier - so I could have made it bigger and better. I`ve been asked to do it again next year - as a kind of English Day. It was a bit of work but I am very glad that I did it! I think it will become a part of my schools` traditions! (you see mom! I AM earning my pay!!!)
Sabine . 9:08 PM . Comments
Monday, March 18, 2002
An Interesting Caste
The other day, a teacher approached me about doing a special English class
for a special school. I was shocked - I thought I knew about all the
schools in Ikuno. As it turns out, there is a special school, held twice a
month, only for the residents of a certain part of town. It was difficult
for Shinano sensei to explain it to me, but it is a fascinating story
nonetheless.
Many years ago, in the Edo period, a kind of a caste system developped in
Japan. The highest caste went to those associated with the Shogunate (The
Shogun, followed by the samurai, etc). The next caste were those associated
with Buddhism and Shintoism, then there were the "normal" people, and then
the carcass workers. You see, Buddhists generally are vegetarians, and
believe that animals contain the spirits of reincarnated people - they
believe that when one eats an animal, one could be eating their dead mother,
or the being which may become one`s child.
Today, many Buddhists remain vegetarians, but in Japan, this has drastically
changed. I have not met one single vegetarian Buddhist priest (as they are
called here) yet in my time here. However, back in the Edo period, the
priests were still vegetarians. This is why those people who worked with
the carcasses of dead meat (butchers, tanners etc) became the lowest class
in their caste system. They believed that everyone who descended from these
people were tainted with the blood that stained their forefathers` fingers.
These people were so feared and reviled that they were segregated from the
main part of town. In Ikuno`s case, they lived in the part called Mayumi.
They had to register their names, as everyone did at this time, and could
not marry outside their caste. Even today, families still must check the
origins of their potential in-laws, and the existence of a bloodline
connecting their future in-law to this caste is grounds for the prevention
of a marriage, or f or marital anullment. The children of these families
were often considered to be outcasts, and were often bullied at school.
Many of them dropped out after only a short time.
In recent years, there have been attempts at reducing the amount of
predjudice against these people, but in this country, tradition is
all-important. Many of the families in Mayumi do have some connection to
their carcass handling forefathers of centuries ago, and at school, the
students are still, sadly, bullied. You see, in Japan, the eldest child
(usually the son) has the duty of living in his parents home, for the rest
of their lives, to look after them in their old age, and to carry on their
business. So the same families have occupied the same houses for many
generations. In Ikuno, they hope to rid the people of this prejudice
through education. Oddly, they do not really educate the general public
about this predjudice, or about the history of this caste, or anything like
that. In fact, a different teacher told me that whatever I did, I was not to
talk about predjudice or racism in these special classes. I was told that
the students do not know why they are different and why they are being
bullied and I was told that most people think that it is better that way.
So, the goal is to educate the children of this caste in their school
subjects thus enabling them to feel empowered by their knowledge and
ability. Hence the special school.
The children of this part of town all meet twice a month for extra study and
their ages range from 6 to 15. I admit, I don`t feel like I am nearly an
expert on this intricacy of Japanese life. I have not noticed any bullying,
but then again, they would probably bully with words that I don`t
understand. Still, though, it makes me think. I wonder if this is working.
I know that in Canada, we try to educate the public about racism. We may
offer special scholarships to students of minorities, or have jo b openings
for minorities only. This is how we try to bring these people into the
folds of what is considered "normal life" to us. I will be interested to
see which of my current students belong to this caste, and I will be
interested in seeing if this technique works or not. I can`t help but worry
though. I worry that by giving these children a special school, the town
isn`t just reiterating to everyone that they ARE different, thus making the
problem worse.
I am shocked by this prejudism here though. I have been hearing for many
months that the Japanese are one people, that they are one blood, and that
this is why they have problems with internationalization and learning other
languages. And, by George, after a few months here, I was beginning to
believe it! There is definitely a sense of "Us and Them" that every
expatriate in this country feels at some time. I thought that is just
extended to the foreigners th ough - I am shocked to find evidence of
segregation and prejudism among Japan`s own people. Maybe I shouldn`t be
though. Maybe, just maybe, this is not a Japanese trait or a foreign trait,
but a human trait. Maybe we have no hope of eliminating prejudism until we,
the collective human population, lose the need to order, catalogue and
classify everything. Signing off now: The female homo-sapien teacher who
is a Japanese resident but a Canadian citizen located on planet Earth in our
Solar System.
Sabine . 5:13 PM . Comments
all journal entries
This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?
|
