Tsuruta's English Plan
In 2004, Tsuruta decided to add English classes to their elementary school curriculum starting in April 2005.
However, they forgot to plan ahead. By doing so, they taught Mary (my coworker) and I the correct way to relate to the Japanese in work situations.
At the end of March, the town decided on a set of textbooks. They made the choice while forgetting to include Mary or me in the decision. Without the input of native English speakers, the town spent thousands of dollars on videos, cds and workbooks.
Around this time, Mary and I received a preliminary teaching schedule. The plan placed us at a different elementary school each day of the week until after lunch. We would teach three straight classes, the equivalent of performing on stage for over two hours each morning. Not impossible, but exhausting.
Ex-pats coming to Japan repeatedly hear advice about conforming in Japan. Don't make waves. Suggest changes in a roundabout manner. Never get angry. Poor counsel. I might have gone along with the plan, thinking it difficult but not impossible, but Mary simply refused. "This is not our job description," she said. True. "We have other work besides teaching." Also true.
Together, we rebelled. "No," we said. "We will not teach 65 classes a week between the two of us. We will not combine grades, making classes of fifty to almost two hundred students. We won't waste our time and the students' pressing buttons on cd players and VCRs. Teachers can do this without us."
To our surprise, our supervisors agreed with us.
Elementary teachers and principals panicked, despite the fact that the materials are meant to be used by non English speakers. Meeting followed meeting. Mary and I were required to be present but teachers argued in Japanese far above my level, and nobody translated.
After long discussions of our own, Mary and I hit on a workable plan. We would visit classes and do a review lesson. We wouldn't use (the terrible) cds or videos. Instead, we'd make kids use their new English, memorized but not understood, for conversations.
One principal, the ever-agreeable Yama-chan, loved our plan. "Perfect," he said, and proceeded to convince the rest of the schools of our wisdom.
As things stand now, We've gotten our way. We're able to construct lessons that make us of our skills and educate our kids. We're not worked to death. Most importantly, we've paved a clear path for the next two CIRs, who probably would have succumbed to the "don't make waves" philosophy of relating to the Japanese.
