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Elementary School Life
Elementary schools are great fun, but are extremely demanding on your energy and creativity. This is only natural as you are working with kids who are bursting with energy and curiosity.
The schedule at your school(s) will depend on many things, such as teachers, school size etc. All classes are 45 minutes long, but when there is a special event or teachers’ meeting, this can be shortened to 40 minutes. The school year starts in April and ends in March with a summer break starting at the end of July and running through to the end of August. Some schools change their daily schedule depending on the seasons but others don’t change theirs at all. Below is a typical schedule for a medium sized school:
8:15 Students come to school and do 15 minutes of compulsory exercises outside on the playing field or in the gym. Most teachers supervise or participate. This is not compulsory for you although your kids would probably enjoy it if you joined in.
8:30 Teachers’ Meeting. This takes place in the staff room. If you have anything that you need to say you need to raise your hand and wait to be called on. Only do this if all teachers need to hear it.
8.45 Class one (ichi kan mei) - Teachers do a role call and go over the schedule for the day. There may be problems if you are meant to teach first period, as your class will almost certainly begin late, but if you talk to your liaison at the school you can usually find a way to sort it out.
9:30 - 9:35 Break
9:35 - 10:20 Class two (niji kan mei)
10:20 - 10:40 Mid morning break. This can be a good opportunity to join in any sports that are taking place in the gym, or to do prep.
11:25 - 11:30 Break
12:15 - 12:30 Lunch prep - selected students prepare the lunchroom.
12:30 - 1:00 Lunch time (finishing words are Gochisou sama deshita).
1:00 - 1:30 Play time (again a good chance to either do prep or to play with/chat to the students).
1:30 - 1:45 School cleaning time - all students are given an area of the school to clean. This changes monthly. This is a good time to do prep.
1:45 - 1:50 Break
1:50 - 2:35 Class five (goji kan mei)
2:35 - 2:40 Break
3:25 - 3:30 End of day check out with homeroom teachers
3:45 - 4:15 Clubs on club days. Elementary schools usually hold clubs just one day a week. It is not compulsory for you to join in, but it is a lot of fun and will be most appreciated if you do. Otherwise this time can be used as prep time, or you can go home (depending on the school).
NOTES:
- Years 1 and 2 finish early, either before or after class 5.
- If you find yourself teaching 6 classes a day every time you go, you can speak up and get this changed. No teacher teaches 6 classes a day. If the school is really big (700+) they may know how hard this is for you but really appreciate that you do. But if it is a problem speak up or get your JTE to talk to them. For smaller schools, a minimum of one class period should be given over as prep. If you go to many elementary schools they may not realize that you don’t have time at other schools to plan, and therefore you need to be given the time there.
- If you teach at Kindergarten then be aware that this is a separate entity from elementary schools and thus has a different budget and schedule (school ends immediately after lunch).
TIPS:
1. Find out who your elementary school liaison person is. They are responsible for seeing that your instructions for the rest of the teachers are passed on and any supplies you need are ready. If things aren’t ready then be sure to talk to them about it.
2. If none of the teachers speak passable English, check to see if the school computer has a translation programme, make sure you take a translation dictionary and ask your JTE to translate any written requests.
3. Check out the page about the Staff Room Board in this book, as this also applies to you.
4. Ask the liaison person and /or your JTE for a schedule of the classes you are going to teach for the semester. This is decided ahead of time and so should not be a problem.
5. If the regular teacher is skipping off to do other work during your lessons and you need them for translations or just general class control, then demand that they are present. This is not a break for them and they know it, although some do need to be told.
6. If you have any special needs students in your classes then they will usually have an aid that will accompany them to class. Occasionally you can enlist this teacher to help in class too, but their primary attention will be on their student.
7. Don’t assume you can use the gym as there may be classes using it. If they know in advance that you need it however, they may be able to change things around.
8. Read the Junior and High School pages in this book also because some of the information will apply to you.
9. If you are based at another school, make up a fax cover letter that both you and the school understand. Have check boxes for items needed (scissors, paper, pencils etc.), room requests, how many copies of worksheets you need and anything else you can think of.
10. Before you go to your elementary school for the first time, find out the number of students you will have in each class, where classes will be held (homeroom, gym etc.), whether the homeroom teacher speaks English and what experience, if any, the students have had of English language learning.
11. Go prepared to have fun and take bundles of energy with you. And definitely check out the Genki English Web Page (www.genkienglish.com), which is packed with ideas and shared experiences.