Watashi wa Juria desu!

I’ve always understood teaching to be gratifying profession where the gratification comes in small, but powerful doses. And after two months of teaching, I have come across my first example of this.

Last week at one of my elementary schools I had a particularly enjoyable lesson with friendly and eager students who asked me tons of questions and had me put my signature on every single one of their notebooks, scraps of paper and baseball caps. One of the students asked me for my address, and not thinking much of it I gave it to her and a few other students.

They sent me letters! My fourth grade students send me letters on cute stationary in simple Japanese. They tell me that we are friends and that my lesson was enjoyable.. they ask me questions and ask me to write back! I have fourth grade pen pals who learn English from me in class and teach me Japanese outside of class.

A lot of times the JET program is criticized for not encouraging adequate utilization of foreigners in schools. Some would go as far to say that the programme exists as a way to make Japan seem more international than it really is. These criticisms often neglect to take into account the individual interests and motivation of the students we come into contact with in and out of school. Whatever the master plan is behind the JET programme (after twenty years I’m sure the original mission has been diverted), my interactions with these students makes me happy to be here teaching.

one more thing. I’m starting to really fit in; tonight I chopped off the top of my hair to give myself the most beautiful mullet.