Observation class Part 1

Be prepared…
Today, my schedule is to visit JHS#2 which is fastly becoming my number 1 JHS. I was supposed to have 3 classes today but my first period was cancelled. I saw from the schedule that I was supposed to play games with the students and help with the activity, what that exactly meant, I really don’t know so to be on the safe side, I prepared several activities in order not to be put on the spot should the JTE suddenly ask for an activity. From our orientation, we were told that we are also activity traders thus we must have a plethora of activities prepared for all kinds of lessons.

It pays to have a husband who is a graphic designer and who takes interest in what I do. Rad, as usual, made my activity handouts.

As it turned out, it was not used but the JTE graciously said she will use it in our next class. She has everything planned and prepared for today so all I did was to read and help the students in making their sentences.

A hundred visitors….
At the morning uchiawase, we were told that about a hundred of teachers coming all the way from Kyushu and Hokkaido, will come and observe the classes. About 15 or so dropped by our 4th period class to observe. You gotta hand it to the Japanese. Never in my life have I seen an event in school visited by a hundred people and yet life in school is as usual and the visitors tried hard to be as conspicuous as possible so as not to disturb the classes. In the Philippines, I just bet, it would have been a festival with just about everybody scurrying to make sure things go well and talking in excitement.

Now, (as I am writing this on the piano at the hall), some 30 teachers are observing a class in Japanese. Imagine 30 students and about 30 teachers (each armed with a clipboard and a camera or a videocam), all cramped inside the classroom and yet, the class is as normal as it is on a normal day. If I were a student, it would have felt as if I was under a microscope being dissected and had I been the teacher, that would have been an unnerving experience. But no, everything and everybody is cool and comfy. Or at least, they looked cool and comfy.