today
oof.
set my alarm for 5:45 and got up at 6 to do yoga, make lunch, shower, and get dressed before heading out the door at 7:10. arrived at school at 9:30. prepared for classes, started teaching at 10. my second and third period classes were particularly unruly, ignoring my instructions, refusing to answer my questions. this is a continual problem for me, discipline. if they don't want to learn, i can't force them. but they're thirteen years old and i am an adult; it is my responsibility to encourage them to do what's best for them. if they want to be successful in the japanese system, they need to know enough english to pass future entrance exams, and paying attention in class will help them do that. i don't want to be a mean and scary teacher that they're afraid of and feel like they can't relate to; english class should be fun. but i also don't want to be so slack that they feel like they can get away with anything; i don't want them to push the boundaries too far. i already fear we're spiraling downward. i'm learning ways to keep their attention, how to give the evil eye when necessary, what tones of voice to use -- but at the same time they're realizing what they can get away with and how little my class matters to their grades.
the other "native" teacher came to talk with me while i ate my lunch, until my student showed up to keep talking to me until it was time for fourth period. talking, talking, non-stop. my fourth period students, thankfully, were cooperative and interested. for fifth period, chihiro and yukika were late as always, forgot their workbooks, changed from their gym clothes to school uniforms behind the curtain while i was teaching (the other teacher said they could, apparently), talked through class. bad energy, that class. i snapped at them, a little. told them they couldn't go back to the classroom to get their...
