Terrible and Terrific Tales of Teaching and Tutoring Yeah, sorry about the title. You just gotta do it sometimes. But anyway, so today was definitely, well, interesting. Not that any of my other days living in a country other than that which I would call my “home” are not interesting, but this one was, too. It started with my (well, “the”) 7th grade class. I love these kids. 15 of them, so it’s a little more intimate, or a little more wild on some days. Today was relatively normal. We had our whole lesson planned out, all nice and neat, and the kids were actually paying attention. That is, until another teacher popped her head into the room and said something I couldn’t understand in a foreign language (ok, so it was Japanese), and….(insert weird Twilight Zone music) the kids started taking their clothes off! Right in the middle of English class! Ok, so not actually taking them off, but they changed into their sports suits (as they sometimes do between classes) right as we were teaching the word “school.” I soon came to find out that they were suddenly called to do a school-wide health (specifically heart) check, and were told to get in more comfortable clothes, but it was a lot more amusing when I didn’t know what was going on. And as a postscript: it was even more amusing when they came back and all the boys wanted to show each other where the little suction things had been on their chests and left marks…yeah, there was no more order that class period… Nor was there order during lunch break, while I was tutoring my dear 7th grade student, Yuma. He is one tiny ball of pure energy. He’s like a ragdoll on caffeine or something. He can’t sit still to save his life. I was asked to help him finish 4 pages of his workbook, and it seriously took us 40 minutes to get 3 ½ done. We’re talking coping the words “I am Yuki” equals a whole page here. I’m pretty convinced he is either HUGELY a kinesthetic learner (yeah, learning styles is not something Japanese education stresses very much), or has ADD or ADHD. He’s a really bright kid. In fact, he picks up random English phrases all the time (like “shut up” which he decided to tell me last week when I told him to do his homework…I couldn’t help but laugh = ), but he really struggles with paying attention to anything for long periods of time. I hope that we can figure out a way that works for him to learn in a way he’s comfortable. I really don’t want him to end up like one of my 3 nen sei (9th grade) boys, who obviously has some sort of learning disability and has become not only aloof, but bitter, resentful, and slightly aggressive lately. Today during his class, one of his friends was physically restraining him to make him pay attention in class. He, too, is a bright kid, but he’s been left behind, and nagged to keep up, and so he’s tired of taking it. I think I understand. I just wish I could help him. As with all the kids, and every relationship in our lives, really – one small step at a time.