My School

On the JET Programme, Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) are assigned to a school or in my case four schools to assist Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) with the instruction of English lessons. Three of my schools are Senior High Schools (ages 16- 18) and my fourth school is a special education school. As important as my role is to teach English, it is equally important to teach my culture to students in as many ways as possible. Being a Barbadian and the first Caribbean person ever placed in my schools and in my particular area a great emphasis is placed on teaching my national and regional culture.


My weekly Schedule


My weekly schedule places me at 3 of my 4 school on a weekly basis and Special Education school on occasions every few months. My schools are Fukushima Higashi High School, Adachi High School, Nihonmatsu Technical High School (Matsuko) and Ozaso.  Fukushima Higashi High School is my base school meaning it's the school which am assigned to primarily and spend three days of the week there while Adachi and Matsuko are one day a week.

Higashi
Fukushima Higashi literally means East Fukushima but it's know at Higashi for short. It's an academic school and is the number three school in the prefecture. As it's classification would tell you it's a highly academic school primarily focused on gearing it's students towards university. I absolutely love this school the kids are the cutest sweetest kids ever. When I first arrive the students just flocked to me and I couldn't go anywhere without hearing CAREEN!! CAREEN!! (Japanese language doesn't have the letter L so it's pronounced R). The teachers are super nice and are always inviting me to try new Japan things such as inviting me to festivals and giving me lots of Japanese treats to try.

Adachi
Adachi is also an academic school perhaps a middle ranking school. This school is located Nihonmatsu to the south of Fukushima City. I also really like this school the students are great and love to come to me and say hi and practice their English when there is time. The teachers are very genki (lively) and are can always make me laugh and fun in the class. Unfortunately travelling to this school is such a long commute for me I am not able to stay after school and interact with students in after school activities as I would at Higashi. However, everyone is very understanding.

Matsuko
This school is much different to my other two schools as they focus on teaching their student skills in preparation for the work force. Students there learn subjects such as computer studies, heavy machinery operation, metal work etc. Another big difference it the demographic in comparison to my other schools, this  type of school is about 70% boys. For examape I have English classes with 42 boys and a single girl in one class. The size of classes are also quite a challenge for me class but I love to teach them as they are pretty cheeky and love a good laugh and I feed of their energy and we have a lot of fun. The teachers are also very nice and enjoy teaching with  them .I'm also a student in the class as they structure classes in such a way that I also get an opportunity to learn about Japanese culture along with instructing the class.

Ozaso
My occasional Special Ed is a truly fun experience. Ozaso has students ranging from elementary up to senior high school. This school has students ranging from the mental and physically challenged to students with  ADD and ADHD. I love the fact that these students are not excluded from learning a foreign language. I'm always amazed at how much many of them are to retain and use. However for many student with lower capabilities my role is to expose them to foreign culture such as music and art and interacting with foreigners. The teachers there are great, they are very patient and caring it's easy to see the students love them like a part of the family. The students are always smiling and ready to say hello in whatever way they can.