Thursday class

Yokkaichi University has instituted classes to improve students' basic skills in Math, Japanese, and English. Students, mostly first-year students, can take the classes for free and university teachers teach them.

They are scheduled once a week, and each is leveled. Most of the students take the classes with the hope that they will take and pass a variety of achievement tests, like the TOEIC test for English.

I'm teaching one class of eight students who are interested in taking the TOEIC Bridge test. That is an achievement test for students who would like to have their English ability evaluated for more remedial skills than the regular TOEIC test can measure accurately.

My philosophy is that we can study for the TOEIC exam and learn some vocabulary along the way, as well as some listening, speaking and reading skills. The TOEIC preparation text that we have is really focused on the exam and doesn't really do much to help learners improve general language ability.

Some of the results I'm interested in seeing is how many students enrolled actually take the exam. Unfortunately, there is no real pre-test, so I don't know the students ability right now, but it would be nice to see how they improve in the future. I am also interested in attitudes. I would like to know how student attitudes have changed over time.

beautiful day in the neighborhood

April 24th dawns as one of the most beautiful days of they year, I'm sure. The air is clear after a wind from the north west has blown all the nasties out of the air. It is cool and delightful outside. The Suzukas are spectacular.

University union

The following is a post about unions. If there are any non-Japanese nationals out there, who are teaching in Japan, I encourage you to find one, get in it, and stay in it throughout your tenure here. The reason I am writing this today is that we have officially started ours here at this school. Finally.

After ten years at Kumamoto Prefectural University, and all the discriminatory bile that we (my non-Japanese colleagues and I) were subject to, I moved to Yokkaichi, and now work in a great environment. You can read some of what happen at Debido Arudo's site. My experience here has renewed my faith in Japan. There are places where people are treated fairly. This, I am sorry to say, may be one of the minority, however.

If you are working or teaching at anywhere in Japan, you should join a union. The individual has far fewer rights here than a socially recognized group. This high context society is based on the group, not the individual. If you want to make any changes in your working environment, need protection, or just want a little insurance, join one today.

If you are not in a union and want to be in one, it is easy to join one that already exists, or you can make your own even if there is only one of you. Japan has some excellent labor laws, and if you are in a union or beginning the process, you are very well protected. It is the people who trust their employers to do the right thing that get called into the loading dock one morning to find that they will be out of a job the next day. It has happened. I have seen the victims and heard their tearful story, but since they were without a union, there was little anyone could do. The NUGW (National Union of General Workers) is a great group of dedicated, experienced people. They are used to working with non-Japanese, too.

Join a union. It is your constitutional right, guaranteed by the Japanese Constitution and United Nations treaties.

Tuesday classes

Have two classes on Tuesday morning, meetings in the afternoon, and two classes at night. Long day for sure.

One bright spot in my day, Mr. H from one of the local high schools came by. He was transfered to a nursing school. He has been taken out of his high school classroom and has been elevated to a nursing school, where he will be teaching only one class per week and doing adminstrative stuff for the rest of the time.

Isn't that the way it always is? The really dedicated, good teachers have to take the administrative posts in order to get an upgrade, which they wouldn't get if they just stayed in the classroom. I hope to go work with him and his students. I do feel sorry for his highschool students.

More on the flag and national anthem

More outrage against the regulations forcing teachers to stand for the national anthem and national flag from Australia.

Language Extinction

Here's an article in the Daily Yomiuri about a speaker from LINGUAPAX, one of the orgainzations in the UNESCO rubric, who I guess was in Tokyo on Saturday the 17th, speaking about languages becoming extinct. This article mentions languages becoming extinct in Japan. Fascinating.

Massive Protests? No idea.

Had no idea until now that there were protests by people to withdraw Japanese troops in Japan. And now I also know why.

The Japanese press has supressed it.

More on the national anthem and flag

This was a waker-upper this morning. An article from the BBC on Japan's national anthem and flag and how teachers are being persecuted and prosecuted for not showing symbolic respect for them.

'Takayuchi Tsuchiya is a (Tokyo) city councillor who wholeheartedly backs Governor Ishihara's new rule. "Singing Kimigayo will help promote a sense of national unity," he told me.'

'Mr Takayuchi has no sympathy for rebel teachers. He dismisses them as communists who want to indoctrinate the children.'

'Open debate on divisive issues is strongly discouraged for fear it would disturb social harmony.'

Teachers' Seminar

Saturday was the first seminar for teachers in the new academic year. That is always a good time. The teachers participating this time are teachers at public junior highs and in private schools around the area. They are such a dedicated bunch. They spend their Saturdays with us a couple of times a month, studying, when they could be doing something else with their time. Their schedules are a panic, but they are here to improve themselves. I envy their students.

A first

Just went to class to teach a class for a colleague who is out of the country on study leave. It's a group of repeaters, meaning that they need to get a credit for this English course, but have failed to do so in the past, so they organized this class especially for them. Seven people are enrolled, but on the first day NO ONE showed up. I am surprised. Usually attendance is spotty in these classes, but otherwise the students are fun.

I was lonely.