Countdown to Japan Adventure

I still can’t believe it!! In only five weeks, I’m heading to Japan for a homestay with a Japanese family, sightseeing in Tokyo, Toyota City, Hiroshima and Kyoto and teaching English to fifth and sixth graders.  It’s part of the International Educators to Japan program, as explained in a previous post.

In preparation for my visit, I’m learning about the Japanese culture and a little of the language. Fortunately, many friends and family have been to Japan and have advice for me.  Here are just a handful of their interesting tips:

• don’t look people straight in the eye — it’s rude
• change into a different pair of slippers before entering into someone’s bathroom
• carry baby wipes or handkerchief for washing hands in public bathrooms
• have lots of business cards handy and let the other person hand theirs to you first to avoid rudeness
• bow, only slightly, when meeting someone

In anticipation of my trip, I’ve posted some Japanese pictures on Pinterest of the places I’ll visit.  It all looks so beautiful, but believe it or not, what I look forward to the most is meeting the Japanese people and embracing their culture.  My brother-in-law lives there so I’ll be meeting up with him.  Also, one of my ELL students will be there during my visit and I plan to see him and his family.

I feel so honored to be chosen for this Japanese adventure.  I’m the only one from my entire school district and one of eight participants coming from Metro Detroit.

The countdown begins today! Woohoo!

 

Joys of Teaching Teen to Drive

Um…the word for it is much more like…TERRIFYING!  Okay, okay….it’s getting better, but those first few times were pretty rough.

After you spend all kinds of money on a “Segment 1″ class, you need to drive your teen around for a total of about 50 hours. Part of that class includes an instructor driving with your teen.  They even go on the highway.  When I first heard this, I was in awe of the instructor.  Brave man.  He does this for a living too.  But, after a couple of seconds, I realized he has an extra brake pedal in the car!!  Brave? Not so much.

The first couple of times were absolutely the roughest.  For. me.  She was fine.  I death-gripped the sides of my

 

Konnichi wa

I can’t believe it! I was selected to go to Japan this summer as part of an international educators to Japan program!!! This includes a home stay, sight seeing and school visits. During the school visits, I will observe their classroom as well as teach a lesson to the Japanese students. I’m a little nervous but keep reminding myself that I already teach ELL kids and it should be similar. Right? I feel so honored to be part of this program and will post my thoughts on my blog as the days get closer and of course, during the two-week trip.

How did this happen? First, I attended a Japanese School Open House — pretty amazing stuff — and learned about the IEJ program. Then, I was recommended by my school principal and submitted an essay about why I should be selected.  I’m pretty blessed because they received applications from all over the world and they picked me! Woohoo!

We will be about 30 participants in the 2011 program — from Michigan, California, Georgia, Texas, Oregon, Canada, UK and Belgium. I can’t wait to meet everyone.

So — how do I prepare for this (other than updating my passport)? Well — I decided I want to learn as much as I can about the Japanese culture, the country and the language prior to the visit. So far, I’ve learned a little Japanese etiquette (from AT&T On Demand) and I’ve checked out a number of library books and programs.  Of course, I’m not going to be fluent by summer, but something is better than nothing, right?

Just today, I received a tentative schedule and it looks like I’ll start out in Tokyo,  go to Hiroshima and then end up in Kyoto.  I plan to meet up with my brother-in-law who lives near Kyoto. It’s wonderful that I have family in Japan who I’ll get to visit.  So excited!!

So….today’s word of the day is Konnichi wa — hello.  Simple, but it’s a start.

If you’ve traveled to Japan, post your advice here!

 

Funny things students say

As you may know, I teach English as a second language at the elementary level and I laugh every day at the funny things kids say.  I have to share this one from a couple of weeks ago:

I was listening to a second grade girl read and she couldn’t pronounce the name “Shirley”. I corrected her gently, but she couldn’t quite get it and kept tripping up on it.  After several times (it must have been in the story 80 times) she stopped, gave me a deadpan look and said,

“I have five missing teeth – what do you want?”

LOVE IT!

~~Maggie

 

Girls on the run is about more than running

There is a lot on the news about girl bullying and meanness and it’s very sad because many girls commit suicide as a result.  When I hear about this stuff, I don’t just want to sit around and talk about it — I want to get up and make a difference in girls’ lives.  I think back to my six years as a Girl Scout Leader, which I only stopped when my daughter quit two years ago. Our troop started out small and grew much larger through the years;  I feel blessed that I had the opportunity to watch these girls grow up.  GS is an amazing organization that helps girls try new things and grow in a safe environment. Even as an adult, I tried new things such as high ropes and the zip line. I hope that I made a difference in their lives. I know they made a difference in mine.

This year, I’m a co-coach for Girls on the Run, which is through the YMCA.  It’s about making healthy choices in their lives, both physically and mentally.  I highly recommend it for young girls (3rd – 8th grades) because it teaches them to feel strong in the inside so they can stand up for themselves to bullies or peer pressure.  This is so important to learn before they go to middle school – where the angst of puberty heightens feelings for fitting in and what your friends say is more important than what your mom says.  My thinking is that a girl who is secure about herself will have a better chance when she’s thrown in with the sharks in middle school.

If you have a daughter – don’t walk, RUN to to the nearest YMCA and find out how you can register your daughter for Girls on the Run for the fall session. Or, you can become a volunteer or make a donation.  Seriously,  it makes a huge impact on girls!

So far, we’ve only had two meetings and the girls are super and keep me laughing the whole time with their unique personalities.

 

A-hem…

As I’ve said here before — I LOVE working with kids.  They keep me in stitches and what makes them even more hilarious is that they’re not even trying to be funny.  Just today, in Kindergarten, one little girl cracked me up and I thought I’d share.

The teacher was in the process of calling small groups of students to choose their centers.  In order to avoid a stampede at the white erase board, she gives each group a chance to get up from the carpet, line up and make their selections by placing their Popsicle sticks; then she calls the next group.  While she was doing this, she and I briefly discussed a concern we had over a student who had been absent for several weeks.

At this point, only one group was left.  All of the sudden, one bright-eyed and anxious  little girl, who was sitting on the carpet, clears her throat and  says “A-hem” – exactly like an adult would, to get someone’s attention.  TOO FUNNY!

 

This Thanksgiving, don’t forget to thank a teacher!

Thank You, Teacher

T hank you for your
E agerness to teach
A nd
C are for our children,
H elping us in
E ducating them to be
R esponsible, respectable people

~~author unknown

It’s that time of year when you meet face to face with the people who spend all day with your children.  They see them at their best and they see them at their worst.  It’s parent-teacher conference time!

This afternoon, I went to my son’s parent/teacher/student conference and it just confirmed how I already felt about his teachers: they are excellent.  A couple of teachers really stood out.  They are the kind that students will remember forever.  They are creative and fun; they make learning an adventure.  On top of all that, they really get this age and the students strive to be their best.  They truly bring out the best in their students.  I can see the difference they’ve made in my son’s life and I am so thankful for them.

Of course, this made me reflect on the teachers that made a difference in my life.  The cobwebs in my memory don’t let me recall their names, but I’ll never forget how they taught me to read, write and especially how to love both.  They encouraged me and said I had “a lot of potential”.  I am sure my go-getter attitude partly stems from this encouragement.

I am also blessed to be around excellent teachers all day.  As an ELL parapro with 42 students throughout the school, I am in the unique position of going in several classes ranging from K – 5.  These teachers are really dedicated and caring.  I know they make a difference in these little lives.

This Thanksgiving, don’t forget to thank your child’s teacher.  After all, they need a little encouragement too.

~~Maggie