Visiting students in ECA
Mr. Long has once said: "Students are like your children, and visit them in clubs can be a very good start,"
Unlike the regular Japanese teachers, our mentors do not get involved (organized or oversee) with clubs. This does not mean that they would have a lot more free time than others, I can guarantee with that, they are not leisurely. But if they do have time, they would buy some time to visit some of the students in their clubs. Like Mr. Long for example, would do regular visits at the gym located behind the school's main building.
As I mentioned before, the school focuses more on ECAs - well, it does not mean that the students get to flop and ignore their studies; it is just that they treat their academics as a secondary merit - the Japanese teachers still put on their effort in lesson planning and teaching (it's just their way of teaching is just- from the same cookie cutter, that's all). To Malaysians, maybe ECAs are just, something extra for you to show off- even in both primary and secondary school settings, if you have extra time- dedicate your extra time. Like I said before, the students in Nichidai consider ECAs their actual habitat, that is where they get to be themselves or like from my previous topic- in the holistic perspective, students get to truly understand what they are and who they are. You may see the students to be very distant with each other or in some sense, you may perceive the students as who they are in during school hours; when ECAs start, that is when and where the real them show, the real interaction begins in ECAs.
ECAs strengthen the student-student and teacher- student relationship especially when one of their teachers is from the club they joined. And surprisingly, the teachers also reveal their true selves during the course of ECAs - some would be more lenient, others stricter as some clubs are competing inter schools. And perhaps that's why the some students are very comfortable with their teachers due to the amount of time spent with their teachers.
Because of this, our mentors, kind of miss out this extra interaction with the students- but of course, Mr. Long does it the way that is one of a kind. As you can see, he is popular among his students, no student would never pass by without giving him a high-five or some random shouts of affection of his name and of course, some of his students would even proclaim their love for Mr. Long in their homework. It was hilarious and delirious knowing what extent the students would do if their found their favorite teacher.
Senpai- kouhai relationship
The true kinship between students. The relationship between senior and junior has taken a prominent role in a student's school life. Depending on the type of clubs, students would encounter or have at least a senior or junior they will be interacting with. Based on my understanding, once the senior and junior relationship has been established they could begin interacting outside of their clubs- feels more like a simulation where once you have unlocked this character, you can further your relationship with them. This could be traced back to feudal Japan. Samurai would take on young boys creating a sort of master-servant relationship. The youths would serve their masters with blind loyalty in return, the older samurai would entrust their knowledge and wisdom to them. But of course, there would be some underlying intimacy going on; but we won't be delve in deeper than that. Also, Japan practice a form of Neo-Confucianism in their lifestyle where they have to respect those older than them (the way they talk would change once there is age difference). For example, the juniors would speak in a polite and formal manner - the usage of "masu" in their sentences.
While the senior-junior relationship exists in all schools in Japan; there is a slight difference between genders. Girls, for instance do not have an impending relationship or at least this is not really enforced- if friendship has been established the two are considered as equal whereas for the boys; this relationship could last a life time and even even when they are adults and working.
The Visitation
Coming back to Mr. Long's point, visiting students can be fun and interesting as that is where we get to know the students. And maybe perhaps, to improve their outlook on us. This concept is simple, just like what Mr. Long said, treat them like children - well, they really are and I don't necessarily agree with his views but then again, he has more experience than I do so it is safe to say that his claim is true. Visiting the students is almost similar to parents coming to their child's recital or competition and it is to show support to them. To them, it gives the impression that you are interested in getting to know them and alongside the fact that you, as the teacher actually took the time to come and watch their performance in something that they have invested their time and effort, it further lifts their morale both in ECAs and in school. I can confidently assure you that it is very helpful to teachers when you are teaching them. The students are more likely to listen to you and you are less likely to encounter any behavioral problems with them. Take Mr. Long for example, the students are very orderly and obedient when in class.
There is this self-fulfilling prophecy when we ought to plan and work on something, the reality opposes it. And I can attest that in our case, we simply do not have much time to visit the students as we, not only have some after school work to finish ranging from double checking our mentors' student homework to managing an after school "class" called the English Lounge. The Lounge is where students could come for homework, test assistance or engaging in simple English conversation to improve their English level. Once we are finally done with this, we have to set off for home which our dormitory has a curfew and it could be rather difficult if we stay any longer as the trip back to our dormitory takes roughly an hour.
On the bright side, we managed to squeeze in some time to visit 1 club before we call it a day. The process of choosing a club to visit was not too tedious as we remembered that one of our students belong to the Judo club and so, we set off to find the club. And it didn't take long for us to look for the dojo as it was located near the entrance of the gym. Once we located the coach, who was also a regular teacher in Nichidai, we greeted him and was granted the permission to watch how a typical judo practice would be like.
Not long after, the student who we wanted to visit came rushing to us. Tomohisa (not his real name) was elated to see us. It was very obvious the moment I saw him with his mouth agape before running towards us. He was one of the SGL students which we taught Mandarin to. Due to the fact that we were his teachers as well as his high English proficiency, he had no trouble communicating with us. As mentioned before, the students spend a lot more time with their teachers and sometimes, the teachers could show their soft sides to them. The coach was very hands on when he was introducing new moves to the students. They would immediately try on the moves with their partner and the coach would walk around and assist them with the change of posture, explanation and so on. Occasionally, the coach would even train with the students so that understand the concept of this move, if there is an error, the coach would have the students to try their mistake on him to understand.
Our visitation occurs more often and more of the students in Judo were more welcoming to a point there were students who would shout and wave at me whenever we brush shoulders and sometimes, the more quiet students would call me for help such as translation and explanation rather than the main teachers or my mentors.
The visits were very interesting as we don't have Judo in Malaysia. If I am not mistaken, there are only Taekwondo, Jiujitsu, Karate and Wushu so this was an eye-opening experience. As I mentioned before, the students in the dojo do not act like how they were during school hours and you can certainly here some of them actually having fun with their peers- their personalities are more prominent. The dojo was very laid back during the warm up session and you could occasionally hear the students talking and joking with one another. Just like in class, the students know when to get serious, and certainly the students know what they were supposed to be doing without the coach's instructions - it was due to the fact that it was done routinely so I guess it wasn't much of a problem for them.
The visitations were something that I, in the end agrees with Mr. Long. The students were more receptive to my lessons and were more willing to approach me. Our initiatives may not seem as much in our eyes; but it certainly means alot to the students.
Unlike the regular Japanese teachers, our mentors do not get involved (organized or oversee) with clubs. This does not mean that they would have a lot more free time than others, I can guarantee with that, they are not leisurely. But if they do have time, they would buy some time to visit some of the students in their clubs. Like Mr. Long for example, would do regular visits at the gym located behind the school's main building.
As I mentioned before, the school focuses more on ECAs - well, it does not mean that the students get to flop and ignore their studies; it is just that they treat their academics as a secondary merit - the Japanese teachers still put on their effort in lesson planning and teaching (it's just their way of teaching is just- from the same cookie cutter, that's all). To Malaysians, maybe ECAs are just, something extra for you to show off- even in both primary and secondary school settings, if you have extra time- dedicate your extra time. Like I said before, the students in Nichidai consider ECAs their actual habitat, that is where they get to be themselves or like from my previous topic- in the holistic perspective, students get to truly understand what they are and who they are. You may see the students to be very distant with each other or in some sense, you may perceive the students as who they are in during school hours; when ECAs start, that is when and where the real them show, the real interaction begins in ECAs.
ECAs strengthen the student-student and teacher- student relationship especially when one of their teachers is from the club they joined. And surprisingly, the teachers also reveal their true selves during the course of ECAs - some would be more lenient, others stricter as some clubs are competing inter schools. And perhaps that's why the some students are very comfortable with their teachers due to the amount of time spent with their teachers.
Because of this, our mentors, kind of miss out this extra interaction with the students- but of course, Mr. Long does it the way that is one of a kind. As you can see, he is popular among his students, no student would never pass by without giving him a high-five or some random shouts of affection of his name and of course, some of his students would even proclaim their love for Mr. Long in their homework. It was hilarious and delirious knowing what extent the students would do if their found their favorite teacher.
Senpai- kouhai relationship
The true kinship between students. The relationship between senior and junior has taken a prominent role in a student's school life. Depending on the type of clubs, students would encounter or have at least a senior or junior they will be interacting with. Based on my understanding, once the senior and junior relationship has been established they could begin interacting outside of their clubs- feels more like a simulation where once you have unlocked this character, you can further your relationship with them. This could be traced back to feudal Japan. Samurai would take on young boys creating a sort of master-servant relationship. The youths would serve their masters with blind loyalty in return, the older samurai would entrust their knowledge and wisdom to them. But of course, there would be some underlying intimacy going on; but we won't be delve in deeper than that. Also, Japan practice a form of Neo-Confucianism in their lifestyle where they have to respect those older than them (the way they talk would change once there is age difference). For example, the juniors would speak in a polite and formal manner - the usage of "masu" in their sentences.
While the senior-junior relationship exists in all schools in Japan; there is a slight difference between genders. Girls, for instance do not have an impending relationship or at least this is not really enforced- if friendship has been established the two are considered as equal whereas for the boys; this relationship could last a life time and even even when they are adults and working.
The Visitation
Coming back to Mr. Long's point, visiting students can be fun and interesting as that is where we get to know the students. And maybe perhaps, to improve their outlook on us. This concept is simple, just like what Mr. Long said, treat them like children - well, they really are and I don't necessarily agree with his views but then again, he has more experience than I do so it is safe to say that his claim is true. Visiting the students is almost similar to parents coming to their child's recital or competition and it is to show support to them. To them, it gives the impression that you are interested in getting to know them and alongside the fact that you, as the teacher actually took the time to come and watch their performance in something that they have invested their time and effort, it further lifts their morale both in ECAs and in school. I can confidently assure you that it is very helpful to teachers when you are teaching them. The students are more likely to listen to you and you are less likely to encounter any behavioral problems with them. Take Mr. Long for example, the students are very orderly and obedient when in class.
There is this self-fulfilling prophecy when we ought to plan and work on something, the reality opposes it. And I can attest that in our case, we simply do not have much time to visit the students as we, not only have some after school work to finish ranging from double checking our mentors' student homework to managing an after school "class" called the English Lounge. The Lounge is where students could come for homework, test assistance or engaging in simple English conversation to improve their English level. Once we are finally done with this, we have to set off for home which our dormitory has a curfew and it could be rather difficult if we stay any longer as the trip back to our dormitory takes roughly an hour.
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| Student and coach practice |
Not long after, the student who we wanted to visit came rushing to us. Tomohisa (not his real name) was elated to see us. It was very obvious the moment I saw him with his mouth agape before running towards us. He was one of the SGL students which we taught Mandarin to. Due to the fact that we were his teachers as well as his high English proficiency, he had no trouble communicating with us. As mentioned before, the students spend a lot more time with their teachers and sometimes, the teachers could show their soft sides to them. The coach was very hands on when he was introducing new moves to the students. They would immediately try on the moves with their partner and the coach would walk around and assist them with the change of posture, explanation and so on. Occasionally, the coach would even train with the students so that understand the concept of this move, if there is an error, the coach would have the students to try their mistake on him to understand.Our visitation occurs more often and more of the students in Judo were more welcoming to a point there were students who would shout and wave at me whenever we brush shoulders and sometimes, the more quiet students would call me for help such as translation and explanation rather than the main teachers or my mentors.
The visits were very interesting as we don't have Judo in Malaysia. If I am not mistaken, there are only Taekwondo, Jiujitsu, Karate and Wushu so this was an eye-opening experience. As I mentioned before, the students in the dojo do not act like how they were during school hours and you can certainly here some of them actually having fun with their peers- their personalities are more prominent. The dojo was very laid back during the warm up session and you could occasionally hear the students talking and joking with one another. Just like in class, the students know when to get serious, and certainly the students know what they were supposed to be doing without the coach's instructions - it was due to the fact that it was done routinely so I guess it wasn't much of a problem for them.
The visitations were something that I, in the end agrees with Mr. Long. The students were more receptive to my lessons and were more willing to approach me. Our initiatives may not seem as much in our eyes; but it certainly means alot to the students.
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| Tomohisa with his senior |
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