...are all it takes to win my heart. At school, I am reluctant to eat with the students since I often feel like either a circus act with all the kids laughing at me because I don't speak Japanese or the last kid picked for the sports team because no one wants to sit with me. Today, however, my faith in the kiddos was restored by one gleaming beacon of hope in the form of a 7th grade girl. I am scared to name her because of the terrifying Japanese privacy laws, so I will avoid referring to her by name.
Since my first day, I have been told numerous times about the English speech contest that will take place next month. Apparently it's their version of a spelling bee- it is prestigious and the students spend hours and hours of their free time preparing for the event. On day one, I began editing a manuscript from the school's top contender for the contest. Based on the quality of the writing, I assumed it was one of the older students since I could find very few mistakes. When I finally met the writer at lunch today, I was astounded at how little and young she was. Thankfully, she sat across from me at lunch and made conversation with me in flawless, native-sounding English. She looked quizzically at my sad salad and asked if I would be hungry after. I told her not to worry but she said that she hates salmon and offered me part of her school lunch. I greedily gobbled up what was some of the best salmon I'd ever had, and she looked extremely pleased. She instantly won herself a prime spot in my heart. I'm like a whale at Sea World- just give me a fish to make me happy.
After lunch, she asked if she could practice her speech with me. She read it with hardly any hint of an accent and I applauded her instantly, telling her how thankful she would be later in life that she mastered English so well at such a young age. Then she asked me to read it so she could hear it from a native speaker and after I finished she said "wow, that was amazing!" with the biggest awe-struck eyes I had ever seen. Then we looked through my photos and I asked her to guess how old I was. When she said "20" she earned herself even more Marisa brownie points. Perfect child. When looking at my photos she said "wow, everyone in your life looks so happy and joyful! I want to know them all!"
It's kids like her that make teaching completely worthwhile.
Since my first day, I have been told numerous times about the English speech contest that will take place next month. Apparently it's their version of a spelling bee- it is prestigious and the students spend hours and hours of their free time preparing for the event. On day one, I began editing a manuscript from the school's top contender for the contest. Based on the quality of the writing, I assumed it was one of the older students since I could find very few mistakes. When I finally met the writer at lunch today, I was astounded at how little and young she was. Thankfully, she sat across from me at lunch and made conversation with me in flawless, native-sounding English. She looked quizzically at my sad salad and asked if I would be hungry after. I told her not to worry but she said that she hates salmon and offered me part of her school lunch. I greedily gobbled up what was some of the best salmon I'd ever had, and she looked extremely pleased. She instantly won herself a prime spot in my heart. I'm like a whale at Sea World- just give me a fish to make me happy.
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| All it takes... |
After lunch, she asked if she could practice her speech with me. She read it with hardly any hint of an accent and I applauded her instantly, telling her how thankful she would be later in life that she mastered English so well at such a young age. Then she asked me to read it so she could hear it from a native speaker and after I finished she said "wow, that was amazing!" with the biggest awe-struck eyes I had ever seen. Then we looked through my photos and I asked her to guess how old I was. When she said "20" she earned herself even more Marisa brownie points. Perfect child. When looking at my photos she said "wow, everyone in your life looks so happy and joyful! I want to know them all!"
It's kids like her that make teaching completely worthwhile.
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