Tuesday

I left for work early today. It was really damn cold today for some reason. I think this winter is much colder than last year. Snow is falling in the Northern part of Japan already and I think it will come down to Tokyo within the month.

I got on a train about 10 minutes earlier than the one I usually take and it’s quite a difference. The train is actually emptier than the one I take, which I thought was a bit odd. I’m considering leaving for work earlier now, just so I could catch that train to work. But then I’d be at work much earlier than I would have to, which isn’t something that I’m really looking forward to, and I could get an extra 10 minutes of sleep.

The first class I had today was with 8th grade ran. They were really interested in performing and did a pretty good job with the Sound of Music drama. I thought it was pretty good except for a few minor details, but it doesn’t take away from the whole performance. They tend to run on with their sentences and don’t pause at the periods or commas. That’s the problem we’ve been having with all classes and I’ve got to work on a way to get rid of that.

The second class was with 8th grade Kiku. They were a bit bummed out that we couldn’t perform in the gym since they were really looking forward to it. It really reflected on their performance in the class room too. They had all the lines and all the gestures, but it was still a little flat to me. They didn’t have the oomph that they had last week when they were on stage. I’m not really worried too much about them because I know that they could do it. I think that they will do a great job too.

4th period was with 7th grade kiku. They have some difficulties in front of them. They are a really quiet bunch, well not quiet, but soft-spoken. There is one girl in the class that is so soft-spoken that the people standing right next to her couldn’t hear her lines after she had said them. That will be a big problem this Saturday. It might take away from the whole performance, so that’s something that worries me a bit.

5th period with 11th grade Fuji, was a bit harder than usual and the loudest student wasn’t even there. They had a room change so it threw things off for me, plus there was only 40 minutes in class today and we had a listening test too. So it was busy and hectic, and I think that they aren’t on task doing what they need to do. That’s not good and I know it, but I don’t know how to fix it, I think that I’m going to use one of the extra days to help them along with the process so they don’t get horrible grades on the last test of oral communication class.

After school I helped with the English dramas and just watching them to see how they could improve before the big performance on Saturday.
I watched 8th grade Fuji and 7th grade Ume and even got to see the music group playing with the handbells. It was pretty good. Over all, but they were speaking in English way too fast.