Grade 5 SUPERCLASS!!

I just finished the big Special Class with grade 5. Their teacher is Kishino, who is all buddy buddy with my boss, Ishi, and so she was able to change the curriculum for this month and make out like it was a really big deal and invited all these teachers from other schools to come and watch the last class, which was today. All the other teachers had to watch too and pretend they were taking notes and stuff, we even had volunteer old people come in to practice English one (even though their English is not that much better than the kids'). It was a joke really, only one teacher turned up from elsewhere and all the Nishi teachers were like, "yeah, we know this." The kids were great though and they loved it. They came over heaps early from their classroom in two straight-ish lines while Kishino was greeting the volunteers and telling them what to do. So instead of just sitting their staring at each other I had them play this game I learnt at the touch tournament the other weekend.

The game basically consists of two people facing each other, standing with their legs shoulder width apart and about 80cm apart from each other. Using only your hands and pushing only on their hands briefly you have to try and push the other person off balance. So you can't grab their hands, or stand there continually pushing against each other, just a quick shove, the idea being to make them put in too much power and topple forwards when they miss your hands. It was great fun and made the SUPER genki so when Kishino rocked up she had no idea why they were standing in lines and apparently trying to shove each other.

The lesson itself went really well and the kids were able to do everything and had heaps of fun, but as far as the worth of having people come and watch it... If I were one of the other homeroom teachers I would feel a bit pissed at having to take time out of my day to watch Kishino do what they do in all their classes. And it is kind of irrelevant to them anyway because each year level has its own abilities (and behaviour issues to try and control). After the class I had the usual bevvy of admirers coming up and saying "Oh, you are such a good teacher!" Puh-please, I know the Japanese use compliments as a way of starting conversation, but why can't they just talk about the weather like we do? I wasn't even teaching, I was just being a dictionary for Kishino who seems to think her English is good enough to go "freestyle" during class and when she gets stuck (usually after the third word) she looks to me to read her mind and finish it up for her. Anyway, the whole bloody thing was videotaped so I am sure at some stage I will have to watch myself dancing around singing "Do you have the broom? No, I don't!". A prospect I look forward to with the same glee as I would having my teeth pulled.