瓜まくちゅうがっこう

I just spent half an hour practicing kanji but my eyes were getting heavy so I stopped to post. I was back in the office early today because my fifth period was cancelled right after fourth period without anyone telling me before hand. But in all honesty, my character is so use to it by now that I don't mind. I've just accepted I'm the last to know and I've moved on. It's real - Buddha - live in the moment - stuff.

Today I was out at Urimaku Junior High School. Teaching kids that are almost in high school is very different than teaching about 90% of my kids that are elementary and kindergarten age. As opposed to my younger students who are innocent, generally all think the same way about everything, and can be excited and joyful about anything, including cute puppies, tuffs of cloth or shiny objects. These teens are just starting to define themselves - their individually - in a myriad of ways; friends, music, hobbies, clothes... So it's an interesting time for anyone (this applies in Alberta too) to be involved in these young people's lives. I can understand how a Jr. High or High school teacher may find this a fulfilling career. The teens have to learn how to fit themselves into a much larger frame work that can be harsh and overwhelming. I get to watch the day to day progression - and help if I can; it's a fascinating thing to be apart of and it causes me to approach Urimaku Jr. High students differently.

The other factor that makes the kids at Urimaku different than the kids at Shikaoi Junior High School is that the size and remoteness of their school. With only 47 students, all students and teachers know each other and know what's going on (with the possible exception of me). While some kids would probably be much shyer in a larger school, or perhaps more troublesome; in a small school like Urimaku there's no where to hide or escape to, and thus, in this respect, incidents are relegated to ancient history (and are sometimes still talked about years later). The students, while dramatically moody at times, show a certain balance and trust that would perhaps be missing from another larger school. This is probably best exemplified by the lack of bullying at Urimaku compared to Shikaoi Jr. High. While some moderate level of bullying is almost accepted here in Japan (it's more complicated than that, don't rush to judgment, kids are also much more helpful to their fellow students here then in Alberta). At Urimaku you don't see it, they're too closely coupled, there's no where anyone could go, they're forced together to quite a high degree by the remoteness and size. And by this same token, I am at a loss to explain why the kids at this school are so shy in class - almost to the point of being petrified - because this would seem to run counter to what I have just detailed. Lots still to learn.

Yikes, and the wind today was vicious. Just howling across the country road to Urimaku, almost white out conditions (even though it may not even be snowing). Amazing. I don't know how to explain it so I will try to get a picture of it. But, as I have dedicated myself to seeing the brighter side of 70 km/h winds; when it is snowy and windy, no snow accumulates on the road because it's all blown off, as evidenced today. How novel! The ice in front of my house though - how to explain - has now been wind polished.