Wierd Psychology Experiment Or Business As Usual???
I'm beginning to suspect the staff administrator in my office circulated a memo advising all personnel to completely ignore the ALT.
Day One:
Everyone looks unusually busy today. I have the strange feeling that this is real busy and not Japanese "pretend" busy. No time for idle chit-chat today. My offer to help out is politely declined.
Day Two:
The morning meeting lasts a mere one 45 seconds and every teacher shoots out of the room shortly thereafter. All my classes are cancelled today. By 3:30 my JTE looks frantic and his desk is buried under a mound of English notebooks which I offer to correct. My offer to help is politely declined.
Day Three:
I corner an unsuspecting teacher near the coffee table and attempt some lighthearted conversation. I receive little more than flustered, noncommital one-word responses before she scurries back to her desk. In the afternoon I notice that some teachers are occuppied with a large copy and staple project. I offer to help out. My offer to help is politely declined.
Day Four:
I look up from my desk only to notice that I am the only person sitting in the office. I sit there alone for almost an hour. Later, the other English teachers work together to correct English exams. My offer to help them is politely declined.
Day Five:
Ok, hoping to avoid a conversation about today's lesson my JTE actually pretends not to see me before class. Man, now thats just cold! In the afternoon I notice some of the staff engaged in a HUGE cut and glue project. Paper is everywhere! Meeting their eyes I smile graciously and say "Gambatte ne?" before settling down at my desk with a large cup of coffee and a newspaper.
So, is this...
Day One:
Everyone looks unusually busy today. I have the strange feeling that this is real busy and not Japanese "pretend" busy. No time for idle chit-chat today. My offer to help out is politely declined.
Day Two:
The morning meeting lasts a mere one 45 seconds and every teacher shoots out of the room shortly thereafter. All my classes are cancelled today. By 3:30 my JTE looks frantic and his desk is buried under a mound of English notebooks which I offer to correct. My offer to help is politely declined.
Day Three:
I corner an unsuspecting teacher near the coffee table and attempt some lighthearted conversation. I receive little more than flustered, noncommital one-word responses before she scurries back to her desk. In the afternoon I notice that some teachers are occuppied with a large copy and staple project. I offer to help out. My offer to help is politely declined.
Day Four:
I look up from my desk only to notice that I am the only person sitting in the office. I sit there alone for almost an hour. Later, the other English teachers work together to correct English exams. My offer to help them is politely declined.
Day Five:
Ok, hoping to avoid a conversation about today's lesson my JTE actually pretends not to see me before class. Man, now thats just cold! In the afternoon I notice some of the staff engaged in a HUGE cut and glue project. Paper is everywhere! Meeting their eyes I smile graciously and say "Gambatte ne?" before settling down at my desk with a large cup of coffee and a newspaper.
So, is this...
- A cruel psychological experiment to see how much alienation the ALT can withstand in a week?
- Passive-agressive payback for being so bad at Japanese?
- A shining example of the way in which time is mismanaged in the office, causing teachers to be inefficient and rushed, working fourteen hour days, finishing projects at the last minute, and leaving the ALT lost in the shuffle?
Of course, the answer is "3"!
AARRGGH!!! Eighteen months into this JET experience I've concluded that - excluding the Shinkansen - the notion of Japanese efficiency is a myth.
What do you think?
posted by Angie @ 9:09 PM
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