Nishiwaki
For the past three weeks I have been at a new school, Nishiwaki. I have one more week to go. This school has had its good and bad points. Some students and teachers have been difficult to work with. This past week has been a little better because I’ve been doing some actual “teaching.” I also had a chance to work with the Special Ed class. There are only three kids, and they are such sweethearts. I really enjoyed my time with them. I only had two classes with them, and on the second day, we did a little bit of Halloween stuff. I made Halloween puzzles for each of them that they really liked. One thing I like about these kids is that they are not embarrassed to speak English. One boy is so talkative, and actually speaks English quite well. The girl cracks me up because she throws her hands in the air and gasps at everything. The third boy does not speak at all, but laughed at my lame jokes, so I think he understood. Aside from some ripped shirt pockets, and occasional outbursts, they were great.
Another boy, who is not in the special ed class, but he is probably borderline, also is one of my favorites. We went on a field trip to Kyoto, and he kept me company the whole time, chatting away. When he couldn’t think of anything else to say, he kept asking me what time it was. He was so sweet. And by the way, we were the only two that were not allowed to go anywhere by ourselves. After about 4 phone calls, I was finally allowed to go off by myself for 45 min. It was a bit frustrating.
Until I had these special ed classes, I never saw or heard about these three kids. It’s like they are being hidden from the rest of the students. It seems to me that many Japanese are very embarrassed by disabilities. They are not integrated into society, but kept away from others. Out in public you rarely see anyone with any disabilities. And many public places are not fitted with accommodations like wheelchair ramps. The special ed kids always seem so happy and friendly. Always a big smile and genuine hello. I enjoyed working with them.
Another boy, who is not in the special ed class, but he is probably borderline, also is one of my favorites. We went on a field trip to Kyoto, and he kept me company the whole time, chatting away. When he couldn’t think of anything else to say, he kept asking me what time it was. He was so sweet. And by the way, we were the only two that were not allowed to go anywhere by ourselves. After about 4 phone calls, I was finally allowed to go off by myself for 45 min. It was a bit frustrating.
Until I had these special ed classes, I never saw or heard about these three kids. It’s like they are being hidden from the rest of the students. It seems to me that many Japanese are very embarrassed by disabilities. They are not integrated into society, but kept away from others. Out in public you rarely see anyone with any disabilities. And many public places are not fitted with accommodations like wheelchair ramps. The special ed kids always seem so happy and friendly. Always a big smile and genuine hello. I enjoyed working with them.
posted by Leilani at
1:46 PM
2 Comments:
That seems sad about what you said regarding the hiding of disabilities.
By
Anonymous, at Monday, October 30, 2006 1:23:00 AM
I have to say that my favorite students are the challanged ones as well. I have worked with them at both the middle and high schools and they are generally very genki, happy, and not at all self conscious. I don`t know if they are hidden away or not, but they seem to be better friends with the teachers than the other kids, as they are always in the teachers` room talking with us. And, yeah, some of their english skills are quite good. Better than many of the apparently-not-so-much-challenged kids.
And I do think it`s quite crap that this country isn`t very accessible to wheel chairs. We have one kid in a wheel chair at my school, and the teachers (including me sometimes) have to carry him up and down the stairs everyday. Can`t be very nice for him, having to rely on others just to get to class.
By
Anonymous, at Monday, October 30, 2006 10:39:00 AM
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