Journal for 2005-7-29 Fri.. Weather: Cloudy Plan: Akagi JHS
I continued studying US Presidents today. I got through Thomas Jefferson (3rd) and James Madison (4th) today. Then I put two more Beatles songs into the Lyrics Worksheet. When I am inputting songs, I always learn a lot of interesting words in Japanese. In the afternoon I started studying management. The textbook I am using is Fundamentals of Management by Professor Robbins. It is really easy to read.
Journal for 2005-7-28 Thu.. Weather: Sunny Plan: Akagi JHS
I continued to study US Government today. Specifically, I studied about the Cabinet, the Executive Office of the President, and the National Security Council. I've started studying all the US President's. I want to study two a day. Today I finished Washington and Adams. In the afternoon I entered 2 songs into the Lyrics Worksheet.
Journal for 2005-7-27 Wed.. Weather: Sunny Plan: Akagi JHS
I finished studying the US Constitution today! I wrote it all out by hand. After each part, I wrote notes about that part. I wrote out 43 pages and 1 page of unratified amendments (there have been 6 so far) in all! Now, I am studying the Presidential Cabinet. Since I studied Government all day, I neglected practicing Japanese. I am going to study Japanese as well for sure tomorrow!
Journal for 2005-7-26 Tue.. Weather: Sunny Plan: Akagi JHS
I didn't have any work to do today again, so I spend most of the day studying. I am up to the 24th US Constitutional Amendment. I am going to start studying the US Presidents after I finish with the Constitution. In the afternoon I entered some lyrics into the Lyrics Worksheet. I only have 14 more Beatles songs left to enter in. :)
Journal for 2005-7-25 Mon.. Weather: Sunny Plan: Akagi JHS
It was really hot today. It's still summer vacation, so I spent the day studying again. In the morning I continued writing out and studying the US Constitutional amendments. I just finished the 20th Amendment. Only 7 left to go. In the afternoon I continued working on Japanese expressions. Studying all day is hard, but makes me feel better that when I bum around on the Internet all day.
Journal for 2005-7-22 Fri.. Weather: Sunny Plan: Akagi JHS
Today was a quiet day because the Volleyball team, the Ping Pong team, and the Track and Field team all went to the Shimane Prefectural competitions today. Only the Brass Band club students came in today. Of course, I spent the day studying. I started writing out and learning about the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. The 14th amendment is really important. It has been interpretated to give African American the same civil rights as other Americans. In the afternoon I studied Japanese expression used for expressing actions of objects.
Journal for 2005-7-21 Thu.. Weather: Sunny Plan: Akagi JHS
It was really hot today! I spent the entire day studying again. I brought my headphones into work this morning, so I could listen to Internet radio. So, while I was studying I listened to news and classical music on NWPR. I spent most of the day inputting lyrics into the Lyrics Worksheet. I studied the kanji I used while I was entering the lyrics. In the afternoon, I continued working on writing out and learning the Constitutional Amendments.
Journal for 2005-7-20 Wed.. Weather: Sunny Plan: Akagi JHS
Today was busy. I started my job as the sys. admin. for the Shimane Prefectural JET Program Website. The last sys. admin. did a good job setting it up to be easy to maintain, so my job should be cake. Signe got a job offer at an English conversation school in Yamaguchi Prefecture, but Yamaguchi is a little far away, so maybe it would be better if she looks for a job that is closer. It makes me feel uneasy to think about it.
Journal for 2005-7-19 Tue.. Weather: Sunny Plan: Akagi JHS
Today was the first day of summer vacation at the JHS, but I still have to work there everyday. I don't have any classes, so I am able to study various subjects throughout the day. I finished up writing out and studying the US Constitution most of the day today. Since I am done with that I have started on writing out and studying the 27 amendments of the US Constitution. I got through the Bill of Rights, which is the first 10 amendments, today!
Journal for 2005-7-15 Fri.. Weather: Rainy Plan: Akagi JHS
Today was the closing ceremony for the first semester at Akagi JHS. The month and a half long summer vacation starts next week. Signe and I don't have any special plans for the break. We are trying to save money, so we don't have a lot of spare cash. We are working hard on upping the amount we can pay towards our bills at home in America as well.
Journal for 2005-7-14 Thu.. Weather: Sunny Plan: Kijima Ele.
I was having a good time at Kijima Elementary School today. During break time I ran around and played with all the kids, so I got really sweaty. I really hate sweat, so I was somewhat embarrassed to be all sweaty, but the kids didn't care. They played with me nonetheless. That made me really happy. It was fun!
Journal for 2005-7-13 Wed.. Weather: Rainy Plan: Kijima Ele.
Today I went to teach at Kijima Elementary School. It is always interesting there. I only taught 3 classes today. Tomorrow, I will be teaching the remaining grades. This was the first time this academic year I have gone to Kijima Elementary School. I am planning to return here once a month starting next semester. Going to elementary schools are always fun, but it is easy to get tired quickly. I want to take a small break!
Journal for 2005-7-12 Tue.. Weather: Cloudy Plan: Akagi JHS
This was the last day of English class for the 8th graders, so we handed out their "Rainbow Charts." The Rainbow Chart is a chart that shows the student where they are at in various aspects of their English study. It is quite interesting. With it, students can easily see what level they are at and what they need to work on. Most of the day I spent studying a variety of subjects. I worked on Kanji and Japanese expressions, as well as the U.S. Constitution, and Management.
Journal for 2005-7-11 Mon.. Weather: Rainy Plan: Akagi JHS
Today was an average Monday. I only taught two classes. From now on, I am going to study in my free time. Before now I have studied, but I have done so sporatically and poorly. From now on, the difference will be that I will study one thing in one period and then in my next free period, I will study something else. Which means that I wil be not unlike the students I teach, being able to study many different subjects in a day.
Journal for 2005-7-8 Fri.. Weather: Sunny Plan: Akana Ele.
I went and taught at Akana Elementary School today. The kids were as energetic as ever. Unfortunately, the 5th and 6th grade classes had to be cut short, so we didn't finish our lesson plans. In the 1st through 4th grade classes we had time to do an English expression skit game called "One Word." The kids really love performing the short plays that they think of themselves.
July 5th was the first day of the Shimane Prefectural High School Student English Seminar called CHESS. I was the group leader of a group called "Happy Saturn." There were 2 other ALTs and 1 JTE there to help me lead the 7 students in the group. We had a lot of fun things to do. The catch is that the kids have to speak English the entire time. On the last day all the groups performed a skit in English. This year's theme was the planets, so our play was about Saturn. The 6th was the busiest day of CHESS. Starting in the morning and going all day, we had 5 workshops to attend. In the Art Workshop we made our group poster and the props for the skit. In the Music Workshop we wrote a song about Saturn. In the Drama Workshop we learned how to be relaxed in front of a lot of people. In the Sports Workshop we played some small games and a round or two of dodgeball. In the Trivia Workshop, we played Jeopardy (where all the questions were about Canada :P). And in our rest time we worked on our skit. In the evening there was a really fun dance party. The 7th was the day of the skits. The Saturn group was nervous, but we practiced a lot the night before and that morning, so at showtime, everyone did really great. They performed thier skit and song perfectly! They weren't shy at all! The students in my group really made me proud! CHESS really was wonderful. I was glad that so many high school students that wanted to speak English came. Everyone seemed to have a really great time. I totally want to go again next year!
(Today's is a special report, so there is no Kanji) 7月5日はCHESSという島根県高校生英語セミナーの始めての日でした。僕は｢ハッピー・サータン｣(幸せな土星)のグループ・リーダーです。2人のALTと1人のJTEと一緒に7人の高校生をリードしました。グループでたくさん楽しく活動をします。ですが全てで英語を使わなければなりません。最後の日、皆のグループは英語劇をするつもりです。今回のテーマは惑星なので僕たちのグループは土星について劇をやります！ 6日はCHESSの一番忙しかった日です。朝から5つのワークショップをやりました。アートのでグループのポスターやプロップを作りました。ミュージックので土星について歌を作りました。ドラマので皆の前でリラックスになるのを習いました。スポーツので軽スポーツやドッジボールをしました。トリビアのでジョパディーゲームをしました(全部の質問はカナダについてだ ^_^)。レストタイムで英語劇を考え書きました。今夜、楽しくダンスがありました。 7日は英語劇の日でした。土星のグループは緊張したが先晩と今朝、たくさん練習したので皆はすごくよく出来ました。全然恥ずかしくないで劇や歌をバッチリやりました！グループの生徒は僕が得意になりました！CHESSは本当にすばらしかったです。たくさん英語が話したい高校生が来たからとってもうれしくなりました。皆は元気で楽しみました。ぜっひ来年度も行きたいです！
Journal for 2005-7-4 Mon.. Weather: Rainy Plan: Akagi JHS
I taught English at Iinan High School today. We had a special class today. People from the Prefectural Education Department and other teachers were watching and commenting on how we taught. The normally relaxed Mr. Iwanari looked quite nervous today. The kids were a little too quiet, but besides that everything went well. From tomorrow I will be at the Shimane Prefectural High School Student English Seminar (CHESS). Wish me luck!
Journal for 2005-6-30 Thu.. Weather: Sunny Plan: Akagi JHS
I became an office worker today. I didn't have any classes, but I had a lot of other work to do. As I do every month, I made my monthly schedule and FAXed it to the Board of Education. I also made and sent out my English Conversation Class flyers for this month. In the afternoon, I went to teach at Iinan High School, but the students weren't in high spirits today. After school I took a test for the JET Program Translation and Interpretation Self-Study Course. Unfortunately, I failed it miserably. That means that I wil not be alowed to take that course.
