One more time...

When you are teaching a language you have to use alot of repetition to hammer the point home. The most common phrase I say in class is ONE MORE TIME! First I will say a word and then have the students repeat it. If their pronunciation was good enough the first time I will usually get them in a loop of repeating by saying ONE MORE TIME....ONE MORE TIME....over and over again. I try and raise my voice each time I do it to get the kids more and more excited about repeating the word and by the end of it they usually are practically yelling FATHER FATHER FATHER FATHER!!! Its one of the many ways I try and take the monotony of repeating words and make it into something fun so learning English isn't too boring.

ONE MORE TIME is also the number of times I going to ride on this merry go round called Japan. My contract extension is official and I will be able to sign on again until April of 2007. I am still not sure what school I will be at but every indication is that I will remain at the school I like and will only have to work at that one school. Having said that, here are a few more pictures from around my school. I am anxiously awaiting permission to take pictures of the kids around school so for now you have to just look at objects and places. I am pretty sure the administration will say it is OK but they have to talk everything over first.

In my teacher's room there are many chaotic chalk boards filled with information. Some of the chalk boards talk about the daily events while others, like the one pictured here, highlight the month's important activities. Look closely and you will notice the days are increasing from right to left. Schedules and things that are official like awards tend to read from right to left. Books and other written material is usually read from left to right and sometimes even from top to bottom. It can all be a bit complicated sometimes.


After you walk in the front door at my school this is one of the first things you see. This is a detailed map of the school with colors and all kinds of craziness happening. There are often visitors at the school who come to the teachers room because they can't figure out where they are suppose to go... I can't imagine why.







If you are a guest at the school this is where you sign in and pickup your complementary indoor shoes. These shoes are definitely not One Size Fits All and when I visit places and have to wear them it is a rather uncomfortable experience. I have to slide around with my heels hanging off the back since all of the shoes are to narrow and too small for me.




This is a different angle at the front door and you can see on the left side of the picture the boxes where all the teachers put their outdoor shoes to store during the day. I have a box amidst the group and mine is the only one with English writing on the front so it is easy to spot.







Here is the thermometer that hangs in the hallway right near the Teacher's room. The needle pointing towards the left is reading 8 degrees celcius which is a little less than 50 degrees fahrenheit. Not too cold right?
Remember this is indoors. And they say the worst is yet to come. Yee Haw!




Troughs like this one are scattered throughout the school in the hallways outside of the classrooms. This is where the kids brush their teeth after lunch, wash their hands after painting, and also get a drink of water if they are thirsty. If it looks a bit unsanitary it is and I am a firm believer that this piece of equipment is what passes the flu around school each year. Right now we are in the heart of flu season and it is not uncommon for 5 kids to be absent from a class of only 35.