---my average day at work-----

Just a sneaky peek into the life of an ALT at Sakai Junior High School…

7.50 – arrive at school by car or bike depending on weather and mood. I get greeted by many students shouting ‘ohayo goziamasu’. In the staff room I don’t get as many welcoming calls, but those that I do mean a lot!

8.00 – I sit down and Ankyu-san the office lady gives me a cup of green tea…yum. I spend the first minutes at school doing last minute prep for lessons or studying Japanese.

8.10 - most of the teachers disappear to their home rooms to do stuff I have no idea about. I am left in the staffroom amusing myself.

8.20 – teachers all gather for the daily meeting. My only participation is standing, bowing saying good morning and sitting again. I then return to my Japanese.

8.50 – lessons start. Lessons are 50mins long with 10 min breaks in between each lesson. I usually teach 3 or 4 lessons a day. In my free periods I check emails, write emails, search the internet, learn Japanese, or prepare for the following day’s classes.

12.40 – lunch time. If I have the class before lunch free, I help Ankyu-san and other female teachers to dish out the lunch for the teachers. The school lunch is delivered by a company at around 12.00. It is all organized so that there are containers for each class with the right amount of food in for the amount of students. The students collect their own containers and dish out the food for themselves in their classrooms. They then eat their food in their class rooms too. however I eat mine in the staffroom along with about 10 other members of staff. During this time, music is played over the loud speaker which is really nice!

1.45 – lessons start again with just two classes in the afternoon (except on a Monday and Friday when there is only one lesson after lunch).

3.45 – cleaning time. All the students and staff at school have 10mins to clean all the school. They all do some job whether it is cleaning toilets, wiping floors or clearing outside. I help a san nensei class clean their room. It’s quite a nice time to chat to the san nenseis and get to know them.

4.00 – I don’t know what everyone else does at this time, but I sit in the staffroom and prepare for the following day. From about 4.30 club activities start for the students. Every student must be a member of an after school club! I leave school as soon as I am finished really. 4.30 is the official time, but if I am busy, then I stay as late as I need to. I have been known to still be at school at nearly 9pm- fun. The students leave school at 6pm and go home to study for about 12 hours! Ok exaggeration, but they really don’t have a life outside of school and studying. I think it’s a bit sad really. Oh and when do the teachers go home? 8, 9, 10pm. Sometimes even later.. seems ridiculous to me