Last autumn, I compared the different disciplining styles of both American and Japanese preschools in my English CIP blog. Although most of my observations in regards to discipline haven\u2019t changed, the age groups to which I have taken observations from have changed. \u00a0Last semester I primarily worked with 4 to 5 year olds, which were some of the oldest children at the school. However, this semester I usually work with the 2 year olds. Despite the 2 year olds being adorably cute, I do not have as much opportunity to actually communicate with them, based on the fact they are indeed 2 years old. Not only do 2 year olds lack a sufficient Japanese vocabulary, they are way too embarrassed and scared by my presence to even attempt English beyond \u201chello”.<\/p>\n
Therefore, rather than talking about the communication I have with the children at my CIP; I\u2019d rather focus on a question I\u2019ve always pondered about my CIP \u2013 the significance of time in a time conscious society. I arrive at my CIP roughly the same time every week \u2013 12 noon to the minute. Not only am I afraid of arriving late because it would give both KCJS and American\u2019s a bad reputation, but I\u2019m afraid of arriving any earlier and getting in the teachers way, since they wouldn\u2019t be prepared for more. However, despite me arriving exactly on time, I always manage to feel either absurdly early or extremely late.\u00a0Apparently there is not exact start time for my CIP (or end time, for that matter).\u00a0Sometimes I arrive at noon and the students are already mid-meal, in which case I scurry to grab my food and join a table feeling like I\u2019ve somehow arrived very late (which is not the case). Otherwise, the students are still midst their mid-morning activities and they haven\u2019t even started the lunch prep duties, in which case I feel like I\u2019ve arrived too early (again, this is not the case) and am standing around uselessly until lunch actually begins.\u00a0I find this lack of an exact start time to be a very interesting, considering just how time-conscious my Japanese peers, host family, and school experience have all been. I wonder if lunch time is not exact because there is more emphasis placed on the motions of \u201clunch\u201d rather than the promptness of \u201ctime\u201d at this point in the education system; preschoolers are educated on the way to do things, rather than the timely fashion in which it should be done.\u00a0. For example, a child has not finished lunch until has every grain of rice is cleaned from their bowl, even if it takes that child more than an hour to do so. I couldn\u2019t even imagine being given more than 45 minutes in my elementary school, let alone an hour to finish lunch. If I didn\u2019t finish lunch on time, well too bad for me.\u00a0I either had to re-pack it and take it home or throw it away.<\/p>\n
Does anyone else face very interesting (either expected or unexpected) challenges when it comes to being \u201con time”‘?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last autumn, I compared the different disciplining styles of both American and Japanese preschools in my Engli … \u7d9a\u304d\u3092\u8aad\u3080