For my CIP, I volunteered at Muromachi Jidokan, an after-school care center for elementary school students. I was interested in volunteering here because I have previously mentored children through a program at my university, as well as at home in New Jersey. At the Jidokan, my role was to help students with their homework and to play games with them once they were finished.<\/p>\n
I was initially daunted by the idea of helping students with their homework. I was not confident enough in my own language skills to be able to explain how to solve math problems or other homework questions in Japanese. Moreover, I often found it difficult to understand the students when they were speaking. I had been used to hearing adults speak in Japanese during my school instruction, but I did not have much practice with listening to young kids, who sometimes mumble or say words incorrectly. Thus, interacting with the kids at Muromachi became a great language experience for me. I learned how to understand the kids when they spoke and how to communicate my own thoughts to them in a way that they could understand. For instance, during one of my visits to the Jidokan, a first-grade student asked me for help with her math homework, in which she had to read the time on different images of analog clocks. I had forgotten how to say \u201chour hand\u201d and \u201cminute hand,\u201d so I explained them as \u201cthe short one\u201d and \u201cthe long one\u201d instead. Even though I didn\u2019t use the correct words, the student understood what I was explaining to her, and she was able to figure out the rest of her homework. I was happy to find that her and other students began asking me more and more for help with their homework, as they started to see me as a teacher instead of a temporary volunteer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the best moments of my time at Muromachi Jidokan was when the students finally referred to me as \u201cSean-san\u201d instead of \u201cgaikokujin sensei<\/i>,\u201d or \u201cforeigner-teacher.\u201d During my first few visits, I always pointed to my name tag to remind the students of my name, but it didn\u2019t seem to stick, and most of them continued to call me \u201cgaikokujin sensei<\/i>.\u201d A few weeks in, the students started to call me \u201cSean-san\u201d all of a sudden. Although I found it funny when the kids called me \u201cforeigner-teacher,\u201d it was nice to finally be seen not as a foreigner, but as a part of the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I really enjoyed my time volunteering at Muromachi Jidokan. I will miss going in on Tuesdays and seeing the kids get excited that I was there again. They were all so friendly, funny, and full of energy that I left the Jidokan smiling every week. I recommend the Muromachi Jidokan to any future KCJS members who are looking for an exciting and rewarding volunteering experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For my CIP, I volunteered at Muromachi Jidokan, an after-school care center for elementary school students. I … \u7d9a\u304d\u3092\u8aad\u3080