Well one of the more scary but I suppose constructive ideas of the powers that be at Jogakuin (my school), is to have all the teachers fill out an evaluation form for each class that they teach, and in return, the students fill out the same form about the teacher. Then you see if your ideas about each other match up. Then they get to write comments about you or your classes. I didn't fill out the form about my kids, due to time restrictions at the end of term, and because I didn't feel I knew the kids well enough to be fair, but they, it appears, had no such reservations about me.
Now given my surprise at how personally I took the comments on Mairi's report card (even though I knew they didn't mean much), it was with trepidation that I went up to find out my popularity rating today.
It's an unnerving thing to be on the other side of the fence, facing the ones you've been trying to impress and impress upon. My policy has always been that teaching is not a popularity contest, and that your job is to get the material across more than anything. I don't care if they hate me if they learn something, I always say. It's alright to believe this honestly, and be aware that you can't please all the people all the time, but it's quite another to be told directly they hate you and why!
Anyway, I won't bore you with the details. Let's just say, that more people seem to grudgingly like me than hate me, which is heartening, and more people feel they are learning something than not, although depressingly, the negative stats are there too. There were a few points which I will take seriously, and try to improve on, which makes me glad I read the report, but I thought I'd leave you with my favourite comment.
Under the heading: "Things I wish this teacher would do to improve the class"
Anonymous wrote : "I wish she'd shut up!"
A great epitaph for a conversation teacher, and I'm sure many of you will appreciate her sentiments! And with that....... I'll shut up!
今日は生徒の評価アンケートの結果をもらいました。生徒たちはいろんな質問に答えるし、個人的なコメントも書くことができます。茉利の成績表のコメントをどれだけ個人的に受け取ったことに自分でもびっくりした私が、ちょっと緊張して、校長室に入って、自分の人気の確率をもらいに行きました。
いつもこちから評価して、判断しないといけないから、立場が逆になるとちょっと怖いね。「教えるのは人気者大会じゃない」、とは私の昔からのポリシですし、個人的に好かれなくても、生徒が何か一つ学んだ、と言ってくれた方が満足と信じてきています。だけど、実際にはっきり直接「嫌いだ」とその理由を言われると、やっぱりいやよね！
それで、結果は？細かいことは面白くないでしょうけど、「嫌い」と言う人より「好き」と言ってくれた人の方が多いから、ちょっと安心しました。「全く何も習っていない」と言う人より「自分の英語力があがったでしょう」と言ってくれた人の方がおおいし。だからと言って、好評率が１００％という訳でももちろんない。建設的なコメントもあったし、反省しながら、頑張ることができるから、結局レポートを読んでよかったと思う。
でも最後に、一番好きな／ショック受けたコメントを教えてあげましょう。
「先生に要望したいこと」のところで：
｢黙って欲しい。」
その気持ちに賛成している人もいるだろうと思って。。。
会話の先生として、恥ずかしいか。。。。？
まあ、それ以上、黙るしかないな！
I helped Mummy make some trifle before we went too!
Maybe in a few months, I will be able to swim as well as F!
Well I'm getting used to being back at school. We've only managed to miss the bus once, and thankfully on a day Mummy wasn't working, and it's even beginning to get cooler in the mornings. I'm happy to see everyone at the bus stop, and then it's off to school.
I'm a busy girl these days. I started ballet last week - note the hair! Mummy needs a bit of practise! And I've got piano lessons and I'm trying out swimming classes too. It's hard work being 4!
Being 7 has its ups and downs too. N just lost another tooth, so she's the tooth fairy's best friend!
Could only snap it from the moving car, but the sky this morning was a thing of beauty, full of the promise of a cool Autumn. Bring it on!
A clandestine return to Onomichi to visit our old haunts. Nice walk along the seafront. A good Sunday.
起きてから気まぐれでいきなり尾道に行こうって決めたOn the Pondファミリー。かき氷とレトロのサイダーでちょっと涼しくなった気分。町の道を散歩して懐かしくなった３人。走り過ぎて転んでも、なじみの公園でプリキュアのバンドエードを張れば、なっとくするWeechan！
"Baby" N came to stay with Aunty JJ last week. It was so nice having them here. Doesn't N-chan look cute in my old dressing up skirt! But I wished F could have come too! I love F!! I'm looking forward to him coming back to Japan next week!
Its September - that means it's officially Autumn. Except someone has forgotten to tell the weather. It is still over 30 degrees every day, so there is nothing else for it, than to get straight into the shaved ice! 3 colours at once? Even better!
The other week I went back to Onomichi for the first time since we moved. It was lovely to see all my old friends from my Puppuru music class when I was 2.
Only SO managed to escape the camera!
