The teachers throw around the word “team-teaching” to mean whatever they do with Larin and I. G Sensei is really disappointed that she can’t have us come to her classroom because she loves “team-teaching” she says. Basically, for the oral communication classes, team-teaching means the lessons we have planned. The Japanese teacher floats around in the classroom or, when I look at him helplessly, he translates directions into Japanese.
Today H Sensei came to tell me that he must return exams in our class, so I should wait in the teacher’s room until he sends a student to get me. After that, he says, we can have “team-teaching”. I can’t help but think that real team-teaching would mean I’d come to the classroom with him even if I won’t be doing anything right away. But either he doesn’t want to inconvenience or bore me or he just doesn’t want me there.
This idea of “team-teaching” doesn’t make a lot of sense in certain situations. The nature of my job is that I’ve been hired as an assistant. The school is, supposedly, “required” to have a Japanese teacher in the classroom with me at all times. Naturally, this means different things to different teachers. Some teachers have me come just as a token English speaker. They have me read passages aloud or pronounce words. Nothing a tape recorder can’t do, except I’m flesh and bones and making the sounds they’re trying to make. Other teachers have me run the whole class. In several of the classes I teach the students have a very high English level, and can understand most of what I say and, in theory, I don’t need a Japanese teacher there holding my hand. But that is specific to my high school which has a special English program.
Jamie had a junior high kid throw a desk across the room the other day because he didn’t understand.
