Sometimes I wonder what the deal with some of these kids is. I've got 2nd grade classes that can do multiple sentence introductions, telling me their hobbies, their birthday, what kinds of foods they like, etc., and 6th graders that don't know how to say the word "eleven." Like any subject, you're going to have a bell curve of ability, interest, and dedication to its study, but I can't help but wonder if there's something else involved.
Then a story popped up on Japantoday about a woman who couldn't handle her child's hyperactivity, among other problems, and ended up killing him. The Japanese Ministry of Education estimates there's "1-3 moderately hyperactive children in an average elementary school classroom." That seem high to anyone?
I've seen some unusual behavior from the kids. One kid absolutely refuses to participate in any activity, climbing on desks and chairs while the homeroom teacher tries to get him to participate as I teach English games. He'll walk up behind other kids and hit them in the back of the head, grab all the cards from the table and throw them in the air, and just generally be a pain in the ass. Then one day I let him play with my computer and he was like a mouse, drawing in MS paint for 45 minutes.
Another pair will make all kinds of noise during the lesson, interferring with a lesson that at least some of the kids seem interested in. They'll play the game, but when it's their turn, they just say, "what the hell are we doing? What are you talking about?" I don't really care if they don't want to study, but if you don't pay attention to the instructions I gave 4 times, why bother playing?
It also reflects on the homeroom teacher when a kid is crazy. Some of them are in total control of the room, batting aside inane questions about genitals and generally ruling with an iron fist. Others are more laissez faire, perhaps hoping the natural order of class harmony will magically return. Either way, I have NO power to discipline a child, nor would I really want to. I don't know what's acceptable here, and in the US, it seems like all you can do to a kid who doesn't want to be in class is take away priveleges like sports, then kick them out of school. Not good options for a kid who really appears to need structure of some kind to avoid becoming a hobo.
Are they hyperactive? Lazy? Do they not see the point of English? Maybe they want to be baseball players or construction workers or something where English really doesn't come into play. I'm not going to force anyone to study the stuff, since it's a really young age and kids are apt to wanting to play all the time. I just wish my Japanese was better so I could figure out WHY they not only don't want to study, but feel the need to obstruct the learning of the other kids.
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Yeah man, I have no idea what to do in that situation either. I have one hyperactive kid at one of my schools and I'm always a bit annoyed at the homeroom teacher, who just lets him smack other kids in the head while they're trying to pay attention to what I'm saying.
Last week, though, there was this coalescing of rudimentary Japanese social order, where I managed to engage everyone else while ADD kid was screwing around. The kids near him got annoyed and told him in unison to shut up, which actually shamed him into staying quiet and learning how to play the game with the others. I'd just roll with it and try to target the kids who actually care enough to listen to you--can't save everyone, after all.
Then again, the cynicism in this post is probably colored by the fact that he once tried to stick a pencil where the sun don't shine while I was talking to one of the other kids. Fortunately, I was dressed in grossly stereotypical American apparel (hoodie in loud colors, baggy jeans, Adidas kicks) and the jeans saved my ass, quite literally. Good thing for him, too, I would have probably dropped him with the Thousand Years of Pain and our town would be out one JET this year.
--Les.
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