Nadine Dare FL 395 November 8, 2012 Day Shadowing a Teacher Shadowing Kidd Sensei During Ushiku Student Visit

Kidd Sensei, one of the teachers whom Im student teaching under, arranged for a delegation of Japanese students to come to Muncie to give a presentation and spend two days with the Southside high school and Muncie Central high school Japanese classes. He requested that I shadow him for a day to see what it is like to host people from another country, and I quickly obtained permission to do so from my English supervising teacher. Kidd Sensei thought it would be nice to provide refreshments on the first morning and asked me to take care of it. I then went home and prepared for my first, and only, full day of Japanese during my student teaching. I began the day by bringing donuts for everyone in the morning. This ended up making me late. When I arrived, it was to find that my two Japanese students and their hosts were already waiting for me. I came in greeted everyone and then put set out all of the food. Once this was done I went over to the Japanese students and offered them some food. They acted as though they felt a little awkward, but they got their donuts. Everyone then sat down and talked with them until the bell rang. I stood aside and watched until it was time to start class. I then greeted the class in Japanese, and they responded in kind. I invited the first year students to speak with the Japanese students. At ten past eight, Kidd Sensei arrived with the other ten students and their teacher and guide. It was a relief. I then spent the remainder of the period circulating the room and listening

to conversations after Kidd Sensei told them to split up and chat. I met Kazumi Sensei and belatedly conveyed the information that I was Kidd Senseis student teacher. He was surprised and pleased. Watching the children interact was interesting. I noted how the Japanese students were extremely gracious while the first years stumbled through their formulaic sentences. We made them trade tables twice, which helped with some students who were too shy to talk to their initial table of Japanese students. There was little awkward silence, and whenever we noticed some, one of the adult would step in to help. It was the first opportunity that the first year students had ever experienced in which they could communicate with native speakers. Second period consisted of splitting the second through fourth year Southside students and the Japanese visitors into their hans (groups). Each group of Southside students gave a group of Japanese students a full tour of the school entirely in Japanese. I thought that this was a great way to enforce Japanese language skills among the Southside students while providing the Japanese students with both a tour and an opportunity to begin making new friends. As soon as these tours began I ran off with one of the Southside students to edit and print off one last label for the principals office. Every other room in the building had a Japanese label, and we wanted it in place before the groups reached the main office. This was one small emergency that took place during the day. After the tours, it was time to go to Muncie Central high school. The short bus contained only enough seats for all of the Japanese students, their teacher, their guide, and Kidd Sensei drove. Since there was no room for me, Kidd Sensei asked his wife to drive me between the two schools. During the drive, I learned that I had done a homestay in Japan in the same town where she had grown up. I also had the opportunity to meet Kidd Senseis daughter, Mila.

Muncie Central allowed the adults some down time while the Japanese students were given another tour by an advanced class. I found this to be an excellent way to keep the students engaged and learning while affording the teachers a break. During this time, I spoke with Kazumi Sensei and the guide. I learned more about the relationship between Ushiku and Central high schools. When the students returned, Kidd Sensei took all of the students on a tour of some of the outlying buildings. I learned much of Central high schools history and the Japanese students were thrilled with the huge gymnasium. Upon returning, Kidd Sensei asked me to go ahead and begin teaching his next class while he took the Japanese students to another building. I returned to the classroom and waited for the students. This was an excellent opportunity for me to employ the all-important skill of being flexible. I greeted the class and launched into reviewing likes and dislikes. The students were confused, thinking that I was a substitute teacher because I forgot to introduce myself. I was able to manage and effectively teach a large class that I had never met before. As a classroom teacher, I will keep this lesson in mind to remind me that flexibility is key, and I have successfully taught an unexpected lesson. One of the difficult aspects of hosting a group of people from another country is trying to balance time with the foreign student and the usual students. Kidd Sensei was able to give the Ushiku students a better experience in Muncie because I was there to help him cover one of his normal classes. Knowing this issue ahead of time will be extremely helpful to me in the future when I may want to host students from Japan. In the afternoon, Muncie Central gave an assembly, during which the Ushiku students previewed their evening presentation. I spent the time running around the auditorium, recording

the event through pictures. It was a beautiful presentation over the tsunami that had struck their home town a year and a half ago. The end of the school day was not the end of the day for us, it was only the beginning. That was the mark of a shift in my shadowing duties for the day. I changed from helping Kidd Sensei with the Japanese students to helping Kiddsan (Kidd Senseis wife) with preparing enough food to feed eighty people. We cooked for hours, directing students and talking over meat and vegetables. We all ate dinner together, the Ushiku students, all of the Central and Southside students taking Japanese, and their families. Finally, it was time for the Ushiku students presentation. People arrived from all over Indiana, including many of my Japanese professors from Ball State. It was possibly the single biggest gathering of Japanese people ever in Muncie. One hundred and fifty people arrived to listen to twelve Japanese students share about the tsunami and how it affected them. I helped seat them all and, as soon as the presentation ended, directed them to the room containing Japanese style snacks and refreshments. After an hour, the crowd began to die down. It was at this time that a logistical error came to my attention. No one was appointed to clean up the mess. My friend whom I had called to help and I began clearing counters and washing dishes. We finished half of the clean up before Kiddsan came to assist. If we had not been there, Kiddsan would have had to clear and wash all of the dishes for cooking for eighty people. If I hold an event like this, I will have students sign up for clean up as well as cooking in the afternoon. As it was, we left at 10:30pm. Kiddsan and Kidd Sensei would not have been able to leave until well after 11:00pm if my friend and I had not been helping.

I learned much from my day shadowing Kidd Sensei. Hosting a group of people from another country is a great idea for both my students and those visiting, but it is not an easy task. During that first day, many things went wrong. Tiny emergencies were constantly arising, but it was manageable with all of the help. I am grateful for the experience and the opportunity to see the work behind the scenes. The guests only saw a fraction of the work we put in that day. As ambassadors of our country, it is vital that even if plans do not run smoothly, they are adjusted in a way to maximize student learning.