It’s official. I’ve had my first bike collision. With another bike fortunately!
I was the person in the wrong, thinking the way was clear for me to turn. Of course, the poor cyclist hit me straight on causing me to be flown off my bike. Luckily for me, I was once a gymnast and I think I managed to land pretty much on my feet! The other guy was even luckier and somehow managed to stay on his bike!!!
While I was definitely shaken-up, I left with only a dented bike basket and a few bruises and scrapes. Phew!! Will certainly be taking that corner with more care in the future…
In other new, this week I had my first demonstration lesson. I was horribly nervous for this lesson, especially with 15 teachers coming to watch, including my Kyoto Sensei (vice principal)! However, the students were very cooperative and the lesson ended up being rather enjoyable. I thought the students had improved drastically compared to last week, and were even speaking more English for a change! I felt so proud. Then came the post-meeting.
I was originally led to believe this lesson was to observe the dynamics between my JTE and myself and our team-teaching. However, as the comments from visiting teachers started, I felt like I was almost being personally attacked! ‘Why did you not include ‘x’?’ ‘Why didn’t you do ‘x’ after ‘y’?’ To make matters worse, the questions were all aimed towards me and my JTE barely uttered a word! I was left to defend my lesson planning and actions on my own. Was my lesson really that bad?
Of course, now that I reflect on this meeting, I realise there could be some massive misunderstandings. For one, the meeting was conducted in English. This can obviously cause for translation problems both linguistically and culturally. I have come to discover that Westerners use a specific language when providing feedback to a colleague. Feedback, while critical, is often given in a suggestive and positive-sandwich method (for those unaware of this sandwich, it involves one positive, then one area of improvement, before finishing with a positive). However, it appears through the Japanese-English translation, this method can sometimes be lost. Instead, you are left with critical comments that can almost come across as hurtful.
In any case, I need to remember that this can be an easy cultural misunderstanding, and look past that language barrier. They weren’t just disregarding the lesson and the positives, but were in fact giving me advice and improvements for future lessons. Even if their language was perhaps more critical from a Westerner’s point of view, they were only thinking of the best intentions for the students and myself as the teacher. In those regards, I am grateful I had the opportunity to show the teachers where I was at as a learner, and gain knowledge from their experience as more practiced teachers.
