Certain classes are a treat to teach. (As I walk through the door, calls of Pat, Pat, Pat assail me.) And certain students makes these certain classes excellent because of their energy, humor, and willingness to practice English. I am thankful for them; without such participation, this job would be depressing.
The assignment today was to answer the following question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" There were several mundane answers that bored me, but a few, creative and witty, dazzled me.
For instance, one student wrote, "Hi, silly everyone. What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be a great ruler and diminish all countries. I can also stand as namber 1. So in the future, I want to go to all countries and make all people obey me. Thanks. But I kill strange humans soon."
It doesn't get much better than that. Oh, but it does. The boy drew a picture. He is wearing a cape, a crown, and a shirt that has the number 1 printed from chest to abdomen. Around this figure, stick-men bow. I took the liberty of writing the word "slaves" over these men. I think the boy appreciated that.
The pictures sometimes clashed with the writing. For instance, one boy wrote an innocent bit about how he wants to be a cook. Everything seems harmless until you look at the picture. A man wields two large knives, one in each hand, which are covered in blood; fallen victims writhe on the ground, limbs severed, blood spewing from their wounds. At the bottom of the paragraph, the final line is, "I want to go a foreign country and cook food," but an offset addition written a few inches below that remark reads, "and eat people."
I wrote "Good job!" on his paper.
Another student wrote a charming piece about something I forgot. The reason I mention him is because at the end of his paragraph he wrote an unrelated note: "I love Pat. I need Pat. I don't love [JTE teacher]."
He showed me. I said, "I love you too. Now go away." The JTE wasn't thrilled.
These students, and others like them, are godsends. They're outgoing, boisterous, and simply fun. Sometimes I can't hold back my smiles when I'm in front of the class. It's a great feeling.
A girl accused me of being an otaku (an intense anime lover and gamer) after I mentioned one of my favorite shows is Dragonball Z. She didn't know that I've heard that word before. She was stunned and ashamed when I told her I understood. She mumbled gomennasai.
Another student, a splendid young man, shouts "I love Pat" at random intervals during class. I think he's sincere.
Experiencing all this, I wish I could help them more. Teaching is a difficult task regardless, but add a language barrier and it becomes epic. I want to communicate with them, I want to give them better advise. I am limited, and it's frustrating. At the very least, at the bottom of it all, at the end of the day, we can have fun together. That's something.
