Thank You Notes

Last week, I had my last class with the sixth graders at one of the elementary schools I've been visiting pretty regularly for the past two years. Like last year, the homeroom teacher had them each write me a thank you note and decorate it as they liked. I think he wrote some short sentences on the chalkboard for them to choose from and copy.

Although I don't know which letter is from which student (I couldn't actually learn all their names), I really appreciate the effort they put into them. In elementary school the students learn the alphabet and how to write their own names, but that's pretty much all the writing practice they get. So for them to write these short letters requires a lot of work. It's also very thoughtful of the teacher to take time out from his own classes to have them make these for me. So all in all, I'm really touched.

I thought I'd share two of my favorite letters. The first one is from a girl named Sayaka. She wrote:

"Andrea Teacher, Thank you very much for English class. I had a lot of fun in English class everytime. I like "The Big Turnip" in your class. I will try to study hard English in junior high school."

I was really surprised to hear that she enjoyed the big turnip lesson; that's every ALT's least favorite lesson to teach. We basically have to teach them a fairly dumb story which includes no useful vocabulary or grammar points. But I actually kind of got into it when I had to teach it, so I was happy to hear I hadn't made a fool of myself for nothing.

My absolute favorite letter is from a boy named Yusuke. I think it reveals a lot about how my English classes typically go.

"Thank you very much for your class. I had a lot of fun in English class. I must to sorry because I have screamd in your class. I will see you soon."

Someday I'd like to sit in on a P.E. class and see if it's as loud as an ALT's English class. I imagine that the noise level could be pretty similar. I always feel bad for the teacher attempting to hold class in the next room, but as an ALT you don't have much choice in the matter. Either you're playing an exciting game and the kids are jumping up and down and screaming, or you're attempting a quiet but boring activity and the kids are asleep at their desks. I think most of my best lessons have involved at least a few kids screaming. It's probably a good thing that I don't have any intention of becoming a teacher in the U.S., because I'd be coming back with some pretty strange preconceptions about what constitutes normal and acceptable behavior.