I had four lessons at Etajima Elementary School today. Before lunch, I took the first-years and second-years; with both, we played 'Dwarfs, Witches, Giants'. The first-years had been reading about janken ('Rock, Scissors, Paper') in their Japanese lessons, and in my previous lesson I'd taught them English janken, so this lesson was a continuation. 'Dwarfs, Witches, Giants' is always popular with the children; instead of making shapes with their hands, they have to stand up tall for 'giant', crouch down for 'dwarf', and make a face for 'witch', and there are rules, just like in janken, for which beats which. Giant beats witch, witch beats dwarf, and dwarf beats giant. The game becomes more interesting, though, because it's played in teams (everyone in the team making the same gesture), and the winning team has to try and capture as many of the losing team (who have to run away to a safe 'base') as possible. It's a great game, and both classes had a great time. The first years played in the gym, which proved to be a little small (the escaping children had reached their 'base' before the chasers could reach them), and so, given that it was a glorious day, with the second years we played outside, which was much better. I'm always struck by the huge difference between the first and second years- it's amazing how much the children grow up in just one short year. The first years this year, though, seem to be especially babyish; it'll be interesting to see how they fare next year.
After lunch, the fifth- and sixth-years both played rounders in their lessons. It really was an ideal day for being outside; indeed, I got a little sunburnt! The fifths were, as ever, genki (although they've definitely become less well-behaved since their teacher changed), and they played well. One team, though, had no clue about fielding, which meant that in the end I had to bring the first team's innings to an end in order to allow the fielders a chance to bat. It really is the case that with rounders, skill in fielding is far more important than skill in batting. I tell the children this every time, and every time- unfortunately- I'm proved right by the inability to field (or, for that matter, the lack of interest in taking part) demonstrated by one team or the other. I mention that the more enthusiastically they field, the sooner they'll get to bat, but this never quite seems to sink in. To be fair, as well, with 'Little Yuki' and Takegawa-kun, two members of the softball team, on the same side, the other team was always going to be at a disadvantage; those two could almost take care of their team's fielding on their own.
The sixth-years' game followed a similar pattern- one team was excellent, the other less so. However, the difference was less emphatic than with the fifths, so both teams were able to enjoy two innings each. The teacher managed to follow on from his 'all English people only take their shoes off when they go to bed' revelation during the previous lesson by telling the teams that their innings had ended when in fact they were nowhere near finished... not once, but twice! Just like with English customs, he obviously has no clue about the rules of the game (of course he doesn't listen when I explain to the children), but that doesn't stop him from ignoring the fact that (1) it's my lesson and (2) I know what I'm doing, and barging in to mislead the children with ill-informed comments. Of course, these comments have the added side effects of (1) making my blood boil and (2) making himself look like a complete fool, but I take comfort from the fact that most of the children (who, of course, know more about what they're doing than he does) ignore him most of the time. Perhaps it's not just in my lessons that he's like this...
This was the last lesson with the sixths, who, in the main, are an excellent class. They're sometimes boisterous, but I can honestly say that I have always looked forward to classes with them. I hope they don't change too much when they get to Junior High School. Anyway, it was good to have gone out on a high note with them.
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