In a couple of days English classes will start once again.
We (the Okayama missionary team) had a long discussion on Friday about whether to change the format of the elementary English classes going into the new year.
I think the issue most discussed was whether we should continue to allow the students the flexibility to show up whenever they want, an idea that was introduced to fight the problem of students not being able to make it to a fixed class time because of schedule conflicts. Some students are consistent in their arrival times, but others aren’t, and it typically contributes to classroom disruption. So initially I was in favor of removing the flexibility rule.
But maybe, I wonder, it’s not nearly as bad as I think it is. Maybe with a better class plan (which I’ve sketched out for the next four weeks) it won’t be so much of a problem if a new student shows up 30 (or 45, or 21.2 for that matter) minutes into the hour. The student might be lost for a while, but at least the student was able to make it.
What will continue to be difficult is teaching two hours in a row without any turnaround time. Tuesdays still aren’t any fun when I have students from 4:00 to 6:00. It’d be nice if someone else could switch with me for the second hour, but I don’t think there’s anyone available.