Timothy Baril

It’s Monday morning. Rain drizzles down. I show up to school wet, dreading a dull day of classes. Lucky for me, it’s just as I fear.
First period grade 9s. I stand next to the chalkboard after a good morning greeting that wouldn’t register on a decibel meter for singing mice. The Japanese teacher teaches. Homework [...]

Teaching in Japan
Jet Programme
Teachers report that students basically failed at their English midterms. Results were terrible, across the board with all 3 grades. Teachers from other subjects indicated similar results.
I suspect that if the city of Moriguchi doesn’t improve its education system by pumping a lot more life and heart and professionalism into it, [...]

Teaching in Japan
JET Programme
Midterms day one of two today. English tests were today. The English teachers are busy at their desks, tall stacks of tests and work books and files handed in from students at their elbows. They work steadily, heads down.
It kind of makes me wish that Japanese teachers didn’t have so much [...]

Teaching in Japan
Year 2, Month 3
The very next day following the staff meeting, the first year teachers take the first year students aside and speak to them in the gym for another lecture. At the morning meeting with staff, the principal encouraged staff to seek help from each other, and join each other in classrooms [...]

Teaching in Japan
Year 2, Month 3
Difficult Students
My first class is first year students again this week. The class is terrible, worse than before. They are rude, unruly, and completely ignore the teacher. She struggles, looks flustered and red faced, the class is a complete waste of time. No teaching was done at all, and needless [...]

Teaching in Japan
JET Programme
Though I don’t yet have details, I have heard that there were serious incidents last night involving first year students misbehaviour, or that at least the first year teachers have gotten to the point where they have spent last night, and perhaps today, contacting parents about the children in an attempt to [...]

If you haven’t seen this anime, please follow the link below to read up on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toradora!
The artwork for Toradora! is decent. The characters are fairly common style, though I found the main pair’s faces just a touch different, which helped them stand out. The soundtrack was fair, nothing special, but didn’t seem to detract from [...]

It’s my first year on the JET Programme (Program) and I’m already finished my time at my second school. 3rd semester only runs from January to March, and within that you miss about 3 weeks between beginning and end of term. SO SHORT! And unfortunately, I’ve been quite sick for 6 weeks of the term, [...]

The Day Before
Unfortunately, during the graduation preparation period, I find myself increasingly either useless or ignored. The staff, with no lessons to discuss with me, are off doing things on their own. I find myself in an empty staff room, forgotten and alone.
It’s probably the fact that I’ve only been here for 3rd semester. [...]

Icon of Hope, Symbol of Difference
By Timothy Baril
Why are we here? Why are we JETs in Japan? You thought it was to teach English? It’s not to teach English. Well, ok, maybe a little bit. But that’s not the most important part of your job. You want to learn English? Here’s a textbook and some [...]