Teaching in a bigger city

Kurashiki is a much more populous place than my previous Japanese residences. There are nearly 700 students at the Junior High School I'm teaching at, all of them have or will have a lesson with me and another teacher, a Japanese Teacher of English (JTE). There's a staff of seven JTEs plus me, meaning there are lots of team teaching opportunities and many fruitful experiences to be had.

Yet, something I hadn't really come across before which I see a lot of now: "bad" boys and girls. "Cliques" or, I think, cute "gangs" of kids who wish to assert their own individualities and personas. They don't conform with the school uniforms, nor the regulation hairstyles. But, I find I have some sympathy with them. I remember how hard I tried to fit in during those adolescent years and I don't blame them for their fluctuating frustrations. Everyone goes through them.

I know that some of these kids have had a hard time at home, though I'm still learning more about each child. I feel I can help them, if they ask or, at least, I can convey to them that someone, even a "foreigner," can care about them, too. I know many teachers think about how they are doing, yet most seem afraid to approach these great potentials of humanity. Any one of these boys and girls could be great successes in their lives, IF they stop and see life for what it really is: a challenge leading to growth and amazing human attainment. I hope I can get through to some of them.