“Mainstream” schooling and disablism

01May09

This post is my* contribution to Blogging Against Disablism Day 2009.
I’m getting good at tuning out background noise in the Board of Education office, a task made easier by the fact that all the conversation is in Japanese and I’m not fluent enough to follow it all anyway. But occasionally words and phrases come up [...]

Filed under: Japan, Musings, Teaching, World   |  10 Comments
Tags: Ableism, BADD09, BADD2009, Blogging Against Disablism Day 2009, Education, Equality, Japan, Schools, Special Needs

There must be something in the water

17Jun08

It’s early summer, the rainy season is upon us and the mosquitoes are out. And this week love is in the air. Or something like that.
Once a week, I attend a cooking class. I’m not a totally awful cook, but I could certainly use the practice. The teacher speaks a little English, but mostly I [...]

Filed under: Japan, Teaching   |  3 Comments
Tags: Japan, Teaching, Teenagers

Lunchtime English lessons

05Jun08

I’m a peripatetic EFL teacher. I work at six schools on a regular basis, with occasional visits to several more and a few kindergartens thrown in for good measure. At the junior highs I teach at, my role is well-defined and the teachers I work with, as well as the other staff members, know what [...]

Filed under: Japan, Japanese, Teaching   |  3 Comments
Tags: Anecdotes, English, Japan, Japanese, Teaching