More online classes! (and other stuff)

Due to the increasing number of cases of the Xi(aka Omicron) variant of the CCP virus across the country, including Ibaraki Prefecture, for the past two weeks elementary schools have been doing classes online. However, since there has not been a significant drop in cases at the moment (for the past few days, there have have been over 1000 cases in Ibaraki prefecture alone), online classes have been extended for one more week. I have mixed feelings about this.

I have no problem with this going on for my 3rd and 4th grade classes, as I can make progress even if they haven't taken the textbooks home with them (and I have the digital materials anyway), and I can make activities that involve everyone in some capacity. My 5th and 6th grade classes on the other hand... it is getting a little difficult without them being at school to really make progress. However, I am trying to take advantage of the school's online learning system to create some activities/exercises for them to practice what they (are supposed to) have studied. I'm preparing a listening activity which is similar in style to the listening tests that I have prepared, but I'm not preparing this as a test, meaning I'm allowing them to check the resources that I also intend to upload before the lesson.

In other news, I did submit my official resignation to my employer finally. I was bracing myself for some sort of grilling/haggling to get me to stay on board, but surprisingly it never came. I told them how I felt, but was careful not to tell them that I left because of money (even though that is part of the reason I am leaving). The truth was, I've been working as an ALT for over 5 years, and I have just gotten tired of it. Matters that came up back home just before school started last year really hit me hard, and the amount of difficult students I've had to deal with this year have really sucked the drive to continue any further. They extended an olive branch offering me some other positions elsewhere, and while I didn't openly refuse them, I did say I would consider it and let them know. I was expecting some sort of roasting about me quitting the HR training they were giving me, but given that I quit after two weeks, the damage and fallout was minimised on that front, not to mention that the position was never guaranteed in the first place. Besides, they didn't really assign me any important work aside from screening a few sessions with some ALT candidates and assessing their demo lessons. 

Finally, I have an appointment lined up to inspect a potential apartment on the 26th. I am a little bit concerned, as racism is rampant when it comes to renting an apartment in Japan. Up until now, I have been using Leopalace, a rental company that is known having no problems renting out apartments for foreigners, but this specific apartment is not a Leopalace apartment. The company that I have been dealing with asked me some standard questions, althought the questions have the potential to be grounds for refusing to lease an apartment to me. They asked my nationality; how long I lived in Japan; if I had an emergency contact in Japan; if I was a student or company employee, and why I wanted to move. Worst case scenario, I settle for Leopalace apartment that is maybe one or two stops away from my ideal spot. Hopefully, this won't be the case. 

It's not called Omicron. It's supposed to be the Xi variant.

Well, things have started going to shit at one of my schools. Since last week, it seems that the Wuhan virus has finally made a splash at school. It started off with the majority of 6th graders from one of my classes being absent - apparently they weren't all infected, but were considered close contacts to the person that was. Come today, and find out that the entirety of that 6th grader class is now taking the week off, the entirety of one of my 5th grade classes is also taking the week off. Furthermore, the remaining 6th grade class was down to around 10 students today, so I ended up cancelling my scheduled class, as there was really no way to continue progress with the text book, with 80% of the class not at school for this week. I spoke to the home room teachers, and we agreed to do a online/hybrid style lesson for the 6th graders this Thursday, but have to make the lesson in such a way that doesn't require the text book, as the students at home didn't take their textbooks home with them - which is understandable, as I never give them homework anyway. 

As a result, the school had a meeting on how to continue forward. From what I understand, any siblings of the students from those absent 5th and 6th grade classes are also required to stay at home for the week, which is a good approach at trying to contain the problem. Furthermore, while in the past, students could take their masks off during P.E. and break time, students are now required to keep their masks on at all times at school... except when they're eating lunch, obviously.
It is a bit concerning, given I have regular contact with the students. Since finding out about this last week, I've avoided playing with the students outside during break time. On the other hand, it gives me an opportunity to prepare for future lessons during that time, but it does kind of suck. 

Speaking of things sucking, my city seems to be in a State of Emergency again - where restaurants will close at 8pm, no alcohol to be served during that time, and some places have chosen to close during that time - including my regular gym. Again. Fortunately, the other gym near my apartment seems to still be operating, so it looks I'll be going there in the mean time until my usual gym opens up again. 

Online classes for the first time

Since late August, Ibaraki prefecture (among many other prefectures) had been under a State of Emergency (here on out referred to as SOE). What this entails is that people are required to work from home (where possible), restaurants have their hours shortened to only open until 8pm - and no alcohol to be served during that time - and schools, although technically open for classes from the beginning of this month, are to have online lessons.

In my city, this is the first time for all teachers to run their classes online. Of course, for students to be able to attend online classes, they need laptops and access to the internet. For the former, Ibaraki prefecture has had some sort of special funding by the central government where all schools are being supplied with Chromebooks for each and every student to use, and all schools have had their internet infrastructure given upgrades to allow all students to access the internet via their chromebooks when they're at school. However, for those who do not have internet access at home (and there are a few students here and there that do not), and for those who do not have any parents at home to supervise them (due to work), the school is open for them, and they can still do online lessons using the school's internet.
However, because the classes are online, it's possible to run a lesson with all classes from each grade attending at the same time - so for example, if there are four classes worth of second graders, you can run the class for all to attend at once - basically leaving teachers with more time freed up after class. For the last three weeks, I've run a few online lessons for my elementary school. I was a bit nervous with my first lesson for a couple of reasons. For one, as I'm looking at a camera, rather than students, it was hard to gauge reactions of students to see if they're paying attention, understand, or have no idea what I'm talking about. The other reason, is that because most of the activities I do in class require some sort of direct interaction with teachers or with other students, I've had to adjust my activities accordingly. One activity I normally do, is "small talk" where the home room teacher and I will split the class in half, and the teacher and I will go to each student asking one question for them to answer (which we explain/demonstrate before the start of the activity) - this ensures that the students have to speak English, while it also gets the home room teacher involved, and by setting an example, it gets the students to also try (in theory anyway...). Instead, what I have had to do, is pick students at random to do small talk (of course, with a demonstration first with the teacher), as there's not enough time to go through two classes worth of students for this exercise.
Another change I have made, is using powerpoint slides. Normally, I use the blackboard, but in this case, to make it easier for students to see and understand, I've been preparing powerpoint slides instead to explain certain grammar points, or as flashcards for students to practice pronouncing the vocab. For my first class, it seemed to go well with them. On the other hand, with more time freed up, as a result of doing both classes at once, I have more time to prepare lessons and powerpoint slides. 

The SOE will actually be wrapping up on Thursday, with Friday meaning the return of regular classes. Honestly, I'm looking forward to it, as I really don't like sitting at my desk at the teachers' office for long periods of time. That, and being able to interact with the students will be nice too.