I'm finishing up my homeroom class managements.  When we had only two weeks to go, a terrible  incident happened.   Three students were involved with this, but one of them caused the same type of problem in May.  If it were not for a thing like this, I would be able to have fun time with my students thinking how we could welcome the new students in this coming April.  But now I have to discipline the students mentioned above.   I will have little time with the other students in my homeroom class.

Whenever students cause some problems, I keep having a dilemma whether I should be hard on him or kind to him.  Of course the priority is to sympathize with the victim of the incident, but apparently there is more to do with the students who caused the problem.  I must be his advisor, I must be his helper, and I have to be his friend.  I must tell him off first, next I must mentally support him, and finally I have to smile at him and listen to him.  Afterward, I must be with him and laugh with him. But the problem this time is the timing.  After the discipline, I have no time to be his homeroom teacher.  I cannot stay with him.  My class will break up for the next school year.

It seems like I must still think about what I can do for him during the spring break.

Tomorrow, students whom I taught 6 years ago will graduate from high school.  I was away from this school for 5 years, but I came back last April.  I still haven't talked many of them after coming back, but when I saw some of them, they said hi to me, and I was always surprised how mature they became.  Appearance, how they speak, everything they showed me highly improved.  This must be natural, but my time stopped 6 years ago.  But they have grown up.   Tomorrow will be a wonderful day.

Some of the students' parents invited me to their party after the graduation ceremony.  They told me that they wanted to share their happy moment with me as the sub-homeroom teacher at that time, which makes me happy.

明日は６年前に教えた生徒たちが高校を卒業する。私は５年間この学校を離れたが、昨年お４月に戻ってきた。またその時の生徒全員と話せたわけではないが、廊下で会えば挨拶をし、いつもその成長ぶりに驚かされる。外見、話し方、彼らに見せられるもの全てが成長している。これは当然なのかもしれないが、私の時は６年前に止まったままである。彼らは大人になった。明日は素晴らしい日になる。

何人かの生徒の保護者が式の後のパーティに私を招待してくれた。うれしいその時を共に過ごそうとのお誘い。当時副担任であった私としては、このことがとても嬉しい。

     I'm looking for the way of giving my students the chance to give a presentation in English.  As our school is focusing on the results of the university entrance exams, I am required to give grammar-based lessons.  I know it is important for my students to give lectures about grammar since the linguistic distance between Japanese and English is great.  But based on grammar lessons, I still believe they need chances to give presentations where they can have chance to speak with a plan which is roughly made in advance.  I believe repetitive experiences of prepared speeches will help students improve they spontaneous speaking.  As they repeatedly have chance to speak in English in front of others, they keep encountering the phrases they tend to use.  Such phrases will be the ones that they are good at using.   Increasing the number of phrases they are familiar with is also crucially important for the learners of English.
     Based on sufficient grammar practice, I also want to give them chances to use the grammar in order to express themselves.  This is the direction I am going in the next school year.  
　生徒が英語でプレゼンをする機会を与える方法を探っている。私の所属する学校は大学入試を重視するため、文法中心の授業を展開するよう求められている。私は、日本語と英語の現距離がかなりあることから、文法の授業が重要であることは承知してる。しかし文法の授業を基本にしながらも、私はまだ生徒たちが大雑把に準備された計画を元に英語を話す機会を必要としていることを信じている。あらかじめ準備をしたスピーチを人前で披露する経験を繰り返し積むことによって、自分がよく使うフレーズに出会い続ける。そのようなフレーズを増やすことは英語学習者にとって非常に必要なことである。　
　十分な文法の練習を基本として、私は彼らにとって自分達自身を表現するために必要とされる文法を使うチャンスを与えたい。この方向性が翌年度の私の指針となる。

     As the current school year is coming to an end, I have begun finalizing my educational work on my homeroom students.  Most of them still cannot do well on daily routines, but some of them seem to have learned the importance for being kind to others.  Others seem to have found their specific goals. Still others succeeded in reconstructing the friendship they had once lost.  A minority of the students, however, cannot stop giving out troubles to their classmates.
     To finalize this school year, I am trying to talk about positive aspects of their characteristics, while trying not to focus on what they cannot do or on their drawbacks.  Because of several naughty, impolite students, my homeroom class has a bad reputation.  It seems like I am the only one who knows about their charms.  As their homeroom teacher, I want to be on their side.
　
　今年度も終わりに近づき、今年の担任としての教育も仕上げに入った。生徒の多くは未だに日々のルーティンもままならないが、幾人かは他人に親切にすることの大切さを学んだ。明確な目標を持つに至ったものもいる。また、一度失った友人関係を取り戻した者もいる。しかしながら、ごく少数の生徒が他者に迷惑をかけ続けている。
　今年度の仕上げのために、彼らのできないことや欠点には焦点を当てず、今生徒の良い面ばかりを話題に挙げている。前向きに自信を持って２年生になってほしい。何人かのやんちゃで失礼な生徒たちのおかげで、私の学級は評判が悪い。どうやら、彼らの良さを知るのは私だけのようだ。彼らの担任として、私は彼らの側に立ってあげたい。

Some teachers just cannot accept how other teachers dicipline their students.  Today one of my co-workers told our chief that students in my class behaved badly in the classroom after school.  I told them to stay at school and keep working on their homework until they finish.  I was waiting for them at the teachers' room.  The co-worker saw my students playing in the classroom by chance, and got irritated by them.  Then she told our chief that she didn't like it.  I have been sensitive for such as thing because I came back to this school this school year.

This weekend I was re-reading many books that I had read before and studied how to manage a homeroom class.  And I noticed one important thing.  When I tell off my students this year, it is not because of their behavior, but of the co-worker.  I have been telling them off for the reason that I can accept but the co-worker cannot.  I should have noticed this earlier.  I am their homeroom teacher, and she is not.  My students follow me, not her.  I could notice this and I decided to smile at them and be as nice as possible because this homeroom class will break up this March.  We have just a month left.  I will try to have fun and make them enjoy themselves.

I told them off because the co-worker irritated me.  I scolded my students because I felt my self-esteem was damaged by her.  But today, thanks to the week-end self-learning, I could get over the scanty thought.  My students are doing OK under my supervision.   They are not out of my control.  They are just unacceptable to her.  

I am happy that I feel free from the co-worker's eye.  I know I do not have to worry that much.  Of course I do care a little because she is my co-worker, and she is a skillful teacher, but I need to bear in mind that her personality doesn't fit my students.  They are lucky that she is not their homeroom teacher.  Probably I am their homeroom teacher because I should.

Finally, I would like to add that I am not saying my students are perfect and my co-worker has prejudice with my students.  I am saying that I am the only one who knows how they are good and what is their charm.  If I stopped praising them, who would be able to praise them?

他の教員の指導を受け止められない教員がいる。我慢できないと言った方がいいのかもしれない。今日は同僚の一人が学年主任に私のクラスの生徒が悪いと伝えていた。私が残って宿題をするように言いつけたのだ。私は職員室で彼らが宿題を終えるのを待っていたのだが、偶然教室で友達どうしではしゃぎ始めたところをその同僚が見かけたようだ。相当イライラして戻ってきての報告だった。私は今年久日ぶりにこの職場に戻ってきた人間であり、いわゆる新米である立場上、こういうことには敏感であった。

今週末私はたくさんの本を読み返し、クラス経営について学んでいた。そしてひとつ大切なことに気づいた。私が今年生徒を叱る時には、その理由は私が考える許されないことではなく、その同僚が許せいないということ理由に叱ってきたことだ。もっとこのことに早く気付くべきであった。私が彼らの担任なのであり、彼女ではない。私の生徒を私の指示を聞いているのであり、彼女の指示ではない。育てているのは私だ。私はこのことに気づき、できるだけ微笑みかけることに決めた。この３月でクラスは解散であり、私たちにはもう１ヶ月しかない。私も楽しみ、楽しませてもあげたい。

私は彼らを叱ってきた、同僚が私をイラつかせたからだ（私のクラスの生徒を批判することによる）。私は自尊心が傷つき、自分の保身のために生徒を叱っていたのかもしれない。しかし今日、週末に勉強したことのおかげで、このちっぽけな考えを克服することができた。私の生徒たちは私の監督のもとそこそこやっている。彼らは手に負えない生徒なんかではない。彼らはただ、彼女に受けて入れてもらえないだけだ。

私はいま彼女の目を気にしないでいようと思える気持ちになれたことが嬉しい。もちろん彼女は同僚であるし、少しは気にしなくてはいけない。彼女は力のある教員である、しかし、心に留めておかなくてはならないことは彼女にはうちの生徒は合わないのだ。私の生徒はラッキーだ。彼らの動きが気に入らない私の同僚ではなく、私が担任なのだから。そう思うと私が担任になるべくしてなっているように思えてくる。

念のため、私のクラスの生徒に非がないと言いたいのではなく、彼らの良いところを知っている私が、他の先生方からの報告を聞いてもなお、褒め続けることができるのであり、彼らを褒めることは担任である私にしかできない難しことかもしれないと思うから、こういう考察に至ったことを付け加えておきたい。

Yesterday, I finished my presentation to our students' parents, and had a little party with them.  I felt that most of the parents had the same feeling about current condition of the students.  They are at a rebellious age and therefore sometimes ill-mannered.  Some tell lies to their parents.  Parents are concerned about their child's behavior, and their future.  To some students, I have to play a role of father as a male teacher, and to others whose parents are extremely strict I have to be a good partner.  I show the parents everything that happens to my class.  I write letters that tell things that I think are important to my students, and the parents are supposed to read them, too.  It seems that most of them always read the letters and agree on the contents.  I think I succeeded in making the most of yesterday's party with the parents.  They are on my side.

昨日は懇談会で学年保護者に対して日頃の学習システムの説明をした。また、その後はクラスの保護者と懇親会があった。どうやら保護者も私が生徒に覚えている感覚と同じ感覚を持っているようだった。生徒たちの多くは今反抗期にある。よって振る舞いも悪いことが多い。親に嘘をつく者もおり、親はその態度や彼らの将来を案じている。またある生徒に対しては男性教員として父親的な役割を果たさなければならず、また親が極端に厳しい生徒に対してはよきパートナーとなってあげなければならないこともある。私は保護者にはクラスで起こったのことを包み隠さず伝えている。学級通信に書き記し、生徒に大切だと思うことを書き、それを保護者も読むことになっている。話した感じだとほぼ全ての親が読んでくれているようだ。昨日の懇親会をうまく生かして親と連携を図れたと思う。

Our school had the entrance exam today.  I was a member of the test-making group.  I think the examinees did well on our test.  I had a hunch that they would get a pretty good score on average, but also doubted it.   The result is higher than my expectation.  I think junior high school teachers in Hokkaido are doing good job recently.  They can listen, read, and some write very well.

Tomorrow, I have to give a short presentation to my students' parents.  It is about our teaching system and how well it have worked so far.  As I give the actual facts, I hope my presentation will give them some hope.  

My homeroom class have been stable in terms of the emotion and motivation for lessons this week.  But last week they weren't.  I will have a drinking party (a little bit conference-like party) tomorrow night.  They will ask me many things about their children, and probably complain to me about things that happened before the winter break. 　However, party is the opportunity for me to bring the parents on my side. 

私の学校では今日は入試があった。私は問題作成に関わっていた。受験者は本当によく健闘したと思う。受験生は平均して高い点数を取るような気がしていた。しかし、その勘を疑ってもいた。結果は私の予想を超えていた。北海道の中学校の英語の先生は本当に良い仕事をしておられる。受験生は聞くこと、読むこと、そして上手に書くこともできる。

明日、私は保護者に向けて短いプレゼンをする。それは私たちの教えることに関するシステムについてであり、どれくらいこれまで効果があったのかを語るものである。事実を与えるとともに、保護者には希望を与えられたらと思う。

今週、私の担任する学級は感情、そしてモチベーションの観点からは、安定している。しかし先週は違った。私は明日保護者と飲み会を控えている。そこで子供についての質問をたくさん聞くであろうが、おそらく冬休み前にあった出来事についても、不安を漏らすことが予想される。しかし、飲み会は保護者を味方にする機会でもある。