Lesson learned: Paper Airplanes cause regret.

I decided it was a good day to play Bingo with my third grade class.

I brought in a bingo card for each student, and considering as it is difficult for them to write English (read:impossible)I gave them the challenge to just draw a picture of the sport or musical instrument that I had recently taught them into each bingo square.

The game went well, everyone cheered, also we played until everyone won. I don't like to leave kids out of the satisfaction of winning. (In kindergarten, we play musical chairs except I never remove a chair. No one loses, and no one seems to notice.)

After class I went to the teachers office, and sat there trying to look busy for a half hour. Pretty soon I hear the usual "Shitsureshimasu!" At the door, a child asking for permission to enter. He walks right up to me, and starts saying all sorts of things in my general direction. I notice he looks sincere, so I pretend as if I know what it is he is saying. "Mm. Mm." Is my response to everything. Which, in writing, looks gross. But it is a grunt of understanding.

He says something about a "Bingo Cardo" indicating the sheet I gave him. Then he says in english "I'm Sorry. Gomenesai." Which would mean he is pretty sorry.

I have no clue what this little guy is sorry about. But I tell him not to worry about it.

After this I go upstairs, as I walk by this last class I had literally the whole damn class gets up and swarms me in the hall. All of them saying a similar speech like this last little guy. They almost all conclude with "I'm Sorry. Gomenesai!" At this point, I am concerned.

I see a few of them reading something on the board as they speak to me. And I peek in. On the board, one of the other teachers had written something in English, and a Japanese interpretation on the bottom.

"I made Paper Airplane Bingo Card. I'm Sorry."

What??

This country has poisonous caterpillars.

So help me god, poisonous caterpillars.

On top of that, poisonous moths! Fuck that, moths and poison?

It's no wonder they developed Mothra.

Violence in the land of the rising sun

I was running late for class, I couldn't find my English teacher, so I started towards class alone. When I got upstairs I was met with the usual "Scotti Sensei!!!!!" The kids were unusually thick in the hall. I was talking to two of them when I looked over and saw this crazy little kid beating the shit out of another student.

My company has a strict "No interfering!" policy. They basically tell me regularly not to commit any acts of discipline. Which normally is totally fine. In fact, I prefer not punishing any student for the usual things they do in class. And the teachers are fantastic at being a strict enforcer. Seriously, if a student is acting up, he (or once, she) gets dragged out of the room by their ankle and screamed at in the hall. They always come back in tears, and silent. It's amazing.

So I start for the students fighting in the hall. For clarity, these kids are ichi nensei. So 7th graders? I yell "Hey stop! Which means practically nothing to them. But one of the kids is holding this tiny one back, and he looks at me like "Seriously? Okay....you asked for it." And lets go of this pocket Hercules. The little one took off into the crowd, with his angry little fists flying. I grabbed him just prior to his tiny fist connecting. I picked him up, which just pissed him off even more. He started crying and kicking me. I pinned his arms against him and dragged him into an empty room, just as I had seen every teacher do before me.

Standing between him and the door I was effectively a shield against his ADD fueled rage. No clue what he was saying to me, but I bet it would have made my mother blush.

Suddenly the head of teachers walks past the room, I opened the door saying "Sumimasen!" (Excuse me) He came over and within seconds had the kid in tears on the floor.

I still have no idea what that was all about. But that kid really seems to respect me now.