Different kids in different places

[moolooman]

I have just begun a two year tenure in Yamagata. It is early days, having only taught one lesson in the class. I have at this stage found it striking how genki and open to me the kids are compared to my last gig in Tochigi. Both are country towns. Has anyone with more experience in the Japanese school game noticed any trends or drivers behind genki or nongenki students.

[Richard_BenoitEnglipedia Drone]

I would say the neighbourhood has a bigger impact than the prefecture. Low rental? ripper parlours? Two schools fairly close to eachother in the same city could seem like heaven or hell respectively.

Also the principal and teachers alotted by the school board to each given school can also have an impact on the atmosphere. Sure there quite a few other factors as well...

[wingbanditHyrule's #1 Mascot]

Yeah, I kind of have a similar situation. I have one school that is further out in farmland, and the kids are very quiet, extremely shy. I think because the area is a very quiet place to begin with. My other school is closer to town, and the kids are just... crazy friendly, haha. Yet the entire area that encompasses both is technically "the country". Interesting how it works. And teachers definitely do make a difference.

[Paul]

I have three JHS's in the same small city, and all three are within 10 minutes or so of each other, one has over 900 kids, and the other two between 650 and 700 students respectively.

Each has it's own distinct atmosphere and flavor I must say and the teachers and principal's play a major part in the atmosphere of the entire school. However one of the schools does have a lot of kids from non-traditional families and those kids have a harder edge to them than kids who are from the more traditional family environment.

I think a lot has to do with the facilities as well, seeing kids in bright open, airy schools, vs one's whose classrooms look like jail cells and are dark, musty and dank, affect the learning curve too.

[GETAK]

You beat me to it, Paul. The lighting and atmosphere of the classrooms and school makes a big impact on the class mood.

Be ready to work a little harder when you teach in dark rooms on low floors where nothing can be seen out the window.

One or two kids could also affect the classroom morale. Even when they aren't outlandishly disruptive. Maybe some snide comments they toss in occasionally makes it uncomfortable for other kids to contribute to the class.

[jessen100]

Maybe some snide comments they toss in occasionally makes it uncomfortable for other kids to contribute to the class.

it drives me insane when the JTE/HRTs doint do anything about this since i think its safe to say, most of us cant notice or hear it. can definitely tell it happens though.

[Kanashibari]

Every school is like night and day.

Kids in private schools tend to be far more well-behaved than those in public schools, due to actually being priveleged to be there.

It's usually the more suburban or industrial outskirts of town which tend to have the most problem kids.
That's where you'll also tend to get the hardcore racists.

[himitsu]

In my opinion the biggest impact on the kids' behaviour and character has their Japanese teacher(s). Of course the general school atmosphere plays a certain role too, but by far not as much as the teacher.
It's my 2nd year in the same schools and it's amazing to see how classes whose new HRT is a different type from the last year one, also changed according to that (sometimes better, sometimes worse..).
I've also never seen a bad class which had a strict or scary teacher.
It's always the laisser faire types that cause new monster generations..

[Richard_BenoitEnglipedia Drone]

In my opinion the biggest impact on the kids' behaviour and character has their Japanese teacher(s). Of course the general school atmosphere plays a certain role too, but by far not as much as the teacher.

I have come to the same conclusions after 4 years and 3 different schools. I have seen the controlled experiments on the various generations. Like the ebb and flow my friend.

[GETAK]

That's pretty true. My favorite classes are often the ones with teachers who occasionally shock me with their verbal tirades on the students.

I have had a few teachers who were kind and soft, but controlled the class extremely well largely by showing the kids respect. This manifested in various ways such as acknowledging them when they spoke out in class, even during lectures. This prevented anti-authoritary behaviour and allowed the teacher to move on with the lesson.

[himitsu]

I have had a few teachers who were kind and soft, but controlled the class extremely well largely by showing the kids respect. This manifested in various ways such as acknowledging them when they spoke out in class, even during lectures. This prevented anti-authoritary behaviour and allowed the teacher to move on with the lesson.

Of course I've also had classes with both very friendly teachers and very nice students. But in that case I didn't think that the students were nice because of the teacher, but rather because maybe they already had a good education at home and the overall class / school environment influenced them positively.

[Richard_BenoitEnglipedia Drone]

Yeah they go hand in hand don't they. Home environment and school environment. Kids show up as first years in all sorts of conditions based on their neighbourhoods. This can either make the teachers jobs easier or harder depending on location. But I think no matter what kids they get, a good set of teachers (being any combination of fair/strict/respectful/funny just all around caring) can make a great difference in the overall outcome.

If you get a bad neighbourhood AND a group of teachers who have already given up and don't care, you will witness hell....

[jessen100]

I've also never seen a bad class which had a strict or scary teacher.

i have. in 2 instances. and one is still the bane of my existence here.