Suggestions for ending ceremony speech

[Will487]

I am supposed to make a goodbye speech at my school's ending ceremony tomorrow. I was told it has to be at least two minutes long. Honestly, what I have to say to the kids could take about 30 seconds at the most. Any suggestions from anyone here on what to talk about in a goodbye speech?

[Otaku]

You'll find that the more you give these speeches, the shorter they will become.

Some suggestions (hot air):
-- It was fun teaching you.
-- You all were great students.

Not so hot-air-ish suggestions:
-- Point out the funny, smart, greatly improved kids.
-- Memorable things you will always remember from some specific things that happened in class.


For me, I simply say: "Bye." If I want to extend my speech, I will find every possible way to say 'bye': Bye, sayonara, bye-bye, goodbye, see you, see you again, ciao, etc.

[jessen100]

are you leaving?

[Will487]

Yes, I am leaving. I have been canned again. This is my second job as an ALT. I did not play ball with the teachers meaning I did not kiss their MEXT enough and so they did not renew my contract. This is fine by me as I cannot stand working in the Japanese system any longer and plan to never do this job again.

Otaku, I will take your advice and keep it short. The subjects are the same ones that I planned to touch upon.

Thank you for your help and suggestions.

[Paul]

Will here is a suggestion for you, tell them the truth.

[Otaku]

Will here is a suggestion for you, tell them the truth.

Oh hell, no! Don't do that! That the movie "A Few Good Men": THEY CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!

[Will487]

No, I certainly did not tell them the truth, at least not yet. My speech went well and I praised the students, told them I really enjoyed getting to know them, and told them to work hard next year in order to ensure some kind of future success for themselves.

The ceremony itself was a huge crying jag and I certainly don't get this whole Japanese drama queen bit that they do. I just made my speech with a grin and kept it as positive as possible. I never had any problems with the kids at my school. The students were all good and I really did enjoy teaching them. The problem arose from the demented and stupid English staff. I plan to give them a letter telling them what I thought of working with them. It will not matter now if they cannot handle the truth because I am basically done at this point.

[Paul]

I think that you are having a hard time adjusting to life as an ALT. Maybe, just maybe, you should be looking for work outside of the school system here.

The system here is not going to change for you, you have to adjust or adapt to it.

[Will487]

Oh I know that. I have no illusions when it comes to the system or the culture here. I have had enough of working as an ALT and I will never be doing this job again.

[jmoriarty8]

i am sorry to bring up a 2 month thread, but i have sympathies for you to some degree. i was canned a little over a year ago like you were (well, to put it more directly, my contract expired and i wasn't awarded a new one), except i was given no reason why. my jtes wanted me to stay, and my students wanted me to stay. of course the contract says it's "not renewable" upon expiration so they got that condition.

[Paul]

i am sorry to bring up a 2 month thread, but i have sympathies for you to some degree. i was canned a little over a year ago like you were (well, to put it more directly, my contract expired and i wasn't awarded a new one), except i was given no reason why. my jtes wanted me to stay, and my students wanted me to stay. of course the contract says it's "not renewable" upon expiration so they got that condition.

In a manner of speaking I think contracts like this are a hell of a lot better than one's that are open ended. At least you know ahead of time that it's only for a set period of time.

I don't particularly like having to go through the headaches of worrying whether or not I have a job in the upcoming year.

[jmoriarty8]

yeah, but it sucks when you have to move from one end of the country to another. my jtes and students wanted me to stay, but my contract company just flat out replaced me anyway. not only they gave me no reason, my jtes were given no reason either.