Change And A Challenge

 Before we moved here, I decided I didn't want to set up a room as a classroom. I've had to use one room for teaching in every house I've lived in.  I wanted things to be different this time and not have people coming in and out of the house.

This house is small, and having nine cats makes it feel smaller somehow. I thought that Mikey and I could continue to teach in the other city and commute from here. For now, that is alright, but once Mikey moves out, it will be very difficult for him. It takes between 30 to 40 minutes from here to where we used to live. So, going and coming back is about an hour's drive. He might move to that area or somewhere close by, so picking me up to teach would mean 2 hours or more driving every day, plus teaching! That would get old very quickly.

After yesterday's meltdown down I spent hours on the internet looking for some way to make money. The problem is that I really don't have confidence in my ability.  I looked on sites like "Fiverr" to see if I could offer freelance writing, but looking at what is on offer made me feel very inadequate!  I looked for survey sites, but everything is in Japanese! I know surveys don't make real money, but just getting some Amazon gift cards would mean I could help pay for cat food!

In the evening, I was talking to Hannah, asking if she could make some kind of flyer for the other city. She reminded me that she had searched for community centers near here, and there are a few. As much as I would like to use them, it would mean having to walk about 10 to 15 minutes, carrying books and teaching materials. This time of year it would be alright to do that, but come the summer, I know that just stepping away from the air conditioning would make me sick! Hannah and I talked a little more, and I decided that I should just set up a classroom in this house. It won't be easy, but it's doable!

That's the change.

The challenge is 3 parts!

First is setting up the tatami room to use as a classroom.

The tatami room

It isn't too bad, but the doors got damaged. Some is from the cats, of course, but some damage was done years ago and never fixed, the constant story of this house!

I want to cover the tatami. Even if I wasn't going to use this room as a classroom, I would cover the tatami. It's difficult to clean; if the cats pee or puke on the tatami, the liquid soaks in very quickly. Covering the tatami with something easier to clean will help, especially with the smell that builds up over time!  I have tables and chairs from the old house that I can use, but I would need some bookshelves, preferably with glass doors, again because of the cats. In the old house, I didn't allow the cats into the rooms I was using to teach in. Here, it will be more difficult to do that.  The biggest expense would be a new air conditioner.

Also, the entrance would need a very good clean. There are a couple of litter boxes in the entrance. I'll have to move them, but I don't know where to! Plus, outside, near the front door, will need a good cleaning and the weeds pulled in that area.

The next challenge is actually getting students. I'm kind of excited to try this, but there is this small voice in the back of my head saying that it didn't work before. We lived here with my mother-in-law about 16 years ago. I spent ages going door to door with our flyers, but no one even called. I remind myself that there are a lot of new houses that have been built since that time. Also, in the next small town, which is just a few minutes' drive from here, there are loads of newer houses that have young families. To start with, I'm targeting junior high school kids, high school kids, and adults. I feel confident in teaching these age groups. I really don't want to teach young kids, but if asked, I might, but only from 5th grade!

Hannah is making the flyer for me, I have to get it printed, then go door to door, before it gets too hot.

The last challenge is changing how I teach. I've been teaching for 34 years. I've used the same textbook all that time and haven't really changed to using technology, like power points, which Hannah says are so easy to make and teach with!. The junior high school English curriculum has completely changed, so I need to get up to date on that. I also need more confidence in explaining things in Japanese, which meaning getting back into studying Japanese.

So I'm giving myself a month to set things up. The learning for me will be ongoing. One thing with Hannah studying to be a junior high school English teacher, I can get information from her on the changes to the curriculum.

Wish me luck on this endeavor. If it doesn't work out, at least I've tried!