Miyashiro Handicapped School

Today I went to the Miyashiro Handicapped School to do a few classes. I was really nervous about going because I really didn’t know what to expect. Last week I met with a couple of the English teachers and went over the lesson plans and they gave me a little background on the school. Most of the kids suffer from cerebral illnesses and are confined to wheelchairs. I was also told that along with their physical disabilities, a lot of them were affected mentally as well. I was scared about what I’d really be doing there. Would the kids be able to understand and respond to me? I can’t even get the (apparently) fully functional kids at my two regular schools to understand and respond. Ever since I was told I’d have to visit the school, I was dreading it. I think the teacher that was taking me around could sense my fear. “Are you nervous?” he asked me several times. “Yes.” “Don’t worry, just relax and have fun,” he said. I tried to tell myself the same thing.

My first class of the day was a group of 4 elementary school students aged 7-10. The theme was Christmas so the teacher was dressed up as Santa, another teacher was dressed up as a reindeer, and they had me hide in Santa’s bag. After a little bit of chatter between Santa and the class, I popped out of the bag! The kids didn’t seem too impressed, as though they knew there was someone in the bag. It was not the reaction I was prepared for. I thought they’d either be scared that a huge stranger (standing on a little trolley thing, making me a few inches taller) emerged from Santa’s bag, or they’d be pleasantly surprised to see me. Nope. So we started the lesson with me introducing myself, then asking them a few questions, then they had a chance to ask me questions. They were fearless! The way they just raised their hands and yelled out questions was a new experience for me coming from two schools filled with many unmotivated students. One of the little girls really stood out. I think she was 7 or 8 years old, and she was like translating what I was saying to the other students if they didn’t understand. After that they sang “Santa Claus is coming to town.” I think the plan was for me to teach them it in English, but I didn’t have the lyrics memorized and they didn’t print any out. So the kids did it in Japanese. It felt like the extended version because they were singing for a while. But it was an awesome class. And whenever I’d pass them in the halls later in the day, or walk by their class, they’d call out my name and wave. They were really cute.

My second class was a senior high school class of 7 students. This class was also really fun. I dressed up as Santa, and the teacher was the reindeer. I did my introduction and Q&A period, then we did a “Fruit Basket” activity. Some of the students had trouble speaking but somehow another one of the students could understand and acted as a mediator. They had lots of questions, which they bombarded me with while we all ate lunch together.

My last class was with a junior high class and we did the Q&A stuff and they made Japanese New Year’s cards. I think this was the shyest group of the day but they still made the effort to speak, although they did have the teacher whispering in their ear, haha.

I really had a good time and it was a very memorable experience. They’ve asked me to go back sometime next year. But I can’t imagine being a full-time teacher there. They have roughly 120 students and the same amount of teachers, if I understood correctly. I was teaching the “light” kids, meaning they were able to move around by themselves, whether on foot or by wheelchair. And they were pretty attentive. Another class I went into (but didn’t teach) was a “heavy” class where the students had very little motor function. It was pretty sad. I think it takes a special kind of person to be able to teach at special needs schools. You either need to be a genuinely positive and outgoing person, or a great actor able to fake a smile all day long. Guess which one I was. In any case, I was exhausted by the end of the day. Obviously the kids don’t need people feeling sorry for them but honestly their situations suck. One of the questions I was about to ask the students was “What sports do you play?” Luckily I caught myself before asking it. What sports can they play? One of the kids (who must have been on the “heavier” side) asked through a translator if I had a girlfriend. I said, “No, not yet. Do you?” I felt bad after I asked that.

It was quite a day. I hope I never forget it.