I’m an English teacher?

Apparently I am…

Yesterday I was asked to teach poetry to the 3^rd year Junior High School students (ie 9^th Grade). After about 20 minutes of admin type stuff, the class teacher turns to me.

Sensei: So, today we will be learning about English poetry. You will write your own poems. Damien will demonstrate. Damien, please…

Me: Yes? (Hoping I have misheard)

Sensei: Please write a poem on the board.

Me: Now?

Sensei: Yes.

Me: Um…

Sensei: Please write a poem on the board so that the students will know what to do.

Me: Uh…

I managed to come up with some drivel about wonderful Autumn colours, which was subsequently copied by about 50% of students, substituting Autumn with Spring, Summer or Winter.

Some of the poems were really good though. I guess not speaking a language isn’t really a barrier to writing poetry using it.

The topics chosen by some students were a little strange though.

- One student wrote about faeces, and how they were all disgusting and smelly, except one, his “magnum opus”.

- Another student wrote a gushy poem about her boyfriend, including the lines “beautiful golden hair” (on a Japanese guy?), and “love him forever.” At 15 years of age??

I have posted some photos I took of some of the students’ poems with my mobile phone while I was marking them. I would have taken more, but I was getting some strange looks from some of the other teachers, so I stopped.