As first dates go, it wasn’t so bad, mostly because it didn’t last that long. It’s amazing what a little humidity and hunger can do.

The start of autumn term at the school where I work has a number of traditions, at least with my classes. Junior high school students have have had the entire summer “vacation” (just under two months) to write a relatively short speech for the annual speech contest. Each grade has a different topic and each assignment sheet is filled with examples and Japanese explanations.

In theory, they will have this ready to be checked on the first day back.

In reality, around half have not finished the writing and several have lost their assignment sheets.

On the first day back, though, I’m relatively kind and let students finish their speeches. I even offer a new assignment sheet. This is especially true  with first year junior high school students as we’ve just shifted students around and many of them don’t know me.

On the second day, though, I stop being kind. and anyone who hasn’t finished has to join me at lunch for as many days as it takes them to finish their speeches.

In preparation for this, whenever it’s possible, I have lunch before class.

Today, one of my students didn’t finish in time and, much to his surprise, I told him to follow me. I took him to a desk just outside the large window of the jhs 1 teachers’ office. Imagine the guard observation post in a prison and then imagine a desk right in front of that and you’ll understand the scene.

His homeroom teacher saw him and came out to see what was going on. This trip was accompanied by many heavy sighs. Also keep in mind that every jhs 1 student can also see my student working.

Even worse, the desk is in a place with no air conditioning which, today, was an issue that almost made me rethink my diabolical plan.

After two months in which my student wrote only one sentence, it took him only ten minutes to finish the speech and another five for me to proofread it.

One down, only eight more classes to go.