My Faults

Usually, I talk about how I love my job and consider myself to be a great ALT... blah, blah, blah...

Yeah, I think highly of myself and am not shy about the fact that I think I rock... but, for this entry... I decided to make things a bit interesting and list my faults.

Even the best of us have things that we could/should improve on... even, if for whatever reason we think it's not that big a deal or can really give three shits about... heh heh... yup, in other words... I don't see myself fixing these faults.

So, now... the list of faults I have (when it comes to work):

1) I barely make it to work on time... maybe even sometimes I am a couple seconds/minutes late.

-It's kind of bad since, especially in Japan, being on time is such a big deal. To them... on time is actually being anywhere from 30-10 minutes early. And though I have somewhat shed my Hispanic/Miami time during my 3 years living in Japan, when it comes to work... I just can't be bothered. I'm not a morning person at all. So, to begin with... I REFUSE to get up earlier than I already do. Yeah, I don't have to be at work until 9... but, getting up at 7:15 is a hassle for me. In fact, I set up two alarms on my iPhone just because I know I'm going to ignore the first one. It rings... I wake up and just lay in my bed... maybe take a 5-10 minute pre-wake-up snooze. And by the second alarm at 7:30... I'm usually ready to get up. I make breakfast and have to... and I really mean I HAVE TO go online and waste time. I'm not one of those people that starts functioning right away... so, I need something to pass the time while I'm ready to "officially" wake up and face the world. Then I do the whole shower/get ready deal. Sometimes I'm pushing my time when I leave to work... the latest having been 8:52... just 8 minutes before I'm supposed to be at work. Even if do get ready early... I don't head out to work. Instead I bum around... go online... lay on my bed... listen to music... anything to keep me in my apartment for as long as possible before I absolutely have to leave for work. So, yeah... I'm usually at work anywhere from 8:55 - 9:03. And the fact that my teachers don't even notice or care only makes me continue this habit.

2) Apart from arriving late-ish... I sometimes ditch work early.

-This is one that I used to rarely do at my old school... since it was smaller and people noticed me more. But, ever since starting at this bigger, busier school... I've noticed how easy it is for me to slip under the radar. So, whenever I'm just bored out of my mind watching the clock painstakingly ticking ever so slowly, I tell myself "Screw it... I'm going home." I tended to "sneak" out before... but, now... if I happen to run into a teacher on my way out... I just give them the "osakini shitsureishimasu"/"otsukaresamadeshita" bit and walk away without them even thinking about it. It just kills me having to sit on my ass at my desk with absolutely nothing to do... when I can simply be doing that same nothing in the comforts of my apartment. Usually it'll only be a few minutes to half an hour earlier than I'm supposed to leave... but, I have gone balls to the wall and left a good 2-3 hours earlier on some special occasions.

3) I am one lazy, procrastinating mofo.

-Don't get me wrong... I am a good teacher and do my best during lessons and when it comes to preparations. I'm actually maybe a bit too OCD and a perfectionist when it comes to some of my preparations and planning. However, I tend to rarely plan ahead and wait until the very last minute that I have to absolutely prepare. I mean... I arrive at work... slightly on time/slightly late... and I need to have my time to rest and get in my "work" mode. So, I use my iPhone playing games and/or go online even though that is exactly what I was doing just before I headed out to work. I watch the time carefully... and once I realize I should get to work... I get cracking. Luckily for me... once I've prepared one lesson/grade... I'm set for the rest of the week. So, I'll be busting my ass on Monday, Tuesday... maybe Wednesday... and for the rest of the week... I'll just be bummin' on my ass at my desk. I do anything from studying, drawing sketches for students... to simply staring off into space. And I mean it... I just sit and stare blankly at whatever... not even trying to "look" like I'm busy.

4) The iPhone... 'nuff said.

-Yeah... once I got an iPhone... #3 got worse. I used to try and hide the fact that I was goofing around on my iPhone... now... there are days that I'm like... "I can give a rat's ass" and blatantly goof off on my iPhone with teachers around me.

5) I might be a little too buddy-buddy with the students.

-This might not be so bad... but, it does become a fault at times. I mean, it is good since the students get to know me right away and become very accepting of me. My relationships with students are usually very positive and I know for a fact that they love me. I'm actually not trying to brag here or be cocky... I'm simply stating what I hear from various sources all the time (teachers, bosses, BOE people). However, there does come the time that it has been somewhat of a hindrance. This is usually when I need to be more of a disciplinarian. The number one situation will be when the main homeroom teacher is not in the room/absent... whatever... and the students (like we all used to do when we were students as well) go buck wild since the regulatory person is not in the room. The kids go all chaotic and try as I will... they tend to not take me seriously. If I raise my voice... they might get shocked the first time... but, they then laugh it off and think it's funny. I have gotten mad (like once or twice) to the point where I almost screamed (my voice projection is loud enough where I don't have to actually scream), and the students just looked and laughed and pointed at the fact that my face had turned red or that I seemed mad. See... this is when being buddy-buddy with them doesn't work. They don't take me seriously since they've never seen me as a "teacher". They see me more like a friend or older sibling... someone to have fun with. It doesn't help that when I first introduce myself... I tell them to just call me "Victor" and to drop the sensei title. However... at the same time... more positives come from me being buddy-buddy than negatives. It has only been a few times that I felt the need to discipline... so, meh. If anything... I don't really blame the students since I remember how it was when I had a substitute teacher. It's nothing against the substitutes themselves... just that you get excited about the chance to have free time. The students have also apologized and been worried that I was mad at them after the fact... which I always reply with a smile and say that it was no big deal.




So, yeah... these are the main faults I believe I have as an ALT. I still believe I'm a great teacher though... way better than most people come to Japan to teach English. I think it's mostly because I have a different drive and motivation for becoming an ALT and coming to Japan... but, regardless, I take my job seriously for the most part.

I guess since I am a good ALT, I feel that I'm allowed to have some faults that aren't that bad and that I can get away with. I've never heard complaints... so, I'll probably continue with these faults... heh heh.

Anyway... I just wanted to waste time (since I was bored with nothing to do) and write this blog about my drawbacks and negatives. It's good to look at yourself sometimes and put your faults out there so you become aware of them. Even if you don't improve on them... at least you know about them and won't be surprised when someone else points them out.