Kumi what?

At my junior high, each grade has five “kumi” or groups. This is the way that Japanese schools split up the students. Each kumi has its own classroom and a home room teacher. I guess you can compare it to American elementary schools. The students have all the same classes and everything together. I think it’s the same for high school as well. I’ve been told it’s a way to foster the group spirit that is prevalent in Japan, which makes a lot of sense. We had that team concept in my middle school, but I didn’t really have the same classes with a lot of people. Here students have the same classmates the entire day, and usually have the same classroom. The teachers are the ones who have to run around and bring their stuff everywhere. It’s a good way to keep track of kids and a good way to keep the teachers slim. Especially when you have three floors.

What I am getting at is that with three grades, that means that I have five different English classes. And the first years are split up when they have English class so I basically have 10 first year English classes. Needless to say, I’ve been doing a lot of the “jikoshoukai” (self introduction) lessons. Basically I show some pictures on the projector and the sort. I always make sure to put in a picture of my old house with the pool to tell them that is my backyard. It’s a good way to get kids to remember you. Then I slip in a picture of a kitchen and I might as well be a Rockefeller.