Professional Development for the Next Three Days

I confess. I have not touched anything related to schoolwork since we finished Term 1 and had our Closing Ceremony on July 20th. I think when teachers get off for the summer, we need at least one week to detox. I know my fellow teachers can all relate. Those last few days before Summer Break are brutal. Whether you're finishing up the school year or if you're ending the first term of the school year like those of us here in Japan, it's pretty much the same mood. In addition to all the documents, reports, grading deadlines, parent conferences and classroom clean-ups, we teachers somehow have to juggle all of that with keeping the students engaged in learning. The students are just as excited to have their break and so their attention span may be shorter than usual and their behavior may be a bit off balance. Throw in some crazy hot weather to the mix and you'll understand why most of teachers do not spend the first week of our summer vacation partying and celebrating, but rather we find ourselves sleeping, indulging in self-care or escaping somewhere away from chaos, classrooms and curriculum binders!

As much as I would like to continue to be a blob for the remainder of my break, I volunteered to represent my school's English department and attend a three day conference for private schools in Kanagawa prefecture. Since two of my colleagues attended last year, I figured it was my turn to participate. The venue is close enough to me and the hours are not so demanding. Plus, it's always nice to connect and network with other teachers. There are numerous opportunities here in Japan to participate in Professional Development and I'll try to gather some links for some good ones to look into. It's always great when you can come back to your own school with a new idea or two and I think it's important to share and collaborate with other educators.

Registration begins from 13:00 so thank goodness I can still sleep in a bit. That being said, it's close to midnight so I best get to bed. By the way, can you believe it's still 30 degrees Celsius at midnight?!

xox