In my year and a half in the field so far, I’ve observed some odd characters in the world of Japanese elementary schools. Today I’m here to discuss a phenomenon that I have observed in other schools and heard tales of at still more.
He’s called The Stray.
The Stray is a student, but unlike all the other students, The Stray is inexplicably never in class. At 11:55, right in the middle of 4th period The Stray can be see walking outside by the staff room window, sitting in the hallway, playing on the stairs, or running in the gym.
The Stray, when appropriately applied, can achieve great things. The Stray can participate well in an English conversation, he can run a really fast mile, and he can do better than others on tests, but only when he wants to. Unfortunately, that occasion arises very few times in a given semester. Yet his is not a bad child. Annoying? Certainly. Impossible to understand? Somewhat. Frustrating? Absolutely. But I’ve never witnessed our Stray in a fight or hurting another child. That would simply take too much effort and The Stray is very anti-effort. Once in a while he will work up the muster necessary to sass a teacher, and then, once again, The Stray will find himself spent and unable to care about anything.
Sometimes The Stray finds asylum in the weaker members of the staff room. He will saunter in during 1st period, having abandoned class, and talk with the Teacher’s Aide who happens to find herself lacking in projects for the period. She’ll coddle him and laugh at his jokes, and feed his strange, incomprehensible tendencies. Sometimes other teachers will try to push him back to class, but they know it’s for naught. The same applies when he walks by the window, outside, during class time. A teacher will open the window and shout at him to go to class, to at least get inside, but The Stray is undeterred. He is the Fonz. He is too cool for elementary school and class is the jukebox he could fix if only he wasn’t so completely out of give-a-fucks.
I taught The Stray at my base school last year. When he wasn’t hiding under his desk, he was getting up in the middle of class and walking out. The teacher, who has a reputation for being a hard-ass, would try to fetch him, often succeeding in bringing him back once, only to have it happen again… and again. Eventually, the teacher would understand that it was futile and would take comfort in the knowledge that class ran better without him.
Today I ran into another school’s Stray. Volunteering at an English Day, I was in the middle of a game when I noticed a small boy behind me. “Are you in this group?” I asked him in Japanese. He shook his head no and continued leaning up against a wall. ‘Not my school, not my problem’ I figured and later got him to join in the game. It was only later I learned he was the school Stray. Magnificent! To see another one in his natural habit, and this one displaying the ability to participate in some fashion. Fascinating.
I now teach my Stray’s younger brother in 1st grade. Aside from some spectacular nose-picking abilities, he seems to be entirely normal (albeit prone to replying to everything with “I’m sleepy”). For now we can all rest assured knowing that The Stray seems to be a singular event, wandering each school he attends, plotting when he’ll next slide down the banisters or take a nap in the hallway.
Be warned: The Stray can also be a girl. I have one of those at my mountain school, but she is, however, far less consistent in her Stray tendencies.
Tags: elementary school, Japan, JET program, JET Programme
Interesting! I’ve never encountered a kid like this. At least one that wasn’t special needs. I wonder what’s up? That’s strange they allow it to happen. But like you said, the class probably runs better without him. That’s really sad