T.G.I.F.

~Friday is my favorite day of the working week, although not for the usual its-the-weekend reason. My schedule runs from Tuesday through Saturday, with Sunday and Monday off, so Friday is not the end. It is, however, my least-stressful working day, and I always look forward to it.

In general, I group my classes into three separate levels of stress. High-stress classes involve groups of young children who think I'm a human jungle gym, classes which require all my energy to simply control the students and attempt to teach them some basic English. This is not to say that I don't enjoy the classes; rather, they take a lot out of me. If my job consisted of nothing but these kinds of classes and students, I wouldn't be able to handle it. Some type-A people are built for that. I am not. Thankfully, I only consider about 15% of my classes to be high-stress

Low-stress classes are private lessons with advanced students that I can hold regular conversations with. Although I put a lot of effort into these lessons, they don't require a large amount of planning or intense levels of energy. These classes are less like teaching lessons and more akin to tutoring, which I have a lot of experience with and greatly enjoy. About 20% of my classes fall into this category.

In between the two extremes are mid-stress classes, which include toddler and baby classes (taught with parents), group lessons of upper-level grade-schoolers, more challenging mid-level private lessons, and group middle- and high-school lessons.

Friday is not my lightest work day (I actually have fewer lessons to teach on Thursday), but it is very low-stress. I have two parent/child classes (mid-stress), followed by four private lessons. One of the private lessons is mid-level, but the other three are high-level and low-stress. In other words, Friday's classes are, in general, a pleasure to teach. And, as you can see, very hyphenated.

By comparison, Saturday is by far my most difficult day. I have two high-stress group lessons in a row, along with another three mid-stress lessons. Thankfully, the day is "bumpered" with low-stress lessons at the beginning and the end, which softens the blow a bit. By the end of the day, I'm usually in a semi-manic state thanks to the combination of having survived the high-stress classes along with the impending days off. This makes my final few lessons of the week very "interesting".

Well, another Friday has come and gone. I don't dread the coming Saturday, but I do always get a bit apprehensive. This Saturday is actually the last day in the regular teaching calendar, which means that I'll soon move to all-new classes. Perhaps my last remaining Saturdays in Japan will feature a bit less insanity. ~Oyasumi!