Go to a quiet room to “create materials” where you can be on your own if kids aren’t at school.
Periodically pop in the teachers’ room to shoot the shit.
How weird that they make you come during vacation lol…what do they expect you to do?
Read a book, watch Netflix if you have the data, ask the groundskeeper if they need any help (I used to paint walls and help with gardening/cleaning), clear out all of the outdated materials in your desk, study Japanese, look for YouTube videos that could be used in class (culture, grammar, chants and songs)
Great time to begin/work on some kind of personal project or professional development stuff. I’ve done a lot of writing during summer months, and only a little bit was ever work related. Also enjoyed exorbitantly long lunch breaks.
I took long bike rides, long lunch breaks (sometimes with co-workers out to a restaurant), took the time to prepare my applications for grad school, worked on a book I was writing, hung out with my co-workers and the kids at their club activities— I cheered them on or was an audience member, ran errands, studied Japanese, and got to know some of my co-workers better.
Honestly, I loved school in the summer. Would I have rather been traveling? Of course. But it was fun to be paid to just hang out and do my own my thing.
I would study Japanese, research potential future trips and plan logistics, read articles, make materials for ES and kindergarten (when my kindergarten was still open), make activities per what my jte wanted for the next 2 terms so they’ll be ready & I’ll have free time when the terms commence, clean out my desk & reorganize, look up random stuff to study and go down the Wikipedia/actual sources black hole, assist the PE teacher with the track & field running/providing water, etc., join some clubs/teams in practice, help the admin make food for lunch, and lastly, the most important – trying not to fall asleep when doing stuff at my desk.
Going to miss trying not to go mad when I finished everything and just had to desk warm!
Good luck desk-warmers~
I study Japanese or make plans for the 2nd semester. If I am at school I try to chat with teachers. I usually am in an office space with other ALTs and we chat.
Most of my down time at school during holidays or exam season, I “test out” potential games for students to play. Like typing games and such. I am actually going to check if the students would be capable, but kinda use it as an excuse to keep my mind engaged. I will play Blooket with fellow ALTs who are also deskwarming. We have been studying for the JLPT with it.
I plan on mostly studying Japanese, prepping some small things and English boards, reading books, planning travel, programming, playing chess, shooting the shit, and probably window in window with subtitles on watch some stuff on the DL lol.
Prep for lessons (if I need to), prep/plan for English club, study Japanese, research things online, read articles or scientific articles, plan trips (pre covid), borrow books from the school library and read, chat with coworkers if they are free, go for a walk around the school grounds (if not too hot). Occasionally join/visit other club activities but depends on the heat. Empty anything not needed out of my desk/cupboard. Generally just chill out at work and be happy that I am being paid to do not much. For the majority of the year I don’t desk warm so I don’t mind it, although it did take a bit of mindset adjusting to do at the beginning. I can’t watch videos or listen to music at my work and for me personally that’s crossing a bit of a professional line as I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing that at work even if I had nothing to do.
Studying, lesson planning, going to summer camps for ESL
✨nothing✨
Everyone has given you really good suggestions. My advice is to take that and make yourself a routine. Plan out what you’re going to do when, even if it’s “take a walk,” or “pay my electric bill,” or “memorize 3 new verbs.”
It’s satisfying to check things off, and it gives my day structure. This keeps me from feeling daunted by the hours stretching ahead of me.
Practice Shinobue/Shakuhachi/Didgeridoo
Bodyweight fitness in the Gym
Practice shooting basketball hoops (Teachers who can play basketball = massive clout)
Short jogs around the school oval
Making art in the art room
Making materials in the staff room
Explore the school
Maybe do a little bit of gardening or weeding since the students aren’t around to do it themselves Even if you leave work, short walks around in the community to introduce yourself
Browse reddit, watch YouTube videos and take *very* generous lunch breaks.
My BOE gives us “work from home” during summer vacation!
Pray god ends it all.
I’ve got a couple of weeks nenkyuu and the last week will have summer camps plus our new ALT arriving!
For the rest of the time I’ll study, and my base school has roller skiing as a club activity so I’ll join them as much as possible and try not to break any bones!
When I worked as a high school ALT, I had to stay at my base school all summer. Since most of the teachers were busy with their work to notice I was missing, I basically brought my 3DS (it was cool at the time I swear) to my ESS club room and played. Otherwise, I studied a lot of Japanese.
Now I work at JHS/ES and so I have to go to the BOE in the summer. I’ll admit I’m lucky and they don’t pay too much attention to me or the other ALT here, so we both often just go for walks through the town mid-day and no one really says anything. Occasionally I’ll join the Track practices at my JHS after school but it’s so goddamn hot here that I definitely don’t do that every day haha. But when I’m actually trying to save face, still lots of studying.
Find something to sink your teeth into to kill the time. I wrote a book in the weeks I had.
In my case, the (super rural) board of education told me I could do whatever without using nenkyuu, just as long as I didn’t leave the country and checked in with my supervisor every few days so they knew I was still alive
Study Japanese (especially Wanikani), read a lot, general lesson planning (mostly game ideas), teaching skills professional development, get involved with sports training at school
21 comments
Go to a quiet room to “create materials” where you can be on your own if kids aren’t at school.
Periodically pop in the teachers’ room to shoot the shit.
How weird that they make you come during vacation lol…what do they expect you to do?
Read a book, watch Netflix if you have the data, ask the groundskeeper if they need any help (I used to paint walls and help with gardening/cleaning), clear out all of the outdated materials in your desk, study Japanese, look for YouTube videos that could be used in class (culture, grammar, chants and songs)
Great time to begin/work on some kind of personal project or professional development stuff. I’ve done a lot of writing during summer months, and only a little bit was ever work related. Also enjoyed exorbitantly long lunch breaks.
I took long bike rides, long lunch breaks (sometimes with co-workers out to a restaurant), took the time to prepare my applications for grad school, worked on a book I was writing, hung out with my co-workers and the kids at their club activities— I cheered them on or was an audience member, ran errands, studied Japanese, and got to know some of my co-workers better.
Honestly, I loved school in the summer. Would I have rather been traveling? Of course. But it was fun to be paid to just hang out and do my own my thing.
I would study Japanese, research potential future trips and plan logistics, read articles, make materials for ES and kindergarten (when my kindergarten was still open), make activities per what my jte wanted for the next 2 terms so they’ll be ready & I’ll have free time when the terms commence, clean out my desk & reorganize, look up random stuff to study and go down the Wikipedia/actual sources black hole, assist the PE teacher with the track & field running/providing water, etc., join some clubs/teams in practice, help the admin make food for lunch, and lastly, the most important – trying not to fall asleep when doing stuff at my desk.
Going to miss trying not to go mad when I finished everything and just had to desk warm!
Good luck desk-warmers~
I study Japanese or make plans for the 2nd semester. If I am at school I try to chat with teachers. I usually am in an office space with other ALTs and we chat.
Most of my down time at school during holidays or exam season, I “test out” potential games for students to play. Like typing games and such. I am actually going to check if the students would be capable, but kinda use it as an excuse to keep my mind engaged. I will play Blooket with fellow ALTs who are also deskwarming. We have been studying for the JLPT with it.
I plan on mostly studying Japanese, prepping some small things and English boards, reading books, planning travel, programming, playing chess, shooting the shit, and probably window in window with subtitles on watch some stuff on the DL lol.
Prep for lessons (if I need to), prep/plan for English club, study Japanese, research things online, read articles or scientific articles, plan trips (pre covid), borrow books from the school library and read, chat with coworkers if they are free, go for a walk around the school grounds (if not too hot). Occasionally join/visit other club activities but depends on the heat. Empty anything not needed out of my desk/cupboard. Generally just chill out at work and be happy that I am being paid to do not much. For the majority of the year I don’t desk warm so I don’t mind it, although it did take a bit of mindset adjusting to do at the beginning. I can’t watch videos or listen to music at my work and for me personally that’s crossing a bit of a professional line as I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing that at work even if I had nothing to do.
Studying, lesson planning, going to summer camps for ESL
✨nothing✨
Everyone has given you really good suggestions. My advice is to take that and make yourself a routine. Plan out what you’re going to do when, even if it’s “take a walk,” or “pay my electric bill,” or “memorize 3 new verbs.”
It’s satisfying to check things off, and it gives my day structure. This keeps me from feeling daunted by the hours stretching ahead of me.
Practice Shinobue/Shakuhachi/Didgeridoo
Bodyweight fitness in the Gym
Practice shooting basketball hoops (Teachers who can play basketball = massive clout)
Short jogs around the school oval
Making art in the art room
Making materials in the staff room
Explore the school
Maybe do a little bit of gardening or weeding since the students aren’t around to do it themselves
Even if you leave work, short walks around in the community to introduce yourself
Browse reddit, watch YouTube videos and take *very* generous lunch breaks.
My BOE gives us “work from home” during summer vacation!
Pray god ends it all.
I’ve got a couple of weeks nenkyuu and the last week will have summer camps plus our new ALT arriving!
For the rest of the time I’ll study, and my base school has roller skiing as a club activity so I’ll join them as much as possible and try not to break any bones!
When I worked as a high school ALT, I had to stay at my base school all summer. Since most of the teachers were busy with their work to notice I was missing, I basically brought my 3DS (it was cool at the time I swear) to my ESS club room and played. Otherwise, I studied a lot of Japanese.
Now I work at JHS/ES and so I have to go to the BOE in the summer. I’ll admit I’m lucky and they don’t pay too much attention to me or the other ALT here, so we both often just go for walks through the town mid-day and no one really says anything. Occasionally I’ll join the Track practices at my JHS after school but it’s so goddamn hot here that I definitely don’t do that every day haha. But when I’m actually trying to save face, still lots of studying.
Find something to sink your teeth into to kill the time. I wrote a book in the weeks I had.
In my case, the (super rural) board of education told me I could do whatever without using nenkyuu, just as long as I didn’t leave the country and checked in with my supervisor every few days so they knew I was still alive
Study Japanese (especially Wanikani), read a lot, general lesson planning (mostly game ideas), teaching skills professional development, get involved with sports training at school