多賀中学校の評議員を仰せつかっているので、先日他の評議員の方達と一緒に生徒たちの給食をいただき、その後教室でいくつかの授業を参観しました。母校といえど校舎は移転しお昼も私の時はお弁当でしたから、高台の気持ち良い校舎のランチルームで整然と給食を食べる中学生の姿に年月の経過を感じましたが、間違いなく皆多賀の生徒たちであり親しみをもって様子を見せてもらいました。
給食は小学校が学校で作っているのに対し、中学は業者に委託していると聞いていたのであまり期待していなかったのですが、ご飯が温かくて美味しく野菜スープも熱々なのに感激。ご飯の量は大盛り、中盛り、小盛りと選べます。メニューはこの日ハンバーグかミートボールのどちらかを選択。写真では少なそうに見えますが、私にとってはまあまあの量（成長期の男子生徒はどうかな）でした。コロナ禍で全員がランチルームに入ることを避け２、３年が先、１年生がその後、それぞれ２０分という決して十分な時間ではありませんが、二つに分けた状況では仕方ないことだと思いました。
さて、授業参観は英数社会音楽など各学年の教室を回ってそれぞれ７分程度見せていただいたのですが、板書をなさっていたのは社会の先生だけであとはみなスマートボード？で授業を進めていらっしゃいました。国語が見たいと思って昨日再度行って廊下から見た教室では逆にほとんどの先生が板書で授業。新しい機材を有効に使っての教え方に感心しましたが、それでも先生個人の持ち味や教え方でクラスの雰囲気や生徒の反応が違うのは興味深かったです。先生と生徒との交流も一方通行でなかったのはよかったのですが、生徒の教室内での先生への話しかけが殆どタメ口だったのに正直驚きました。気持ちはそれでいいのですが立場的にはどうなのかな…と。
Since I was appointed to be a member of the board of trustees at Taga Junior High School, I went to the school to eat School Lunch and followed by class visits in several classrooms with other members. Although I graduated from the same school, it was relocated from the original place and School Lunch was not provided when I was a student, so there are many differences from then and now, but the students are all from the Taga area and I felt very close to them.
The School Lunch at the Elementary School is made in the school but in contrast the lunch in Junior High is made by a lunch service provider and brought from outside the school, so I didn't expect much. However, the meal was not bad. Warm rice came with hot vegetable soup and they tasted good. Students can take the bowl of rice among three different amounts (large, medium and small portions). As for the main dish, on this day, there are two choices, meatballs or hamburg steak. Personally, I was ok with this meal and amount but I wondered if it might be not enough for the male students who are in the middle of growing up. Due to avoiding too many students in the lunchroom because of coronavirus, the first twenty minutes are reserved for senior students and the next twenty minutes is for junior students.
Well, after lunch, we visited several classrooms to observe Math, English, Social studies and Music class. Most teachers were using smartboard (?) to teach their subject and only one teacher wrote on a blackboard with chalk. It was interesting that each class had a different atmosphere and students' reaction depending on the teacher's method and nature. I was glad to see that there were some interactions between teacher and students and the students in the classroom were acting. The students in the classroom were not acting in a passive way. However, they were mostly talking to their teacher in a very casual manner which surprised me. I cannot judge whether it is good or bad but it is very different from my school days.
