Creative Writing

As much as I, as an ALT, would like to think I should be encouraging more oral communication from students, most of the time it is writing exercises that really bright up my day. Or more specifically, reading the students' creative writing exercises.

This week the students were taught the grammar point "I'm going to (verb)", and they were made to write what their aspirations or expectations for themselves in 15 years time.

I managed to sneakily take pictures of 2 students' masterpieces without getting weird looks from the teachers around me. Take note: both of these are written by 13 or 14 year old boys. And while they are very materialistic, they're also quite creative in some ways.


Exhibit Number 1:

I am going to have two kids. I am going to marry a cute girl. I am going be an office worker. I am going to be happy. I am going to make 300,000 yen. I am going to have tropical fish. I am going to have a big house. I am going to pick up 1,000,000 yen.





Exhibit Number 2:

I am going to have three kids.
I am going to marry Yusuke (a boy's name).
I am going to take care of Yusuke.
I am going to kiss Yusuke everyday.
I am going to love Yusuke.
Yusuke is going to love me.
I am going to cook tororo imo (type of potato).
I am going to live in a pink house.

This was not the only uhh 'boy wants to marry boy' piece we got.

This is another 'culture shock' issue I faced in Japanese schools - that how boys have very um close and loving relationships with each other, which is kinda cute in some way, but then it can also get a bit erm 'ero' sometimes and they get really huggy and touchy feely with each other.......yeah.

(But then apparently its normal here......)

I never went to school with boys...can anyone shed any light on what 12-15 year old boys are like in other cultures..?