cleaning time

**For those of you who don't know, students and teachers clean there own schools in Japan.
Today, I had yet another profound thought during cleaning time (I always have profound thoughts during cleaning time). But this one has been brewing a while. I have noticed, especially at the elementary schools I teach at, that the cleaning supplies for cleaning time aren’t so good. The brooms are small (which are perfect for the students) but they don’t sweep up a thing. Sure, they move the dirt around, but never into a pile – only into little streaks behind the path of the broom. Of course, it isn’t like the students do any constructive cleaning during cleaning time. Most students just clean in random places, sweeping here and then over there, never into the same pile. But my prevailing thought is, well, things would more likely get cleaned (or cleaner than otherwise) if students had better cleaning tools. For goodness sake, I can’t even clean well using what the students use and cleaning is what I am really good at.
Today, while sweeping the floor (one of my favorite things to do - seriously, I love putting dirt in its place), the thought of how much better I could clean this floor if I had a better broom came into my head again. But then I started applying it to other things as well. I have been here over a year, and I consider myself a tool for the Japanese schools to use. I am here to be used by Japanese English teachers to teach English and I am here to give my students contact with a foreigner who speaks native English. I wasn’t a very good tool when I first came because I had never taught before (nor was I given the education to learn how to teach) and because I had come into this totally opposite culture not understanding it and not speaking the language. But over the past year, I have slowly been shaped into a better tool. I have gone through a year of cultural immersion and have thus learned an incredible amount about this culture simply by working in the place where culture is most taught – the schools. I am slowly but surely learning Japanese. And as I understand a little more everyday, I understand how to teach my students better everyday. I have gone through a year of teaching without fully knowing what English my students have been taught. But now I know. There are so many other things that have shaped me into a better tool, and though I have so much more to learn, I have learned many things that help me to teach my students better. I know why they hesitate when asked to speak English, I know the English they should know so I can encourage and push them to speak that English and to learn more, I know cultural things that help me understand their minds and hearts better, and I know basic, huge grammatical differences between Japanese and English, which helps me to understand their learning difficulties better (English is hard people!). I may sound all high on myself about how much I know, but just know that I am fully aware of how much I don’t know, especially about Japan. I would be lucky if I have even learned 40% of what is “Japan” (i.e. culture, world-view, etc.), even without considering the language (I have probably learned 15% of that). But the little I have learned has sharpened me into a better English teaching fool.
And looking at the bigger picture, I am being sharpened everyday to be better used by God. I will spend the rest of my life being sharpened by God, but coming to Japan has certainly done a lot of sharpening in the cultural adaptation and teaching English departments. I can see how God is molding me and preparing me for any future services for Him (*Mexico*) while still using me here.
To read my good friend Peter's hilarious description of cleaning time, check his Souji Time Part 2 blog.
May God be giving you also great thoughts as you do the usual, daily thing.