Summer Politics

It's high political season in teachers' rooms all over this country.

In this case, it's the politics of dealing with having to come to work without any, you know, work to do.

We make our own little cheating rules. We'll go to lunch -- for two and a half hours. We'll leave early. But it can be complicated.

It's all about showing face over here. Putting in the time. Even if you're not working, or have to work to do, sitting at your desk means you're doing your job in the summer.

This is especially the case for the ALTs. Yesterday I talked with a student for five minute about a speech she as to write. The rest of the time I watched "Dexter" online.

No matter. I was at work, earning my salary as a responsible public employee.

Our attempts to navigate the system -- that is, somehow cheat by leaving early -- can be clouded by guilt. Last week, we headed out for a very long lunch break, getting back at around 3 p.m., which is often our "early departure" time in the summer.

Even though on a normal day we might have left at three, we felt obligated to stay for another hour and do nothing at our desks just to show face. So we left at 4 (our contract says we can leave at 4:15).

And now today, it's a few minutes after 3. All day I said to myself that I'd head out at 3. But then when 3 came along I realized that walking out right at 3 might look like I somehow feel entitled to leaving right at 3. Perhaps a better time to leave would be something like 3:13. Or 3:07 .

Even though I strongly doubt anyone really would be upset that an ALT leaves a little early on a summer day, these things can get to us.

One colleague always makes a point of announcing to everyone within earshot that we're leaving by saying a Japanese phrase that translates to something like "excuse me for leaving before you all" or perhaps more accurately "I know it's horribly rude and I've brought shame upon my family, but I'm heading out now, so enjoy staying till 5 for no reason, suckers!" The Japanese phrase, "osaki ni shitsureshimasu," is commonly used, but I don't use it.

For I don't think it's rude to leave early. There's NOTHING to do. I've been watching season 3 of Seinfeld today.

And I always like to throw in one more justification: Every day during the normal school year we technically work 45 minutes of overtime at lunch, when we talk with students even though the contract says it's free time. And a couple days a week we work about an hour or so of overtime with the English Club. In the fall we'll work overtime every day, as English Club students prepare for speech contest season.

But surely some of the staffers who see me leaving early don't know all of this, or would not care if they did no. Because it's all about face.

But as a gaijin, I've got what George Costanza would call hand. We're not held to the same sstandards, thank goodness. And so now, at 3:09, I'm packing up and heading home.

To my family, I apologize for all the shame.