JICA Volunteer's Essay (Mr. Tomoaki Hirano)
I learned “cooperation” in Palau
Tomoaki Hirano
I worked at George.B.Harris Elementary School as a math teacher from July 2018. My main work was teaching math to students and supporting the local teachers in math classes. I focused on using concrete materials and pictures to help the students get the sense of number. I also increased the quantity of exercises step by step to help them understand well.
Before coming to Palau, I had been working at an elementary school in Japan for 5 years, so I was determined to improve math education in Palau using my experience. However, communication with foreign students and teachers was much harder than I thought. At times I wasn’t able to deliver my messages well. Especially, it was very hard for me to teach to 1st and 2nd graders because I hadn’t been in charge of those grades before.
When I wasn’t able to do anything by myself, the teachers and students helped me many times. My colleagues translated my messages into Palauan for students to let them understand my words better. My colleagues also kindly explained things to me using clear and simple language when I didn’t understand them. I also thank my students who listened to my lessons with their smiles and tried hard to understand my explanation, and then some students explained what they learned to their friends from “the point of view of children”. In this way, creating math lessons with everyone in classrooms became my pleasure.
Therefore, I learned that “cooperation” means helping each other with respect. Actually, there were many times that I was helped more than I helped. Thank you George.B.Harris Elementary School, my host family, and everyone in Palau for supporting my life in Palau.
In March 2020, all JICA volunteers were instructed to go back to Japan because of the COVID-19 pandemic, although I was originally supposed to stay in Palau until July 2020 and wanted to return the favor making use of my experience in Palau. I am very sad to have left Palau all of sudden, so I shall return to Palau when regular flights resume. See you again.
