Taking on the Childcare Worker Exam! ④ (Practical Exam Edition)

I am "Akogihito".
This is a continuation of the previous "Taking on the Childcare Worker Exam! ③".

As a result of retaking the written exam, I was able to successfully pass "Child Nutrition and Food," which I had failed previously.

With this, I can finally move on to the practical exam.
I was really worried about what I would do if I failed again, so I was truly relieved.

For the "Music" practical exam, the requirement was to sing one chorus each of "Yurikago no Uta" (Cradle Song) and "Ahiru no Gyoretsu" (Duck Parade) while accompanying myself on either piano, guitar, or accordion.

I'm not a very good singer, but I can play the guitar reasonably well.
So, I think this will probably be okay. Or rather, there's no way to suddenly become a better singer at this point. (Haha)

"Language" is an exam where you tell a folktale or similar story for three minutes without using props, assuming you are in front of children. There were several options, but I chose "Momotaro" because it is familiar.

Practicing for this "Language" section was unexpectedly fun.
At first, I was reading the sample script, but it just wasn't very interesting.
After all, my previous job was as a director making TV programs and such, so I just needed to write a three-minute script, right?
So I made changes quite freely, thinking, "Let's do this here," "Let's omit this part,"
"Maybe it would be more peaceful if the ogre and the boy became friends at the end."
and so on.

Then, I practiced with a stopwatch, making fine adjustments so that it would fit exactly into three minutes.

The rest is just hoping I don't get nervous on the day and end up going too fast or too slow.

And so, Sunday, December 12, 2021, finally became the day of the practical exam.

The venue for the practical exam was Uekusa Gakuen University in Chiba City.
It is a convenient place to get to using the Chiba Urban Monorail.

Actually, even though I live in Chiba, I had never ridden the monorail once in the 30 years since it opened. So this was a very good opportunity.

With that, I arrived at the exam venue feeling a bit excited.
I entered the classroom and attended the orientation.

I realized this after arriving at the venue, but while the "Modeling" (drawing) exam has a 45-minute time limit, "Music" and "Language" take about 3 minutes per person, but since you take the exam one by one, there is a lot of waiting time.

There is nothing to do during this waiting time.
If it were a written exam, I could look at my textbook, but I can't exactly play the guitar, you know.

While I was waiting blankly like that, several people were called at a time, and it started with "Music."

There are almost no people with guitars.
But I did see a few people carrying them.
As expected, there was no one with an accordion. (I wanted to see one!)
Everyone is playing the piano, after all.
When I got in front of the exam room, the sound of the piano from the person taking the exam before me leaked out.

I could hear the joys and sorrows, like "Oh, this person is good," or "Oh, this person stopped."

Then it was my turn.
Guitar tuning is easy to mess up, so I made sure to tune it properly beforehand.
I sang "Yurikago no Uta" and "Ahiru no Gyoretsu" in front of the two examiners.
This is somehow a bit embarrassing.
But I had to sing it with determination.
Before I knew it, it was over.

I waited for a while longer, and this time it was "Language."

I could hear the voice of the person before me here too.

The person before me was putting in way too much effort and giving a grand performance. I could hear a loud voice.
But I felt like, isn't this a bit too much?

Then it was my turn.
When I entered the room, there were two examiners.
The examiner said, "Please begin," pressed the button on the clock, and the exam started.
In this exam, I started by saying, "Now, I will tell you the story of Momotaro," assuming that children were in front of me.

I tried to speak at a level that wouldn't scare the children, unlike the previous person who had too much intensity, and I even incorporated elements of Rakugo into my gestures.
I ended by saying "The end," and the moment I said "The end," the clock went beep-beep! It was exactly three minutes.
Wow, perfect! I felt happy, thinking, "How about that?"

Once the practical exam is over, it's over.
My turn was early, so I finished quickly and went home.

After a while, the results were sent to me.

I passed the practical exam on my first try.
It's funny that I got a better score in "Language" than in "Music," where I played the guitar I've been playing for many years. Well, you never know what in life will come in handy.

With this, I am now able to safely obtain my childcare worker qualification.

However, the problem is finding a job.

Is there really a nursery school that will hire a senior male childcare worker with no child-rearing experience?

Well, what will happen next?

(Continued in "Can a senior male childcare worker get a job?")


Written by: Akogihito