How long seconds do Mr.Mukoyama's eyes stay?

When I felt that Mr.Mukoyama was gazing at me all the time at the seminar, I was so surprised that everyone in the room felt as same as me.
Then I attempted to measure "the way to stay" of Mr.Mukoyama's eyes. I attended a seminar and measured how long seconds Mr.Mukoyama's eyes stayed at certain points with a stopwatch. During the seminar I just looking at his eyes and recorded the time on the notebook.
As a result,

The average staying time of Mr.Mukoyama's eyes is 2 seconds.

2 seconds.

It would seem quite a long time. You can feel this length if you will try to do it. If you can stop your eyes for 2 seconds students definitely feel you contact your eyes at them.
And anyway it's just an average. Needless to say that his eyes sometimes stay longer.
OK. Could you guess about the longest seconds Mr.Mukoyama was stopping his eyes?

The gaze of the skillful teacher stops tightly just a moment.

Sometimes I am asked questions by young teachers
" How can I train my eye contact skills?"

Generally, they say the way like,
" You should move your gaze from the corner of the classroom to forward like drawing the letter Z. "
It might be one of way to train but I've never done like that. I guess Mr.Yoich Mukoyama didn't do as well.

The gaze of the skillful teacher won't flow.

Stops tightly just a moment.

Precisely, it seems like stopping tightly at a certain place just a moment and moving on to the next place and stopping tightly again.

How long does it stop?
In my experience, students will do feel you look at them even if your eyes stop just "0.5 seconds".

I would like to say the case of Mr.Mukoyama next.

Professional level of eye contact (2)

After the seminar, at the party, I happened to be able to set my seat nearby Mr.Mukoyama.
So I said to him.
" Mr.Mukoyama, I felt you seemed like looking at me always during your lecture today."
Mr.Mukoyama was smiling a little and said,
" Oh, really? "
Just it.
That let me down a bit. But I couldn't give it up so taking a microphone and did a speech to attendees like,
" Today, I thought Mr.Mukoyama seemed like looking at just only me during his lecture. Did anyone else feel like as same as me?"
There were about 100 people in the party room.
I was really surprised that all of them raised their hands. All of them.
" Mr.Mukoyama kindly looked at just only me."
This perception was not only mine but all of the participants.
I had lost my words.
These kind of things were beyond my understandings at that time.
Anyway, it's just a simple starting point of "professional level of eye contact".

Professional level of eye contact

About 15 years ago. I went to the seminar that Mr.Yoichi Mukoyama spoke.

The room of seminar was packed by more than 200 teachers.
I was at the very end of the seats in this room.
Surprisingly, Mr.Mukoyama seemed to look at me almost always.
He made eye contact with me all the time during his speech. I felt like he gazing just only me throughout the seminar.
And furthermore, the things he talked at that time was so matched with things I've been seeking at those days.

" I can't believe it. But what if he may know my weakness, and what if he is talking deliberately as a message to me? "

That was what I thought. Because his eye contact seemed to be so strong.

" I have to think that he sent me some special message to me in today's seminar."
I was convinced.

The Basic Skill for teachers / 5. No.3. Eye Contact (1) Need three years for eye contact.

"Need three years for eye contact."
I got that words form Mr.Yoichi Mukoyama.

You should make good eye contact with your students during your class.

It's one of the most important skills for teachers. But unfortunately, we've almost never discussed it at a study meeting in Japanese school.

If you made the decision for getting the professional skill of eye contact, so you might be training very hard intendedly. But it will take at least three years until you can get better eye contact than ordinary people.
That means "Need three years for eye contact."

You may say "It's easy to just focus on students eyes."
No, it isn't. The skills of eye contact have a really deep meaning.

Checklist of The Basic Skill for teachers ~No.2. Voice (Tone and Volume)

acworksさんによる写真AC

You can teach with a clear voice that reaches throughout the classroom. You start your class with caring for your first voice. You can say clearly to the end of your sentences. You can do your class with a calm and warm tone of voice. You can do your class with a bright and fresh tone of voice. You can say with a proper and moderate pace. You can use your voice differently depends on the situation such as for personal kids or for the whole of the class.

4. A great teacher has great voice. 2. Mr. Yoichi Mukoyama 2

acworksさんによる写真AC

The other thing that surprised me happened somewhere in educational techniques conference.
We were observing a PE class at a gymnasium. One young teacher raised his hand and made a question. Just at that time, Mr.Mukoyama said out loud.

"I can't hear you!" "Say once again!"

This sharp and powerful voice of Mr.Mukoyama went through my body like thunder.
This scene reminds me of the importance of the teacher's voice.

4. A great teacher has great voice. 2. Mr. Yoichi Mukoyama 1

I have a lot of stories about the voice of Mr.Yoichi Mukoyama.

The first time that I was really surprised was when I was in the second year as a teacher.

I went to "The Kyoto Seminar of Yoichi Mukoyama". That was my first time when I saw real Mr.Yoichi Mukoyama.

At the seminar, his first words were as below.

There are four hot topics in the teacher's room. The first one is the consumption tax. The other one is the price of NTT's stocks. The third one is AIDS. The fourth one is Yoichi Mukoyama. You know there is the same trait through these four things. All of them are fishy.

It was the very catchy beginning of the story.

The hundreds of audience were naturally focusing on his voice.

I had never seen such a natural way of beginning without any tired introduction.

But, the most impressive thing was his tone of voice.

It's hard to express.

I could say it would have many harmonic sounds.

I was so surprised that it was so attractive and carrying voice.

4. A great teacher has great voice. 1. Mr. Ichizo Ishida

I have many teachers whom I was really impressed with their voices. I'd like to introduce you to just two persons here.

1. Mr. Ichizo Ishida

He had researched math word problems in Kobe Japan. His research was amazing of course. But not just only teaching math word problems but also broad of maths teaching of him was totally top of the level of Japan.
He was always supporting us. I invited him seminars many times and was taught a lot of things.
In his later years, When he was more than 80 years, He attended an academic conference of teaching skill and techniques. In the General Meeting, Huge auditorium was packed by nearly 1000 attendee. Among them, Mr.Ishida raised his hand and said,

"I have a question! "

He expressed his question and opinion in a dignified voice that was carried the whole of the auditorium. He didn't use a microphone.
I can never forget his voice at that time. His voice was reached further more than young teachers who were using the microphone.
In those days, All of the famous teachers such as Mr.Noguchi, Mr.Arita, Mr.Omori, Mr.Ishiguro who were deeply engaged in T.O.S.S had very amazing voices.

3.Two types of teachers, Bright voice, Dismal Voice

"The tone of voice is important as well
Related to this, all you need to do is

Using a bright voice.

You may often be said, "raise your voice high". Too low tone of voice would be bad of course but I think it's also not so good too high voice. Students would be restless.

My ideal image of voice is the voice of Mr.Yoichi Mukoyama in his classes.
How can I describe it? It seems like a bright, warm, thoughtful voice.
It's impossible to express by sentences.

4. No.2. Voice (Tone and Volume)

Unfortunately, it's hard that you recognize your voice level by yourself. You would hardly ever have someone who indicates about your voice quality. You would be better to examine your voice accessibility by viewing your own video intentionally.
Honestly, I had been struggling with my voice from I was young. I didn't think I need to be got professional voice training because I wasn't going to be a singer. But I was intendedly projecting my voice little by little every class, so my voice might have slightly been improving. Occasionally, Kindly they say to me "your voice is easy to hear."

4. No.2. Voice (Tone and Volume)

The clear carrying voice is definitely better.

But on the other hand, too much loud and noisy voice is not good. Some teacher's voice sometimes would get to the playground, even they are teaching a classroom.

It's really annoying because we have some kids who are very sensitive to noise as you know.

It's important to control your voice appropriately.

If you were in a gymnasium you should set your voice into the gymnasium level. If you were in a playground you should set your voice into the playground level.

It's OK as long as kids can hear your voice clearly.

4. No.2. Voice (Tone and Volume)

4. No.2. Voice (Tone and Volume)

 Teacher's voice has two points.

1. Teacher's voice has two points.

a. Volume b. Tone

2. Too loud, too small, both are not good.

Basic of the volume of voice is

Clear voice.

When you notice someone who has the clearest carrying voice among some specific group of people, it's almost no doubt that the person is the leader of the group.
It's really annoying for students if your voice wouldn't be clear. Your lesson would be vague. You can't control kids. It's an out of the question if you can only say something just in a very faint voice.
Of course, sometimes you say to kids in a faint voice deliberately when you aim some specific effect, but it's not so usual.

Checklist of The Basic Skill for teachers ~No.1. Facial Expression (smiling at students)

You are training your smile looking at a mirror every morning. You can make eye contact with kids. You can smile looking at kids eyes. You can start your class with smiling. You can keep you smiling until the end of your classes. Kids in your class are smiling naturally. You can make various facial expression depends on the situations.

4. You will feel fun because you laugh. (2)

The story of Mr.Arita what I wrote the previous post is scientifically correct. That is confirmed by research.
Researchers say when you make your facial muscle smiley, some brain chemical such as dopamine would be secreted, and you will feel fine.
Furthermore, when you look at the smiling face, you will try to copy it on your face unconsciously by using "Mirror neuron".
That means if you look at the smiling, then you smile.
Teachers are getting along with kids who are really sensitive form morning to after classes. During all day time, how significantly different between from the teachers who are always smiling and who are always bad mood.
It would be stable and comfortable in the class of smiling teachers. I guess even students academic abilities would be improving as well.

4. You will feel fun because you laugh.

Mr. Kazumasa Arita whom I mentioned before often said to his students in the classroom,
"Laugh!"
And adding,
"OK, Now, Let's laugh together. Go ahead, laugh!"
Like this, He tried to make kids laugh kind of forcefully.
Students said
"Mr. Arita, we can't laugh, because we have nothing of fun."
Mr.Arita said.
"It's not true you laugh because of fun. You will be fun because of laughing."
And he made kids laugh again saying,
"Let's laugh, Now!"

3. You should do exercises for improving your smile.

I'm not sure when but someday, Mr. Kazumasa Arita who is a very famous social study teacher in Japan said at his seminar that he was training his smile.

And Mr.Yoichi Mukoyama said at his seminar,
"Do the training for your smile!"

If you were a sort of professionals who got money by talking in front of peoples, all of you should train your facial expression. In fast-foods, in receptions, in offices, all of the staffs are doing training for the smile. It might be just only Japanese teachers who aren't doing training for a smile.

In certain hospital, nurses are making efforts to work with smiling always. At the hospital, the cure rate is statistically significant high than the other hospitals.
It's obviously needless to say that the teaching profession must do training of smiling.

I have to confess I was gloomy and nerdy. But I've been training my smile for more than 10 years. Eventually, I think I can make my face smile unconsciously when I just stand in front of kids.

3. You should do exercises for improving your smile.

When I started training my smile, I said about it to my senior teacher at a restaurant getting a drink with him.

He told me off like,
"Kazuki, You never need to train your smiling. Teachers should express what you really are to kids. When you feel mad, then you angry. When you feel sad, then you cry. And when you feel nice, you laugh with kids. Such a training smile must be just wrong."

I see. As teachers are human, we have these kinds of aspects of course.

However, I don't think training smile must be just wrong.
I was just a rookie teacher at that time. I was so bad for teaching skills. I could say aloud nothing for my senior teacher's comments.
But I was saying "No, it's absolutely not" in my mind.

3. You should do exercises for improving your smile.

Training is necessary for improving your smile.
I believed so from the first year of teaching. Actually, I had been exercising my smiling form the beginning as a teacher.
I had been doing the exercise of smile literally every day for more than 10 years.
When I was brushing my teeth, I tried to make my face smile. I didn't just grin. I carefully checked my facial muscle. Which muscles need to be moved, how moved, then what kind of facial expression may be made? I confirmed these movements. I tried to get it by kinesthetic sense.

2. Teacher's smile has a strong power like magic.

Teacher's smile has a strong power like magic.
When I was a rookie teacher, I met a nice teacher whose name is Etsuko. She was really famous for constructing so incredible class.
Her students were getting very motivated. They did super active discussion so naturally.
As I was just soon after graduating, I had totally no idea how she came up with such a highest level.
And, yes, she had a magical smiling. We called it "Etsuko Magic".
It was an unbelievably wonderful cheery smile. And she talked something with so gently like a saint.
I thought that every naughty kid had no choice but saying "yes" if they got some instructions from Etsuko with such a fascinating simile.
I've respected her from the bottom of my heart.