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Assistant Language Teacher

The JET Interview

This post I should have posted sooner I know, but I knew it would be posted someday– And here it is! Yea!

My big hang up from posting this was due to the fact that I wasn’t sure how much to post. Luckily a former professor of mine asked me to tell him, in detail, what it was like…

So for his benefit, and for the benefit of my readers, I wrote a lengthy email— which I’m going to relay here for anyone who wanted a ‘play by play’ of the event with what they and I said (roughly):

————————-

Date: Fri, Feb 13, 2009

Subject: The Jet Interview debriefing

Yesterday was “The Interview”…

I started by checking in with my voucher and I was ushered into a lounge area with other well dressed JET Applicants.. After 10-15 minutes of waiting someone came out and asked me to follow them in. This person turned out to be the Former ALT Interviewer… In my panel (panel 2 out of 3) was a COLLEGE Japanese Language professor, a Japanese Consulate Official, and a former JET.

What Happened:

I left the lobby and walked in and greeted everybody and introduced myself. The first thing they wanted to know was specifically, “What first interested you in Japan?” This question is a vast opener question where I was given the opportunity to lay out my core interest and experience… I made sure to state specifics for follow up questions (Important!).

Next they asked if I had any “Classroom Teaching Experience outside my experience as a Boy Scout” (I had put down my time in BSA for teaching experience). I replied “YES” and related my experience as a High School Coach… yada yada (Seemed to be a good response). A note here is that I felt they were fishing to see if I was just a regular College Joe or someone who could legitimacy help a school. (be careful)

The next series of questions had to do with me and my Exchange Experience in Japan..(COLLEGE PROFESSOR) “I see you lived in Sapporo, what challenges did you experience?” My response was along the lines of my (lack of) preparedness for a “non-car lifestyle” as well as the drastic change in climate (to ‘bitter’ cold).

After that the College Professor moved on to a very complex long hypothetical that I’ll try to remember:

(COLLEGE PROFESSOR) “Josh, imagine you are an Alt (pronounced “alt” as in “alt-ernative” o_O?) and you are teaching with a teacher who is sort of ’set’ in their ways of teaching.. Perhaps an older man who teaches English in a lecture mode and makes students simply ‘repeat’ sentences from the book.. Now you happen to teach 1 out of (say) 8 Classes in which you’re given full range of the class.. One day there was a student who spoke in very good English.. In the hallway he approached you saying (in a perfect US accent) that he enjoyed Your Classes but didn’t enjoy Mr (English) Sensei’s (Your Teaching Partner) class because A.) he teaches in a mono-tone and B.) Never Calls on me (the student approaching you with good English)… My Question is what would you do to make the student feel involved in the class, while not offending your English Teacher Partner?(This, by the way, is a political question requiring some careful thinking)

My response was that I would first meet with the Teacher after school to ask if he/she knew of the student-in-question’s ability in English, and if they did, ask politely why he/she hasn’t involved the student more in their classes. Then I suggested that during my turn in Class I would try to recruit the student as my assistant to help assist (the ALT) teach the class as a team-teacher/helper sort of deal for extra credit perhaps. Finally, I suggested, that if the school was OK with it, I would start an English Club or a Poetry Club as the adviser and appoint this student as club leader so that he could recruit friends. (They seemed fine with that answer). The reason for my answer was that I gave at least a plan A, plan B, and plan C to show that in these cases more then one approach to a problem may be required.

Next, the Former ALT announced “Show Time” .. Her question was, “OK, you’re an ALT and you’ve just been invited to an Elementary School with about 1 hour’s notice.. The principal vaguely knew you were coming yesterday, but really there’s no time to ‘prepare’… You arrive and you find out that no one in the elementary school class (much less the School Staff) knows English… We (pointing to the Interviewers) are going to pretend to be elementary school kids and you are going to give us your self introduction in a way us elementary kids could understand — GO!”

The key, I hypothesized, was that I was going to need to supplement my English words with big comical hand gestures and faces.. Also I would need to repeat myself slowly for maximum effect..

Also… I knew I couldn’t do this sitting down either so…

I jumped up out of my chair and with big wide gestures said:
(ME) “HELLO! MY NAME IS JOSHUA.. CAN YOU SAY JOSHUA?”
(THEM) (somewhat hallariously in a Japanese-y Elementary Voice) Jooo-SHOE-AHHH?
(ME) “YES! GOOD JOB!!! (clap clap)” “I’M FROM PORTLAND, CAN YOU SAY PORTLAND?”
(THEM) po-ru-toe-ran-do..??
(ME) “GooooooD!! (clap clap) ” “DO YOU KNOW WHERE PORTLAND IS?”
(THEM) iie… no… iie…. iie…
(ME) DO YOU KNOW SEATTLE? ICHIRO? MARINERS?
(THEM) ICHIRO!!!! (they said… everyone in Japan should know Japanese Major League Players)
(ME) DO YOU KNOW L.A.?
(THEM) DISNEYRANDO!
(ME) OK PORTLAND (using the wall as a make-believe map) IS BETWEENICHIRO HERE IN SEATTLE (Pointing at a blank white wall) AND DISNEYLAND! (Pointing Lower and indicating where the two met in the middle [Salem probably] was roughly where I came from.)

they eventually stopped me because they were having quite a time keeping their composure as elementary students… (Great fun.. with lots ‘o’ laughs)

The next question was similar to the “Good English Student” question.. The Former ALT asked, “In Japan, Jr. High School students have to learn English how would you make it interesting and exciting?” I responded that I believed that my role as an ALT wasn’t to teach the Book-based English Lessons, as much as  more importantly to show my students that English is a commonly used language– that “living English is useful to know.” I also mentioned that I would use my enthusiasm (demonstrated in the self intro) to keep the students awake and interested…

The next section I was totally UNprepared for… The COLLEGE PROFESSOR said, “For students who knew some Japanese we do a small portion of Japanese to gauge where you are and where you would be placed… Some BoE’s request ALT’s with a working level of Japanese and that’s why we do this…” then he proceeded asking how long I studied Japanese (in Nihongo), where I studied, where I lived in Japan… Then consulate person, who remained quietly engaged, finally asked what I liked to eat in Japan and if I liked Natto… I’ll admit… I wasn’t prepared, but I did my very best and it was enough to keep everybody smiling and laughing.. (whew..) I’m actually pretty good, but under stress the mind warps you know. (This btw has NObering on whether you’re good or not, only where they would place you hypothetically).

Lastly they asked if I had a question for them… I didn’t want to ask just the Former ALT a question so I asked a broader question, “Obviously the first time you went to Japan you must have had a goal in mind that you wanted to accomplish.. First, What was that goal? and Second, Did you feel that you accomplished it?” They responded with various answers and I found them useful. They asked if I had anything else, but for the sake of time I said that my ‘biggest’ question was answered.

We finished with some administrative questions and I was asked if I, after JET, would continue to be involved with the consulate and what would I like to do? I said YES, and would enjoy to be involved with International Relations the consulate does after JET…

With that we shook hands, bowed, and it was over… The whole shebang lasting about 30 or so minutes….

Now comes the ‘wait game’ again to find out if all that was enough… ;-D

So there you have it…. A ‘glossing over’ my gut wrenching interview that day.

Relax, Express Yourself Clearly and Thoughtfully, and try to answer their questions rather then cramming in need-to-know factoids about yourself.

~J

Posted February 18, 2009 on r3dragon.net

Categories
Lewis and Clark College

The Semantics of a Student of Japanese

I typically think that one should make big goals with regards to Japanese, but also be flexable in how they reach them. One central goal of my life has been lately to learn the vast difficult language of Japanese on a level par to the native population of Japan. It’s a rather large goal and at the moment I’m doing little to attain any ‘speaking/reading/writing ability’ other then writing kanji.

Yet, these past two and a half months of doing just kanji have been a much welcome reprieve from the daunting drudgery of Japanese study. It’s given me some *new* perspectives on what I might do now to attain Japanese literacy then later on fluency- yet none of this really answers the broader, albeit haunting, overall question often posed by others… “Just What is it with Japanese?” “What’s your purpose for studying Japanese?”

To tell you the truth I used to have a strikingly good answer. Something along the lines of Translation Opportunities or Government Embassy work… Then when my major in College changed to “East Asian Studies” I said the reason was to ‘advance my knowledge of Japan’ through reading native texts and talking to Japanese natives.

However, I’ve realized lately that my pursuit of Japanese doesn’t need to be for some central obvious purpose– rather the pursuit can be just for the sake of pursuing something that’s rather large, vast, useful, lasting, & challenging. I.e. A challenge for the sake of having an awesome challenge to pursue in life.

I compare it to getting my Eagle Scout Award. Getting one’s Eagle is a long term process. If you start at age 11, it takes between 5-7 years to get a *legitimate Eagle Scout. (* Legitimate Eagle Scouts know what I mean by that). When one pursues Eagle Scout in Boy Scouts their goal is to get the award… Later on, it becomes valuable for getting a job or boosting one’s reputation. On occasion I’ve heard boys say they want to get their Eagle for the sole purpose of it looking good on a Resume, but more often or not they either don’t get their Eagle or they just “Eagle out” and split (sometimes turning into blemishes on the “Eagle Scout” reputation).

The essence of an “Eagle pursuing” Boy Scout then is that he is pursuing something based upon the merits of the award and not for any other secondary purpose. So I believe this should also be the essence of learning Japanese. You pursue Japanese literacy and fluency based upon the merits and abilities Japanese Fluency and not for any other secondary purpose. Later on, like the Eagle Scout, having Japanese literacy and fluency will enhance your profile and your welbeing. This concept should be much more charming and open to all sorts of possibilities then any other view that’s been held in the past. Let me explain:

By making your goal to study Japanese for the merit of what Japanese literacy and fluency represents– You set your bar higher and plan your objectives with new awesome feats and abilities you want to attain. It makes any other reason to study Japanese rather limiting in scope.

Take common reasons for Learning Japanese and apply it to this idea to understand what I mean:
*”I want to learn Japanese so that I can speak to A-san, B-san, and C-san about X-desu, Y-desu, and Z-desu”
*”I want to learn Japanese so that I can read signs, posters, manga, or books”
*”I want to learn Japanese so that I can watch Anime w/o subtitles and get the jokes/plots/’real story’ before others do.”
*”I want to learn Japanese so that I know the exact meaning of a Tattoo I want to get”
*”I want to learn Japanese for business reasons and cust. relations”
*”I want to learn Japanese for some quick easy phrases to get around Tokyo- They say a little Japanese in Japan goes a long way”
*”I want to learn Japanese for my job as a Government liaison/Military liaison/Diplomat.

and so on and so on….

All these reasons very fine and dandy, but all imply that each reason in the list inhibits or limits students of Japanese to a certain vernacular spectrum. For example: Kanji knowledge required for Tattooing is so that you don’t look like an idiot…However, for Anime reasons kanji knowledge isn’t as important as listening to the dialog. And for travelers– you basically learn “Where is?” “How much” or “How do I?” but the answer is often baffling.

Now take a look at a student who practices and studies Japanese for the sole purpose of mastering it on it’s merits. in context:

“I want to learn Japanese because I desire full Japanese literacy & fluency”

Their range of focus and pursuit of knowledge encompasses all of that list plus a whole lot more. This student over roughly a same period as a regular student whose limited their goal to a specific goal knows more because they didn’t limit themselves. In the end they’re able to complete all the tasks required of them and be functional in Japanese society proficently. Later on, someone who is litgitmately proficient is of a higher caliber of knowledge then one who has a limited vernacular.

At the root of this– it simply comes down to “semantics” or “the meaning or the interpretation of a word, sentence, or other language form.” One who calls themselves “a student of Japanese Language Study” should mean that they’re studying Japanese for the pursuit of Japanese literacy and fluency. Otherwise they  should revise that to be more like “a student of the JLPT”, or “a student of commonly used Japanese phrases”, “A student of the most frequently used Kanji Characters”… etc, not “a student of the Japanese language.” That’s because it gives off the wrong connotation. By telling a native you’ve studied Japanese for 10 years you are not telling them what “you know”– So they assume you know 10 years worth of what a japanese student from high school might know.

So my advice is two fold. Either re-evaluate your reason for studying Japanese and revise it to be “the general pursuit of language for fluency & literacy sake” or be honest in what you are really ‘a student of.’ It’s not a matter of right and wrong or bad or good, but a matter of simple semantics.

How about that as food for thought? ね〜?

~J out

Posted May 19, 2009 on r3dragon.net

Categories
Assistant Language Teacher

Yea-Jin An Sin

Teachable Moment– Thanks to my dad for this..

Today we were studying 道案内 (directions) using the phrase, “Where is the _Station_“. I’ve taught this lesson like 20 times and wanted to throw a friday-curve ball for fun….So I asked, “Where is ‘Yea Jin An-sin??”

Home Room Teacher (HRT): “eh? iie jin een-shin? what? what?”

Me: “Yea Jin, Yea Jin– Mutt-su Yea Jin An Sin” (while writing Mutsu Yagen Onsen on the black board)

HRT: “eeh? eeh? Nihongo o shabete! Japanesezu pahleezu”

Me: I am speak’n Japanese! “Mah-T-Suuu” “Y-e-a” “J-i-n” “Ah-Ah-Ah-N”  “Ssss-IN” (all while pointing at the words on the black board)

**By then the kids were cracking up at all the silliness of everything**

HRT: (starring at the board then exclaimed) AHH!! WAKATA! “Yah Gen Onsen” Yah Gen?

Me: Umm yeah sure… the hot springs..

HRT: It’s in Ohata…

Admittedly, what started out as a dumb joke by me turned into a hilarious skit that probably better reflected what would really happen in Japan. At first the HRT didn’t get it and became engrossed, to a point of simi-panic, as to what I was saying– which by Japanese standards was plain gibberish..

Later on after the lesson finished I thought I’d get an earful because I didn’t “prep” the teacher for it, but instead the teacher explained to the class that my “joke” shows that sometimes Japanese and English speakers don’t share the same pronunciation for things and that it’s important to listen carefully and be able to read the alphabet…

So yeah “a teachable moment” though I feel like a jerk for having done it.

~J out

Posted November 11, 2010 on r3dragon.net

Categories
Assistant Language Teacher

An Epic Disaster

Posted the day after the tsunami and earthquake in Tohoku Japan:

The chances of experiencing an epic disaster in one’s life- one so devastating that it probably shifted the earth’s access 23cm is probably rare. As a child, the mass media conditioned me to take the brunt of devastating news with solemness, but somewhat indifference. There has always been a separation between the event and me– thus the impact hasn’t been as alarming as this recent earthquake that struck me where I live in Japan.

The destruction is astronomical, and the pain of such a event is crippling. The earth quake with a magnitude of 8.8 (as reported by the Japanese media– 8.9 elsewhere) struck Friday March 11th just when elementary school kids were just leaving for the weekend. It’s graduation season here and elementary schools all around are doing “leaving ceremonies” around now, and graduation ceremonies next weekend– or they were planning to at least.

More broadly then that– Elementary School kids & 1st & 2nd grade Jr. High school students might not have a school to return to in tsunami struck coastal areas like Aomori, Iwate, and Miyagi. Additionally graduated Jr. High school & High School Seniors who graduated last week might not have a high school or college to go to in April either.

All that and it’s not over yet… Earthquakes of magnitudes 5 & 6+ still are rocking areas of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, and likely Aomori. Aomori, especially where I am, feels most of the aftershocks from these earthquakes. Earthquakes also renew tsunami warnings and leaves all of us in a heighten state of alertness.

How this all will work out has yet to be seen. At the moment the Japanese Self Defense Force has moved in to survey the damage and rescue stranded people from roof tops and from under rubble. After that will probably be a massive clean up effort given that another massive earthquake or tsunami doesn’t strike another part of Japan.

I and others are actively looking for ways we can help on the ground since we’re hours away from the carnage. If we do get involved it will surely be in ways that are safe, and beneficial to the victims who have no homes at the moment.

Friends, ways you can help is to send out your prayers to the people who have lost everything and now call community centers and school gyms their temporary home. If God has blessed you and you want to give– give money. Japan is a very capable and developed country that already has resources like food & water, but for emergency services, families that need aid, or to launch volunteer efforts to recover from the loss it might take a little extra money.

I want to finish by thanking all of you for your heart felt concerns. I receive your messages and am thankful that I have such a broad network of friends who are concerned for my welfare. It shows a compassionate side to humanity that to me more valuable then anything.

~Josh

Posted March 12, 2011 on r3dragon.net

Categories
Assistant Language Teacher

Turn off the T.V. and Smile

“The greatest prayer is patience”

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.”

-Buddha (Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)

My apologies for the long post, but this is an attempt to set the straight story for all of you who are confused by the mixed messages by the media, by me, or by the Japanese or American governments.

I want to first apologize deeply for not communicating to everyoneeverything that’s been happening here in Mutsu. My inbox has been on fire with concerned emails from everyone, for which I am eternally grateful for, and the most I’ve been able to send you individually is a message that, “I’m ok.”

The truth is that me and most people here are truly fine. Everyone is being asked to conserve electricity now– all to avoid rolling brown outs and it’s working! We haven’t had a scheduled blackout at all this week. Additionally, supplies of food & fuel from Hokkaido have been arriving here in Mutsu. Some store shelves do continue to be bare, but supplies like milk, meat, & eggs have been in stock lately. For fuel, yesterday a gas station near one of my schools had gas & kerosene and I was able to fill up my car and get 18L of kerosene for my stove.

So as of right now I’m doing good. Food-wise: Last night I ate big bowl of rice & beef stew and this morning I made Irish hash browns with onions & green peppers with toast. I tell you this because the “news” would have you believe otherwise.

Areas like Shimokita are safe and habitable. We’re being asked to save what we can, recycle what we can recycle, donate money if we can donate and to try to stay out of the tsunami evacuated areas. There is a current situation with how Japanese & American military are dealing with the disaster but it is no more then a bit of Japanese culture shock–something everyone experiences here. There is a need for you to show confidence to the Japanese government as they deal with this crisis.

The major problems isn’t supplies or radiation, but the recent foreign sensational media that is complicating all rescue efforts. The foreign population in Japan, like me, are getting mixed messages from the US & other media telling us that it’s not safe and that we need to evacuate –when organizations like the World Health Organization report otherwise:

Quote:

The World Health Organization has said radiation levels outside the evacuation zone in Japan are not harmful for human health. WHO spokesperson Gregory Hartl made the remarks at a regular news conference in Geneva on Friday.

The Japanese government issued an advisory on Tuesday to evacuate from a 20-kilometer radius of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. It also told people living within a 30-kilometer radius to stay indoors.

He said the amount of radiation being reported outside of the evacuation zone continued to be below the levels considered a public health risk.

He said the WHO finds no public health reason to avoid travel to Japan, except to the affected areas, or to recommend that foreign nationals leave the country.

Some countries are encouraging their citizens to leave Japan or are moving their embassies from Tokyo to Osaka.

Referring to an examination of Japanese food imports by some countries, he said he cannot imagine that any food from the quake-damaged areas was able to have been delivered. He said he concludes there is no risk that exported Japanese foods are contaminated with radiation.

Saturday, March 19, 2011 08:04 +0900 (JST)

(Emphasis added was mine)

I ask that you read & listen to reports by credible organizations themselves, like this, rather then watch or listen to the bombardment of misinformation & conspiracy theory coming from news organizations like NBC, CBS, FOX and others. This sensational news is not good journalism-  More then that it is distracting and starting to get the foreign population living here in Japan agitated over having to correct everyone at home from the abundant misinformation.

Turn OFF the T.V. and Trust the Facts for a moment!

Here’s an excellent spread sheet (click on the link) from Aomori’s JET Prefectural Advisor showing the levels of radiation in Aomori. All normal– all within good levels.

As far as Americans evacuating Japan– there is no official evacuation order from the US State Department. This is their official message as of yesterday March 18, 2011. If you read it they say that all evacuation is voluntary (read: by one’s own expense)

The U.S. Department of State warns U.S citizens of the deteriorating situation at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.  The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recommends that U.S. citizens who live within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant evacuate the area or take shelter indoors if safe evacuation is not practical.  The State Department strongly urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to Japan at this time and those in Japan should consider departing…

Note that Mutsu City, where I live, is 308 miles (495km) from Fukushima Prefecture. The Department of State does authorize a voluntary evacuation of government employees

Quote: the State Department has authorized the voluntary departure from Japan of eligible family members of U.S. government personnel

But there’s no recommendation that US Citizens need to leave Japan. Rather the Department of State recommends we focus our attention on warnings by the Japanese government with concern of future aftershocks & tsunamis should they occur. They say,

Due to the continuing possibility of strong aftershocks, Japan remains at risk for further tsunamis.  Japanese authorities have issued a warning for people to stay away from low-lying coastal areas.  If a tsunami alert is issued by Japanese authorities, evacuate immediately to higher ground.  Further information about what you can do if a tsunami occurs can be found at the National Weather Service’s TsunamiReady website, and theInternational Tsunami Information Center’s website.  Current tsunami alerts can be found at the Japan Meteorological Agency website, and the website of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

The U.S. Embassy continues to deploy consular assistance teams where needed; these teams are actively working with our taskforce and local authorities to locate U.S. citizens, visit shelters and assistance centers, and help U.S. citizens identify public and commercial transportation options away from affected areas  U.S. citizens requiring emergency consular assistance should contact the Department of State via e-mail or through the emergency contact numbers below.  U.S. citizens in Japan should contact family and friends in the United States to confirm their well-being at the earliest opportunity.  Where internet and telephone services are not available, it may be possible to contact people using SMS (Cell text message) or other forms of social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

The Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program (which I’m a participant of) has this to say from their website:

If you are in the affected areas, take precautionary measures by avoiding low-lying areas and shorelines of rivers and coastal regions for the next 24-48 hours, or more if instructed by local authorities. Follow any safety instructions issued by the local municipalities. If you have not already, try to contact friends and family, supervisor and contracting organisation to let them know whether you are safe or not. Telephone service is affected in many areas, so please keep trying if you cannot get through, use email, texting, Facebook, etc.

 

So I apologize for the length of this post, but I hope the information is useful when you’re thinking about me or others here in Japan. We all need to Be Prepared! and follow the Scout Oath and Law

  • Trustworthy,
  • Loyal,
  • Helpful,
  • Friendly,
  • Courteous,
  • Kind,
  • Obedient,
  • Cheerful,
  • Thrifty,
  • Brave,
  • Clean,
  • and Reverent.

Again thank you for your concerns and for reading this.

If everyone does the right thing and trusts that it will all be OK– then it will be.

~J out

Posted March 18, 2011 on r3dragon.net in Northern Aomori Prefecture Japan

Categories
Assistant Language Teacher

Risk to Tame a Fox

The risk I’m going to take is to try and bring up a passage from a well known story, “The Little Prince” by Antoine De Saint-Exupery (which I recently re-read last Friday) to help contextualize what just ‘it is’ I’ve been dealing with lately. I hope in reading this, perhaps you can also identify with these characters as I do.

The following passage is a dialog between the ‘little prince’ and ‘a fox.’  The passage, even though written in World War II, tells a lot about the perceived thinking of young people (‘The Little Prince[s]’) my age (mid 20’s) and how I (in this case ‘the fox’) sometimes feel amongst some of them.

So here it goes…

(*Note– This passage is abbreviated as indicated by these symbols […])

“…It was then that the fox appeared.
‘Good morning,’ said the fox.
‘Good morning,’ the little prince responded politely […]
‘Who are you?’ asked the little prince[…]
‘I am a fox,’ the fox said.
‘Come and play with me,’ proposed the little prince.
‘I cannot play with you,’ the fox said. ‘I am not tamed.'[…]
‘What does that mean – “tame”?'[…]
‘It is an act too often neglected,’ said the fox. ‘It means to establish ties.’
‘”To establish ties”?’
‘Just that,’ said the fox. ‘To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world…'[…]

‘My life is very monotonous,’ he [the fox] said. ‘I hunt chickens; men hunt me. All the chickens are just alike and all men are just alike. And, in consequence, I am a little bored. But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the colour of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat …’
The fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time.
‘Please – tame me!’ he said.
‘I want to, very much,’ the little prince replied, ‘But I have not much time. I have friends to discover, and a great many things to understand.’
‘One only understands the things that one tames,’ said the fox. ‘Men have no more time to understand anything. they buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend, tame me …’”
(*Emphasis added by me)

<later on the fox teaches the little prince how to tame it>

Here, the point is that the fox wants to be tamed by the little prince, which is a different concept then to have a relationship with the little prince. The fox understands the little prince will move on someday, and so doesn’t demand the prince to stay with the fox forever– rather the fox wants something unique– the fox wants to have some meaning to his environment. The fox wants to have new ties between his average life to something unique like the memory of a friend who took time to tame him.

-Josh

Posted June 26, 2011 on r3dragon.net 

Categories
Assistant Language Teacher

Don’t Lose Sight of Your Original Goals

As my contract quickly comes to an end this August I’m starting to wrap up schools as well. A part of leaving means coming up with something, something that fully articulates this experience you’ve had over the four years, as well as articulates where you came from, and hints at where you’re going. I see this time of reflection as less for those listening to my winded speech, and more for me to evaluate where ‘ve been and where I’m going next.

So here it is, enjoy!

A golfer can’t play golf very well if he just whacks the ball so hard he’ll never find it. That’s the gist of “Don’t lose sight of your original goal.” A golfer who whacks the ball and doesn’t pay attention to where it ends up might spend the day searching for that ball, or worse yet, lose the ball and the game outright.

Just as important as not losing sight of your original goal; is to set goals you won’t forget. If, as a young person, you make this long list of things you wish to accomplish you’ll get burned out at the length of the list and end up forgetting the whole damn thing come middle age, or worse fall short of such high expectations. Losing sight of goals or not living up to them will be that “crisis” like the golfer searching for his ball(s). Either you’ll spend the rest of your life trying to remember what your goals were, give up and buy that corvette/Harley, or go into stupid debt, or end up with a shaggy dog and some adopted mystery kid.

The best approach is to keep it so simple that it’s silly not to forget it. “I want to be a dancer”, “I want to be a fireman”, “I want to climb Mt. Fuji”, etc. I would even say, aim to make it simple enough that an elementary schooler could understand it in a snap *snap*. Because the more elementary it is, the less you are likely you are to forget it and (obviously) lose sight of it in the increasing hustle and bustle of life, Namaste… woof.

Some original goals are noble, some are silly, some are impossible (like flying with the birds buck naked), and some goals even e v o l v e. (long run-on sentence watchout!) Look down the green-way to the inevitable tiny mysterious black hole, which everyone will eventually end up in, and decide for yourself whether you’d rather waste your time looking for complex goals and un-keepable promises or whether you want to (1) set the goal, (2) keep sight of it/track of it, (3) follow it, (4) accomplish it, (5) even evolve it, and at the end as you stand on the edge of the hole looking back – smile – (as you fall backwards) at a full life of accomplishment. Choose wisely

Joshua Sensei was a middle schooler in 1998. On the T.V. was the Nagano Olympics and the specifics of that event wasn’t important other than I found it fascinating that it was being held in Japan. I couldn’t tell you if it was the Olympics that made Japan cool, or Japan by itself. Perhaps, if it was the former, and held in Oslo I’d be typing from Norway. Anyway, at that time, I had a dream and it was simple.

“I want to live in Japan.”

And there it began. A “phase” that has lasted fifteen years. At the time I had a close friend who imagined the same dream with me. Both of us tried learning Japanese together and watching Dragon Ball Z (as if that’d would help us). This led to spending time with the Anime & Japanese Culture Club at Clark College. The two of us, entering High School, also brought others to dream about living in Japan and it rocked. My friend, however, got disillusioned with the idea. Perhaps clouded by “Car” “Women” and “Part time job” plus the thought of forgoing the American dream of “Make Money, Make Family, Make House Mortgage… whatever” was hard to swallow. In a way, he motivated me past the “this is ridiculous” phase to the “this could be cool if it happened” phase and when that motivation left me I had to decide if I too should drop the Last Samurai dream. Stubborn as I was, I decided that nothing else looked as cool and in as vivid color as life in Japan. I began going around telling people that I’d live in Japan someday and believed in it. Though I didn’t know how. What I did know was three things to accomplishing my goal was these:

  • Graduating School (Jr. High School, High School, and College)
  • Learning Japanese
  • Getting a job (in Japan)

I was on track for goal 1 naturally. Goal 2 was a hobby I wasn’t completely sure at. Goal 3, yeah right (I’d worry about that when hair grows on my chin). Being in the anime club opened up some possibilities and some real life directional help, however. At one Anime convention in Seattle, while my friends were salivating over gundam dolls and DDR, there was an exhibit on the JET Programme. JET, or the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Programme, seemed like the perfect life. Teach English, get good money, live in Japan for 5 years. At the time, I said, “if I could do just that I’d be satisfied.”

The JET seminar lasted an hour with questions at the end. They covered a lot of things, but the take away was you gotta graduate college and we’re looking for future applicants who have a good working knowledge of Japanese, Japanese culture, and want to succeed in all areas of Japan. Those blue prints, I figured, I would go ahead and model everything after.

Looking for colleges sucked, all these options, and all I wanted to do was get into JET asap. I’ll admit my “fire for Japan” blinded me, as well as, the horrid drama of High School — so much so that my grades slipped to a C average. In retrospect, (don’t listen if you’re young) I should of cared if I wanted to get to Japan quickly, but I didn’t and well today (as I write this from a desk in Japan) I don’t think it really mattered. I had Japan on the mind and there it lays. So, ok, but the college admissions cared about my grades not my funky dream, and as a High Schooler, I sucked at “expressing my feelings.” I didn’t get into my plan A College, or Plan B~E… and resorted to Clark College. Which ultimately, showed me the light, the white light, the light that leads the way, as my dad says.

Clark was a no sh*t school full of people with broken dreams. Everyone was a golfer who shot too far and ended up at Clark because they lost their ball(s). And, I was there because I rushed my dream and had to back track on goal 1 “graduate.” Luckily, though I got some first class education on life, history, politics, and Japanese instruction. I got pumped up like Hulk Holgan and rocketed to my first Plan A college as a transfer student ready to kick butt. I signed up for ALL the Japanese Classes, ALL the Japanese history classes, ALL the Asian Related Classes. I was so gun-ho that in my second semester as a Junior at LC I hadn’t even declared a major yet. Stuck between Japanese & East Asian Studies, I was offered a tee-shirt at a EAS meeting and decided to join the small club of 4 or 5 EAS people. Remember, living in Japan was important to me not the undergrad major.

Living abroad (via LC) briefly, was an eye opener. It taught me one valuable lesson. “If you’re not in Japan, living in Japan, and talking with the locals in Japan — Everything you read about, hear about, or get taught about Japan is plain speculation.” This is hard nut for anyone to swallow, the but truth is the textbook Japan isn’t Japan. Historical context explains how the culture has evolved, but “Now” is what is in front of you when you’re here. If you can’t get “Now” then you’re going to crash, get disappointed ‘Japan doesn’t fit you — you gotta fit to Japan and that sucks”, so you go back home and get all pumped up again, write your book. Then don’t come back to see if what you wrote is what’s going on. Cheers… It’s ok.. those of us who live here just ignore the tourists anyway who read your books.

I graduated college and lost sight of that dream of joining JET because I was afraid of doing it. I got roped into a GREAT company doing something close to what I wanted to do, but things didn’t add up there FOR ME. I was happy, but timidly happy compared to what I felt it would be like to do “that Japan thing I kinda sorta dreamt of doing.” I gave that company a lot though and I appreciate the work experience. But 2007 was the catalyst for change. That ruckus of a political storm blew-up my “happy status quo” of living at home, commuting 20mi+ to and from work 8a-7p, just to get blasted everyday by people who wanted to barf their political dogma on my life. Good times..

It wasn’t just the Obama-bombs that blew up my FB stream, or the recession that threaten to fire the whole staff of that company, it was that yearning for happiness on the other side of the Pacific Pond. I remembered I had a dream and again I put it off by applying for the NAVY. When things went south there, it was sign. JUST DO IT. Ironic because I was working just a few miles from the Nike Campus in Oregon. I applied, got into JET, and in August was in country the second time with no plans to leave.

That was four years ago and JET has been a great experience, but it has been more like a really great sweater that you love and wear everyday and never wash. Over time it get’s a funky smell you ignore, a thread gets loose and you snip it, it get’s smaller (or you get bigger), and after four years you look at the sweater and stare. “I could wear that thing another year, but people say I look funky in it… There are better sweaters and worse. Plus, next year they’re going to take it away from me anyway.”

I decided to abandon the teaching sweater, because it turns out you grow up from the Anime nerd who wandered into the JET seminar once you’ve rocked the dream job for 4 years.

So what now? I hit the online pavement for three months and it’s been tough, but that dream still is there. Sometimes I don’t know… but after four years there are those who want to leave and those who want to stay. No inbetweeners.

All I can say right now is that I’ve decided which of the two is me and I’ve made a plan following JET.

This is where I look at the kids as the bell rings. If you think this doesn’t apply to you it does. Reach into your pocket, grab your (golf) ball(s), put them on the tee, and before you swing decide on that original goal and don’t lose sight of it.

-Josh

Posted July 11, 2013 on r3dragon.net

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Assistant Language Teacher

Educating our way to the future

We live in an age in which to have an education is more vital than anything, yet you would not know it given the periodical news reports that question whether the knowledge colleges’ currently provide is really a valuable enough investment. I would remind those critics that Benjamin Franklin was once quoted as saying, “an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” He believed that in his age of uncertainty one’s best hedge for the future was in getting a quality education, and the same is true for today.

Yet for some, they understand this, but their hesitation to going back to school is that they believe they do not have the time nor capability to attend traditional classes on campus. This is a particularly important issue for those with a full-time job or parents with kids. However, modern colleges offer an extremely flexible offering with many options to students to fit their needs. One of these options I happen to be personally involved with: ‘the online initiative.’ The online initiative makes the same high quality education and discussions that happen in the classroom accessible to anyone, anytime, anywhere, in the form of online classes.

However offering online classes is not what makes universities unique. Working in the Education Technology department at Multnomah University I have a unique perspective in knowing the answer. My role in the department is to develop the course layout, assist in video production, work on online design, as well as work with faculty and online students to make our courses successful and rewarding.

The secret to making our Universities’ online classes unique, happen to be the same qualities that make programs at MU excellent. In our case that is: Responsibility to get classes finished on time and self-direction in taking the initiative to obtain source materials from the subject matter experts (SME) and transmit them to a full online course. Teamwork – planning and delegating work efficiently to the right individuals in a team in order to keep course updates, online classes, full degree programs, and general online campus support up-to-date and responsive. To accomplish this requires important skills such as detail-orientation and effective prioritization of tasks.  

On a personal note, working for this University has confirmed for me that this is more than a job, it is a calling. Six years ago I believed God had called me to Japan and I lived there faithfully for nearly five years, but because of the aftermath of the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami, and the increasingly alarming situation in Fukushima it was no longer feasible to live there. I had to come back to the United States and ponder what I was supposed to do next. Like Paul, on the road to Damascus, I prayed, “what should I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10). His answer was to lead me to meet faculty from Multnomah in my own church. I found their experiences in ministry uniquely valuable and it was not before long when I felt a call to attend seminary classes at MU. When I first showed up I noticed everyone smiled and was very accommodating like they were part of a family. Since then Multnomah has just been a place of comfort and wisdom that one is hard pressed to find anywhere else. 

Joshua C. Wheeler