Tragedy and Continuing  スピーチ音声(3:08) mp3ファイル 740KB
As you all know there was a terrible earthquake and tsunami that destroyed so many homes and buildings in north-east Japan. We are all watching the TV and checking the Internet. The damage is so unbelievable. The images we see on TV look like it is some other country and that it could not be the Japan we live in.
It is a terrible time for many families who have lost people they love. It is a terrible time for people who lost their homes, their schools, their jobs. It is a terrible time for many people who don’t have anything now and who are now fighting to get water, food, and clothing. We will need to do what we can to help.
Now spring is coming. We can see the flowers starting to come out. The cherry blossoms are coming soon. Even though there is such tragedy and human loss and suffering, spring comes. The flowers still come. It is a mystery. Somehow life will continue on.
The people who lost their homes in the earthquake and tsunami have to rebuild their lives. They have to find a way to live again. Maybe this is the secret of spring. Maybe this is the mystery of living and of continuing. Even when terrible things happen, life continues. We have to continue.
This spring I hope you will all have a time to relax and to refresh your minds. Spring vacation is a good time to enjoy and to get your energy back. The next school year will come soon in April. We need to do what we can to build the future and to work hard. We need to cooperate together and to make our communities good places for our families, our friends and our future together.
Spring gives us Hope スピーチ音声(3:11) mp3ファイル 750KB
Every day the weather is getting a little bit warmer. The first flowers of spring are here. The birds are coming back. The insects are coming back. The first green leaves are growing on the trees. Spring is coming.
Many writers and poets write their books and poems about spring. Spring gives most people a special feeling. Winter is hard. Winter is cold. Winter is when everything is grey and dark. We feel slow in winter. We feel unhappy and down in winter. When spring comes it gives us so much energy and so many good feelings too. In winter we feel dark, but with the warm wind of spring we feel something new, we feel something wonderful. Spring gives us hope.
This is also a time when you are busy with many tests. You have to study hard. You have to sit in a cold classroom and look at your books. You have to stay in your room and do your homework and prepare for your tests. Winter is dark, and writing tests maybe makes you feel even darker. Maybe your tests were not so good. Maybe you are a little unhappy with the result of your tests.
But spring is a new season. Spring brings us hope. Spring brings us new energy and new chances. The insects and birds come back to nature. We can come back too. We can have a heart that is filled with new life.
We love spring. We love it because it is the season of life and the season of living. Spring brings all good things. Even if your tests were not so great, do not worry. A new spring is coming soon. A new school year is coming soon too. Let’s look forward to this new spring, to a new school year, to a new life, and to new hope.
Spring brings hope.
Being a Good Communicator スピーチ音声(4:07) mp3ファイル 968KB
Your English teachers will tell you many times that learning English is very important for communication. This is true, but only in part. Of course, to communicate in English you need to learn vocabulary, grammar, expressions and study very very hard.
But communication is not only about learning a language. There are many other parts of good communication that we need to remember in English, in Japanese or in any other language too.
Here are a few key points to remember when trying to communicate with other people.
1. Ask Questions. When we are talking with someone we should remember to ask questions. Communication is not only a one-way street. Communication is like a game of catch-ball. You ask questions. You answer questions. Your friend talks and you listen. You can show you are interested in other people by asking questions. We need to practice how to ask gentle questions so that people around us feel easy and feel free to talk.
2. Listen Carefully. Make sure to let the other person know you are listening to them. Be careful not to ask a question and then forget to listen. While your friend is speaking make sure to give signs to them (like “yes..” and “oh...”) while they talk.
3. Use good eye contact with the person in front of you. It is important to show the other person know you are interested in them with your eyes. We send many non-verbal messages with our eyes to make sure to show your eyes to other people.
4. Use body language. Crossing your arms is a sign you are not interested in the other person. Think about how you are standing or how you use your arms and head position and how the other person may feel. Our body language sends many silent messages so be aware about what message your body is sending.
Being a good communicator is a combination of careful listening, asking good questions and giving natural responses to the other person.
Sometimes we feel nervous or shy with other people but remember that most people like someone who will listen to them. Think about how you can give your time and your feeling to the other person and they will usually give you a good response. Becoming a good communicator is important for many things and can help you enjoy your life, your school and also help you in many future jobs too.
Thank you very much for listening. Have a good day!
Methods in Studying English スピーチ音声(4:44) mp3ファイル 1.1MB
As you know learning English is not easy. It takes a lot of time and a lot of effort. It is a big job, but it is a job that you can do. Learning English is a job that you must do.
Twenty years ago learning English was important, but more and more learning English has become VERY important. Because of the internet and because more and more companies have connections with America and Europe, English has become something that you must learn as a young person in Japan.
Learning English is a process that starts with learning simple words and then creating short sentences. The first step in learning English is to grow your vocabulary. To grow your vocabulary you will need to get a notebook, a pencil and your dictionary.
In your notebook you should write new vocabulary words when you learn them. Once you have them in your notebook you will need to write them again and again and again. This process is very important. Repeating the words is the only way to put them in your brain. If you write the word or phrase only one time you will soon forget, so you will need to repeat each word and write each word about ten times so you can remember.
When you have more vocabulary you can start to build sentence patterns. Keep your English simple. Keep the sentences short so that you can remember them and use them. Don’t be afraid to try your English whenever you have a chance. If you are interested to come to the English Workshop you are very welcome to come and learn more.
Another key part for making your English beautiful is learning better pronunciation. The English sounds with “R” and “L”, “F” and “V”, as well as “TH” are not easy, but with some practice you can make your mouth into the shapes needed for perfect English. Your English teachers can help you and we work on these things in the English Workshop too.
The most important thing in learning English here at Otemae is to listen very carefully to your English teachers. This school has excellent English teachers who have great experience in teaching grammar, pronunciation, natural English, reading, writing and testing techniques to give you success in your exams. Please take time to listen to them carefully and ask them many questions about your English study. You are very lucky to have such excellent teachers so I hope you will talk with them often about how you can become better at English and how to develop bilingual skills.
Learning English takes time. It is a long and difficult process but you must treat your English study like you run a marathon. Go only one step at a time, continue at your own pace, and never quit. You will one day come to the goal and your English will be excellent and you will be free to express your ideas and talk to anyone you like to in the English speaking world.
Our Relationship with Nature スピーチ音声(4:14) mp3ファイル 994KB
Last week in Kagoshima Shinmoe, a large mountain exploded. The air became filled with smoke and ash from the volcano. This has been the biggest explosion for 52 years and has caused a lot of trouble for the people who live there.
On the internet we can see some amazing photographs of lightning touching the mountain and magma coming to the top of the mountain. The people living nearby must be very afraid and worried for their homes, their farms and their communities.
Near my home in Canada you can visit the Rocky Mountains. We have many beautiful places for camping, for enjoying canoes, for hiking and skiing too. Many people from all over the world come to Canada to enjoy the mountains, and to enjoy sports in both summer and winter. But even though we can enjoy ourselves in nature we also have to be very careful when we are in the mountains. The weather can change quickly and it is possible to become lost and to have trouble with rain, snow or even wild animals.
It is a great thing for us to enjoy nature. We should enjoy it. It is important to get outside when we can to walk and enjoy the trees, the water and the clean air. But when we are away from our homes and the city we have to learn about how to take care of ourselves, how to help others in case of accident, and how to call for help if we need it.
There are few simple things we can do to make sure we are safe when we go hiking and when we go to places outside of the city. Here are a few ideas to help you stay safe when traveling.
1. Always carry your cellular phone with you. Make sure that your battery
is charged up.
2. Make sure that you are wearing good shoes and socks. When hiking,
wearing boots is best with good socks. Also make sure your boots are tied
tight.
3. Let someone at your house know where you are going, where you are
hiking and what times you will be away and when you will come back home.
4. Take something with you that can make a big noise. Take a whistle or a bell to ring to get attention. Also, something that can make a big noise will keep bears away too.
5. Take something that is a very bright color that can be used as a signal
for airplanes if you are lost. Take a bright orange safety vest, or bright
colored garbage bags.
6. Always carry something that can make fire like matches or a lighter.
Also take some newspaper to use to start a fire if you need to stop and
stay warm.
7. Always keep a hat with you.
8. Carry water and some snacks if you need extra energy.
9. Wear a jacket that will keep you dry in the rain, having a small umbrella
with you is a good idea too.
It is a good idea to always enjoy nature whenever you get the chance, but also make sure to prepare so that you can come home again safe and refreshed.
Thank you and have a great day.
Speaking With a Kind Voice スピーチ音声(3:50) mp3ファイル 901KB
My grandmother would often say, “If you do not have a nice thing to say, please do not say anything at all.” This is an excellent expression and I want to share it with you today.
Speaking with a kind voice and speaking politely is very important for many reasons. Speaking with a kind voice can help you get things that you want, and can help you build good relationships with other people.
Sometimes we become angry so it is easy and natural to say things that are not polite. Sometimes we can say things that can hurt another person’s feelings. The wrong words can make another person very angry too and then we can be in big trouble. Sometimes angry words can bring violence.
Finding the right words to speak is not so easy. We have to think carefully before we let our words out and think about how our words will be understood by the other person. When you have something important to say to someone it is a good idea to practice saying it in private before you say it directly.
Japan is a very peaceful country and this is a wonderful thing. In general, many people are polite and understand what are good manners. In America and Canada, however, sometimes it can be very dangerous to speak in a bad way or to have bad manners. Sometimes when people do not agree there can be sudden violence and in some terrible cases people can be hurt or killed because they do not agree or could not speak calmly with each other.
When we speak to our friends we usually speak in a relaxed way. When we speak at home we often do not think so much about manners and how to be polite. Our homes and our friends make us feel relaxed and calm so maybe in those times perfect manners are not important.
But in public, and in any place outside our homes and our friends we need to take care about how we speak and our ways of communicating with others. If you can speak kindly to anyone new people you meet will think you are kind. If you speak in a hard and rude way people will think you are not such a great person.
The way we speak is a sign of the kind of person we are on the inside. Let’s all be careful how we speak and to remember that good manners in speaking are very helpful and important for our daily lives.
RECHARGE スピーチ音声(3:47) mp3ファイル 888KB
Winter vacation is almost here. You have had a very busy year from January 2010 until now. It has been a good year to have new junior high school students join us in April and from now we will have a short break before the end of this school year.
How will you spend your winter vacation? What will you do? How will you get your energy back?
It is amazing how many things we have in our houses to help make our lives more convenient. We have televisions, computers, cell phones, game systems, DVDs, and many other things to give us information and enjoyment. I think that it is great for us to have many tools and computers to make our lives more relaxing and enjoyable.
But sometimes maybe we forget to turn off the computer or turn off the TV and go outside. We have so many televisions and computers and I-pods and games. It is great to enjoy these things, especially when you spend so much time studying and reading and preparing for tests. We need a break and we need to relax. I hope that you take some time for yourself and enjoy doing something quiet and fun.
But I also hope that you have a chance to get outside your house too. It is important for us to see the sunlight and to look at the trees and to feel the wind on our faces. Go outside for a walk. Go to a park. Ride your bicycle and enjoy being outdoors. Give your body a chance to get some energy from the sun and from nature. It may be a little cold outside but even a nice cool wind can give you some energy and give you a feeling of being alive.
After you go outside to look at nature I hope that you take some time to feed your mind as well. Find a book to read and find a quiet place in your house to enjoy reading. Books are very important for your mind and you can explore another world through books.
I also hope that you find some time to listen to music and to find songs that really make a big impact on your mind and give you some energy. Music can give your heart and soul a lot of energy too. Make sure to take some time and let music fill your heart.
Winter vacation is here and we all need some time to relax and enjoy and to charge up our brains and hearts. Please be careful and take care. Have a Merry Christmas!
Count to Ten スピーチ音声(3:07) mp3ファイル 732KB
When I was younger I would become angry very easily. If someone was rude
to me I would become very angry. I could not control myself and I would
EXPLODE I think that I made a lot of trouble for my family and friends
when I was young.
In junior high school I played baseball and my coach gave me some very important advice. He said that whenever we were very angry and whenever we wanted to yell or say something we should first count from one to ten.
One time I was angry about something and my coach said, “Mark, before you say anything you must count from one to ten.”
I said, “But…!”
“No”, said my coach. “First you must count.”
“Ok. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.”
“Ok, what is the problem?”, said my coach.
“Well, maybe it is not so important now. I’m all right now.”
And this is how I learned to control my angry feelings. I think it is a helpful technique and I encourage you to try sometimes. In our lives there are many rude and foolish people. These people will make us angry. They will make us want to react very strongly and with great anger. Maybe we should be slow to speak when we have very strong angry feelings.
When words leave our mouths we cannot put them back inside. They are out in the world and sometimes they can make some serious damage to other people around us. When people are angry they often say very hard and very terrible things.
As we get older we need to learn how to control our own reactions. Our reactions belong to us, so we must take care of them. We must not give the power to our reactions to other people. Controlling the mouth is a very important thing to become an adult.
The End is Near スピーチ音声(3:54) mp3ファイル 918KB
December is here and the end of 2010 is coming soon. The weather is getting
colder, and winter is really here. There are only a few more weeks left
in this year and this is the time for us to look back and think about 2010.
How has this year been for you? Did you have a good experience this school year? What has changed for you? Did you grow in some special way? Did you learn something new? Did you have some trouble this year? Have you learned something important about yourself, your friends and your life? Are you thinking more about the future?
2010 has been a very interesting year. There have been many challenges and difficulties for our world. But even though there has been some hard times we are still very lucky to live here in peace. Let’s hope that we can have another year of safety and peace for 2011.
As this year is coming to an end this is a good time to think about how you have done in your studies. How are you doing in your classes? Maybe you had some trouble with your last tests. Maybe you did not have a chance to prepare or study as much as you should have. Maybe you could not have had great success with your tests.
This is not a time to panic. There is still a lot of time between now and the end of March. Maybe this is the end of 2010 but there is a lot of time left for you to work hard and to focus your attention on the work you need to do. There is no need to have a lot of regret for mistakes or things you cannot change now. I hope that you will think about what you will do for yourself in 2011. This is a wonderful thing about December. It is a time to look back to understand the past year, but also a chance to think about what you want to change for yourself for the next year.
I hope that you will take some time to use a pen and paper to write down what you hope to do next year. What is your plan between now and the end of the school year in March? Make sure to write down what you want to do, what you plan to do, and how you are going to reach your goals.
2010 is ending soon. Let’s learn from our experiences this year and make
2011 a wonderful and exciting year.
Try Something New スピーチ音声(3:52) mp3ファイル 908KB
Sometimes you have to try something new. When I first came to Japan I was very surprised. All the food I saw was very new to me. I did not know anything about Japanese food. I did not know sushi or sashimi, tempura or takoyaki. I was a little nervous at first to try new things but it was great that I tried to eat Japanese food. Now I can enjoy everything.
Last week Hirai-Sensei introduced to you the chance for you to go to England. I hope that you will think about this great opportunity and do your best to try to go. When you have a chance to go to another country you can eat many different things. You can see many new things. You can have many new experiences. These experiences can teach you many things and can make your life very interesting and fun.
Going to another country is a great thing, but sometimes it can be difficult too. Not everyone has enough money to travel as much as they like. Even so, there are still many chances for us to try to experience new things. We can go to local museums. We can read different kinds of books. We can see different kinds of movies and film. We can try different kinds of food even here in Takamatsu. We can try different sports or learn new kinds of art. We can listen to so many different kinds of music.
Many new kinds of experiences are here for us if we take some time to look for them.
Trying different things can grow your mind. Trying different things can be fun. Trying something new can be a great challenge.
It is boring to do the same thing every day. It is boring to eat the same food every day. It is boring to read the same books or watch the same television programs every day.
I hope that you will challenge yourself to try to do something different and to try something new. Maybe you could try to listen to jazz music. Maybe you could go to the museum and look at art you don’t understand. Maybe you could read a book that is very different than what you usually read. Do something different today. You will feel refreshed and challenged and you might even learn something new about yourself too.
English for Peace スピーチ音声(3:27) mp3ファイル 810KB
Yesterday we had some very bad news about South Korea and North Korea. We learned in the news that North Korea sent bombs into South Korea. The South Korea army responded and sent their bombs into North Korea.
The situation is very serious for Korea, and maybe for other countries too. We can hope that the problem will find a solution, and that the two Koreas will stop sending bombs into each other’s countries.
The trouble in North and South Korea has been there for many years. It will be difficult to find peace there. One of the hopeful things about this recent problem is that South Korea and North Korea is that they both speak Korean and can communicate with each other. We hope they will talk with each other and find a peaceful solution to their trouble.
What if there was trouble between two countries that did not share a language? If there is trouble between Brazil and Portugal they can speak in Portuguese. If there is trouble between France and Canada we can communicate in French. But for most countries the only common language they have is English. English is necessary for the world to communicate and to help find peaceful solutions.
English can be used as the international language of peace.
As a student you must study English for your tests, and for your homework and so you can go to university. These are important things, but English is also the language of international communication. We can use English to make friends and to share our cultures, but English can also be used in times of trouble too.
We can use English to talk with people from very different cultures and use English to try to understand and communicate. I hope that you will think about how you can use English in the future to communicate with people in North Korea. They will probably not speak Japanese, and you will probably not have a chance to study Korean. English will be the best chance many people have to communicate and to find ways to bring peace to our world.
Remembering the Past スピーチ音声(3:40) mp3ファイル 861KB
There is an expression in English, “If we do not remember the past we will make the same mistakes again in the future.” This is something that we should think about. History is something that can teach us many things. We do not only learn about important people, important times, the times when new technologies were made or when the government changes. Learning about history can teach us about how the human mind works and about how we should look to the future. History has a lot of good advice for us about how to be careful in the future.
I love to study history. For me, history has many important stories and the ideas of many great people. I can learn from great leaders of the past. I can learn from people like Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein and Ghandi. We can read what they have said about our world and the advice they give us about what is important.
It seems to me that one of the most important things that great people in history talk about is the need for humans to be free. We are very lucky today to live in a world that is free, and to be in a world that does not have so many terrible wars as compared to the past. We are lucky to be able to say what we want to say. We are lucky to be able to study and read what we want to. We are lucky to meet people and to make friends with people that we like.
We live in a safe and lucky time.
But to keep our future bright and free we must also take care to remember the terrible things of the past. We must remember the wars and the terrible experiences that people who lived before us had. We must remember their words so that we do not have to suffer like they did.
I often tell students that English study is the most important for their future. This is true, we need to have language to make chances and opportunities for the future, but I also believe that we must also study the history of the past. We must remember that we should always be free to learn and to grow and to explore the world. We must keep the idea of freedom with us and to keep it safe for our future and for the future of the next generation who will come after us.
Thank you and have a great day.
I Can’t Speak English
So many times I meet people who say to me, “I can’t speak English”. Of course, I think this is completely understandable. Speaking English takes some time, and takes a lot of practice. Speaking English is not an easy thing to do. Some people have very natural talent for learning languages, but for most people, like you and I, we have to work very hard at it.
I want to take a moment today to tell you a few things about learning English and hope it will give you some information and support.
When you started to learn English you started to learn ABCs, right? At first you did not know what ABCs were but you could learn them. The next thing you started to learn was some basic words like, “cat”, “dog”, “pencil” and desk. After that you started to learn a few basic expressions like “Hello, how are you?” and “I’m fine, thanks. And you?”
And then the next step came when you had to learn many difficult grammar patterns and sentences that looked impossible to master. English started so easy, but then suddenly it became quite difficult. Maybe you felt that you could not learn English and decided to stop. It looked impossible.
I want to encourage you today that it is not impossible. You can really learn English, but there is another couple of important steps that you need to take.
The first step is to grow your vocabulary. You need to know more basic words. You know words like “cat” and “dog”, but you need to learn all the animal names. Then you need to know words for food and drink, English words for nature and weather, English words for the body, English words for feelings, and English words for things that live in the ocean and in the sky.
You need to start to build your own vocabulary list. I suggest getting a notebook and start making lists of words you want to learn in English.
You need to learn words to help grammar get easier. You need to learn verbs, and adjectives and adverbs. You need more words.
The next step is to start building simple sentences with the words you know. Check with your teachers if they are Ok, and keep finding new patterns to use. Maybe you cannot speak much English yet, but you are understanding more and more and this is a very important big step to speaking freely.
You will need to write your new vocabulary words in your notebook many times and you need to hear and say these words over and over again. Language research shows us that to learn a new word in English you will need to hear the word about 6 or 7 times before you can really remember it. So, if you don’t master English quickly, just keep repeating and repeating until you remember.
Maybe you do not speak English today, but you will. You can really learn to speak English but you must not stop when it gets hard. Don’t quit. Keep pushing through!
You can do it.
Hope and Survival
Last week many people watched the news about the men who were in Chile. The men are miners who work deep in the earth. There was a terrible accident and the men were trapped. They could not get out. They had to wait in the earth for more than two months until they could be rescued. It is an incredible story and the people in Chile were so excited that these men could be saved.
We cannot imagine what it was like for those men in Chile who were trapped in that deep hole. They were probably very afraid and many times thought they would die. But somehow they could survive. Somehow they could have hope. I am very interested to hear more about their incredible story and hope they will share the details of their experience soon.
Maybe you and I can understand a little about how they must have felt. Sometimes we feel like we are “in a hole” and that everything is dark and we cannot be saved. For students in junior high school and high school this feeling is sometimes very real. Sometimes we have trouble in school, or trouble at home, or trouble with friends. Sometimes we can feel like we are in a very dark and very lonely place.
The men in Chile believed that their dark time was not forever. They believed that they would somehow find a way to get out of the deep deep hole and see the sun again. Their situation was probably much more serious than our situations. They had hope to live, and hope to survive. Maybe we can learn something from their experience.
So if you are feeling like you are in a deep dark hole, I hope that you will remember that it is not forever. Junior high school and high school will not be forever. If you have some dark and unhappy experiences now one day you will be able to come out and find a brighter place to be. Your teachers understand and know that being a student is not an easy job. They understand that sometimes a student can feel like they are in a dark and lonely place.
The most important thing, however, is that you still have hope. Keep hope in your heart that your situation will change. You will be rescued. You will see the sun and find happiness and joy. Don’t give up, even when things are dark. You will survive. You will come out of the deep dark hole.
I Don’t Know
Sometimes someone will ask you a question. You stop. You don’t know the answer. You don’t know what to do. You are nervous. Maybe you should say something. Maybe you should create some kind of answer. You don’t want other people to think you are foolish so you think, “OK, I will tell some story, or make some answer. Maybe it is true. Maybe not. I MUST give some answer.”
Then you open your mouth and you say something that is wrong. Your answer is wrong. You made up some false story and you are wrong. Now you feel embarrassed and ashamed.
Didn’t anyone ever tell you it is OK to say, “I don’t know”? It is. It is OK to say “I don’t know.”
This is one of the most important things you need to learn to say. You need to learn to say, “I don’t know”, not only in English but in Japanese too.
There is nothing wrong with saying “I don’t know.” The truth is, most people do not know very much about anything. Of course, your teachers here at Otemae are very intelligent and clever and can teach you many things. But… sometimes they do NOT know everything. Your best teachers will easily tell you “I don’t know” if you ask them a difficult question.
To not know the answer to a question is no problem. Of course, we should do what we can to get the information needed and to learn and to grow, but in our studies there are too many things we do not know. We should be honest about the things we do not know and to always be willing to learn.
As students and teachers we have a great chance to live and to study here at Otemae. We can find people to talk with, to learn from and to also learn about the many things that we do not understand yet. We must start with the phrase, “I don’t know” and work hard towards “I am learning now”. Maybe one day we will master new information but the beginning of learning something important must always begin with the three words, “I don’t know”.
Autumn
It has been a long and hot summer. Every day we sweat. Every day we feel tired. Every day we feel like we have no power and no energy. Summer is great, but sometimes it feels too hot.
But now the weather is changing. The daylight is shorter. The evenings are a little cooler. It is easier to sleep at night. It does not feel as hot as before. Autumn is a beautiful season.
Soon the trees will change their colors from green to red and orange and yellow. Autumn in Japan is so beautiful and so wonderful. In my hometown in Canada it is already getting cold and in some places it is only 5 or 6 degrees at night. The snow will come next month and autumn will be gone.
Kagawa autumn, however, seems to go on and on and on. The wind is cooler. We feel happier and have more energy. We feel like this is a good season to work hard and to grow. The trees may sooon be sleeping for the winter but for people autumn is the best season.
What will you do this autumn? You will have more energy than before and will have a good chance to make some progress in your studies, your sports or your hobbies. I hope you will take this new autumn energy and do something good with it.
My brother in Canada told me that the weather is getting colder and colder each day. The vegetables in his garden are all dead. People in Canada are getting ready for the big snow that will come soon.
I am grateful to be here in Takamatsu and to share this wonderful autumn season with you. I am not sure what I will do with my own autumn energy but I don’t want to waste it. The trees are becoming more and more beautiful each day. The air is getting cooler. There is a new season coming soon. I think this will be a wonderful time to do something new.
Thank you and have a great day.
To Dream or Not to Dream
There is a lot of research about how we dream. Every night when we go to bed our body will sleep but our brains will continue to dream. There are many ideas about how we dream and why dreams are very important to us.
Most scientists who study dreams agree that the mind needs time to rest and to think about the experiences we have each day. If you have a problem or something you are thinking about, many times your dream can give you some answer or help you find some help. Every night we have many different kinds of dreams. Some dreams are about very ordinary things, about our friends, our homes and families and things we know. Some dreams are scary and dark, and can help us understand what we are afraid of. Other dreams are strange or full of color and imagination. It is difficult to know what our dreams mean, and scientists do not agree on the true meaning of dreams.
There are other kinds of dreams that we have too. These are the dreams we have when we are awake. The dreams we have for our future, the dreams we have for who and what we want to be one day. Your teachers will probably ask you, “What is your dream?” It is an excellent, and very important question.
Maybe you don’t have an answer for, “What is your dream?”. Maybe you don’t know. Maybe you do not feel so good about your life and can’t think about your dream. I hope that will change for you soon. Having a dream, even a secret dream you cannot tell other people about is important.
We all need to take time to think about our lives and think about what kind of dream we want to have. Maybe you want to be an artist or scientist, an athlete or a musician. Maybe you want to travel and see the world. Maybe you want to build something that no one else ever could. Having a dream is important. It gives us power. It gives us purpose.
Sometimes we meet people who try to stop us from dreaming. They often say, “You can’t do that” or “That is not right” or “You are not good enough to do that”. I think that we should not listen to those people. Don’t let anyone steal your dream. Your dream is yours. Your life is yours. Don’t be afraid to dream. Don’t let anyone stop you from your dream.
Your future is your own. Your dream is your own. It belongs to you.
10 WAYS TO STAY HEALTHY
Today I want to share with you an
interesting Internet article I read about health. I learned that there are ten
important things we should do to keep our health. I want to share them with
you.
1. Drink milk: Your body needs
lots of calcium so you need to drink milk, or eat cheese or yogurt. Please take
care of your bones.
2. Stand up straight. Many people
have bad posture so it is not good for your neck, and back and knees. If you
stand straight you can prevent damage to your body.
3. Don’t smoke. Smoking is very
dangerous and terrible for your body. It also makes you smell very bad.
4. Drinking alcohol. When you are
over 20 years old you can drink alcohol but you must be very careful. People
who drink too much alcohol are also usually too heavy.
5. Eating too much or being too
heavy. People are in different shapes and sizes but if you feel too heavy be
careful with sweet food. Take care of what you eat and how much you eat too.
6. Eating the wrong food. Please
think about what kinds of food you eat each day. Vegetables and fruit give you
energy and keep you healthy. Too much sugar and oil is not so healthy for you.
7. No exercise. It is very
important for the body to move and to get some exercise. If you don’t like
sports that is OK, but please take time to walk or ride your bicycle too. That
will help you stay health and strong.
8. Bad relationships: Having a bad
friendship or bad romance can make you very unhappy and give you a lot of
stress. People who have too much stress can get sick easily. If you are with
some negative people or in a bad relationship you should get out as soon as you
can.
9. Talking bad about yourself:
This bad habit can make you feel terrible and can make it difficult for you to
make friends. It is important to feel good about yourself, feel good about the
shape of your own body and to be positive.
10. Skin damage from the sun. It gets very hot in Kagawa and you are in
the sun for a long time. It is easy to get sun damage, even when you are young.
Try to find ways to protect your skin when you are outside.
That is all. Those are the 10 key points to
stay healthy and protect your body and mind. You need to be healthy and strong
for your studies and also for your friends and family. Please take good care of
yourself!
Sometimes Trouble is an Important Teacher
Everyone has trouble. Everyone has a time in their life when something is wrong. Trouble comes to all of us. Sometimes when we have trouble we feel very nervous and we panic. This is understandable. Maybe you have trouble in your studies. Maybe you have trouble with your friends or with your family. Anyway, trouble always comes and there will always be some kind of trouble in life. There is no perfect life. There is no perfect world.
But sometimes trouble can be a good experience. Sometimes, when you have a big problem you can learn something about yourself. Hard times makes us look inside for answers. Tough times makes us tough. We can understand our own hearts if we can survive trouble.
Sometimes trouble can teach us who is our true friend and who is not. When we have a hard time, who is the person who helps us? Who is the person who listens to us? Who is the person who stands by our side when we are in big trouble? The people who are with you through trouble are your true friends. It is good to know this, so we can be thankful when trouble comes. It is good to know who your friends are.
Our lives are basically very smooth, and basically very free of trouble. There is no war in Canada. There is no war in Japan. We can have food everyday. We can have clothes and bicycles and cars and houses and education. Basically we have everything that we need. If we think about it, our trouble is not so bad. I think that my grandparents and your grandparents had much more trouble than we do today.
Don’t worry too much when trouble comes. Just do your best. The troubles
we have will come and go. New trouble will come in the future. When that
trouble comes keep your eyes open. Don’t panic. Think about who your real
friends are and stand together. Whatever happens, be strong and confident.
You will not die. The world will not end. You will be OK.
Sometimes trouble can be a very important teacher.
Have a great day.
English and Your Future Job
the last 20 years there has been a great increase in the need for students
today to learn English. Japanese culture, food and products are more and
more popular around the world so there are many good reasons to learn and
to master English.
The other night I was watching Mr. Honda of the Japanese World Cup team on television. Because he lives outside of Japan he must communicate with his teammates in English. His English is very good too. Japanese soccer players are living more and more in Europe and they need to have English. If you are a sports person you will need to improve your English to play at the champion level.
There are more and more computer games and television games from Japan that are very popular in America. Many kids in other countries know many things about the games and characters that come from Japan. The computer game business is very strong and if you want to have a job in the future in computers or games you will need more English.
Every time I go to other countries I see more and more Japanese restaurants that serve traditional Japanese food. There are many food companies that work in other countries to introduce Japanese food to the world. So, if you enjoy food or think that you may have a job in the future in a food company you may need English to help you in your work.
Car companies like Toyota and Honda make many new hybrid cars that are good for the environment. These cars are becoming very popular all over the world. If you are someone who likes cars and might like to work in the car industry, you should learn more English to help you in the future.
You can see by these very few examples that Japanese companies and goods from Japan are very important all over the world. These companies will need staff who can speak and understand English. I hope that you will think about how English can help you in the future and why you should work extra hard to master English and become bilingual.
Thank you and have a good day.
Summertime
For Canadians, summer in Japan is the hardest season. It’s hot. It’s too hot. It’s super hot. Every year I am always so surprised how hot it is in Japan. In my country, we have summer too, but it is not like it is here. Sometimes I feel like I am melting.
But summer also has many wonderful and beautiful things with it. The birds and insects are everywhere. Flowers grow and bloom so quickly. The evenings feel heavy and warm, but it also has a very special season as well. There are many festivals and fireworks and wonderful foods to also enjoy.
Japan is a country that celebrates and enjoys every season. Spring, summer, autumn and winter each has its own style, its own flavor and taste. Each season has a unique and special feeling. I am learning more about Japan in each season.
The summer season is also a time where we have tests coming. It is a good time to think about your school work from April until now. How are your classes? How is your study? Are you happy with the result? Are you satisfied with your work?
Summer has a nice vacation time as well. I hope that you will have some time to think about your school experiences here at Otemae and decide what you want to do in the next semester. If your classes are not so good, you can take some time to make a new plan for how you want to attack your studies again, and make a new plan for success.
The weather is getting warmer, and the seasons are changing. The school year has begun but there are many more days of study and school life ahead. I hope that you will take this summer to collect your energy and to make strong progress in your studies.
Thank you very much and have a great day.
World Cup
Right now on television we can all enjoy the exciting games of World Cup soccer. For me, I love watching almost any sport and soccer is something I really enjoy during the World Cup. We can see the greatest soccer players of the world meet and we can watch some very exciting games. The other day I watched Portugal crush North Korea with a 7 to 0 victory. It was unbelievable.
Soccer teams, like all teams can only win through two very important things. The first is preparation and the second is teamwork. I want to talk a little about each point and hope that you can see how each topic is important for all of us today.
The greatest sports men and women of the world take a lot of time to prepare themselves. They have to prepare their bodies. They have to eat good food. They have to get enough sleep. They can’t drink too much alcohol or do dangerous things with their bodies. They have to exercise, and train and do many of the same drills over and over and over again. It is not fun, but it is completely necessary to become a champion.
Your study and our work as teachers is the same. We all have to study and study and study. Then we have to review and review and review. We must do the same hard work over and over again so that we can do our jobs as teachers and students easily and the same way that champion sportsmen and sportswomen do their work.
The second key point for success is teamwork. We all have teammates in our daily lives. We have friends and family. We have coworkers. At Otemae we have our Kocho-sensei and our staff in the office. We need to work very carefully as a team. We need to be able to trust our other teammates so that we can do our jobs.
For students, you need your family and your friends to help you and to support you. At the same time you will also need to be a good friend to your friends and also a positive member of your family too. For teachers we need a very similar kind of teamwork, because if we cannot trust each other, our jobs cannot be done successfully.
I think that watching sports can be very helpful to understand how we can work better together and how we can communicate and build a good thing together. We will always need to work carefully with other people, and we need to find ways that we can have trust too.
I hope that you will continue to enjoy the World Cup on television. There is a lot of soccer we can learn as we watch the professionals, but there is something more we can learn from these great sportsmen too.
Thank you very much and have a good day.
National Safety Month
In America, June is “National Safety Month”. In our world there are many things we have to be careful about so it is a good idea to think about safety and how to be safe, both at work or school and at home.
National Safety Month in America has five key areas for safety. Each week as a special focus on safety. The first week is about being careful with medicine. The second week is about safety for new drivers. The third week is about safety in overwork at home and on the job. The fourth week is about safety when using a cell phone. The fifth theme is about summer safety.
Let’s talk briefly about each theme for safety.
1. Are you safe with medicine and vitamins? Are you taking only medicine that the doctor said was OK for you to use? Are you taking vitamins as well to feel healthy and strong? Let’s be careful not to take the wrong kinds of medicine. It can be very dangerous to your health.
2. There are many new drivers on the road. Of course, you are not driving cars yet, but you are on your bicycles and there are some drivers who are too fast or not being careful. Please be careful not to get into a terrible accident. Don’t worry if you are late for something. It is better you are late and safe and not in danger.
3. Are you over-working in school? Of course it is very important to study hard in your classes and to study hard at home. Please think about your study habits and if you are working too hard, please make sure to take a rest too. Getting enough sleep is also very important for your health.
4. When you use a cell phone are you on your bicycle or in a place where you can be injured or hurt? Please be careful when using your cell phone. You may have your focus on your cell phone and not on the people around you.
5. Summer time is coming soon, and the weather is getting warmer. Please make sure to be careful in the sun and also to drink enough water each day. Your health and safety are very important so please be careful not to get damaged by the sun, or to have no water with you when you are outside.
There is a lot to think about for personal safety, so I hope all of us will remember places where to be safe and how to take care of ourselves and people around us.
Taking Care of Our Planet
In the news you may have seen reports about a giant oil spill near America. The oil spill accident started five weeks ago and is now putting more and more oil into the sea. This case is very serious and the oil company, called BP (for British Petroleum), does not know how to stop the oil from spilling into the ocean. It is a terrible disaster and will possibly continue from now until August.
When so much oil comes into the sea it kills many animals and fish. Blue crabs, lobsters, oysters, shrimp, jellyfish, crocodiles, whale sharks, and over 500 different kinds of fish are expected to be seriously damaged because of this disaster. The coastal areas are also expected to be badly damaged too.
Our countries need oil and gas for our lives. We need to have houses, cars, trains, companies and schools. Oil is necessary for our lives. But we also need to be careful how we get oil from the sea and from the earth. If we do not take care we can make terrible mistakes and damage our world.
Taking care of our planet is not only the job of the big companies who get oil from the sea. Taking care of our neighborhoods and homes is our job too. Everyone needs to think about how to keep our cities and neighborhoods clean. It is very sad to see garbage in the street, garbage in the rivers and on the beach.
It is not necessary to change our lives so much to have a cleaner and safer world to live in. We don’t need to try to live in the forests again. One thing that we can all do is to not throw our trash and garbage in public places. Keep your plastic garbage in a pocket until you get home. Don’t throw things into the sea or into rivers.
Britsh Petroleum has made a terrible environmental disaster and we hope that they will be made responsible to work for the clean-up. Each of us also has a responsibility to take care of the world around us. Our world is full of nature and beauty so let’s work together to keep our planet safe and keep our planet clean.
Rome Was Not Built in One Day
“Rome was not built in one day” is a famous expression in English.
The city of Rome is in Europe, in the country of Italy. The history of Italy and Rome is very interesting. Rome was a powerful city and the army of Rome spread all over Europe and Africa. Rome was the city where many things were made. Roads, waterways, systems of writing, libraries, government, war machines, drama, and many more things were born and made in Rome.
In the days of Rome, the people were proud to be Romans. They believed that they were the most important culture of the world. It took many many people to make their culture, and to build their city. It was a very complicated and huge place. To build Rome took many many years, and many people too. Rome was not made in one day.
When people say in English, “Rome was not built in a day” they mean that something important or something big cannot be finished quickly. Building something big or important needs a lot of time, and needs a lot of effort.
Your education here at Otemae is a lot like building “Rome”. You cannot master all of your classes in one day. You need time. You need a lot of time. You need many hours to sit in classes and listen to teachers. You need a lot of time to write in your notebooks and to make reports. You need a lot of energy and effort to build your education.
You also need a lot of help too.
You need teachers who can help you make your “Rome”, and help you build your education. You need good tools, like pencils, papers, dictionaries, books and computers to build your education, and you need to learn how to use these tools well.
As you are building your education, day by day, step by step, you also may need to relax your mind. Do not get too worried. Do not get too anxious that you cannot master everything quickly. It takes time. It takes many mistakes and a lot of effort to build something big and something important.
Your life and experience here as a student at Otemae is like building something important. You are beginning to build your mind and starting to build your future. You will need a lot of things to make this happen but you can do it with a strong attitude, and with help, and with good tools.
Rome was not built in one day. Your education was not built in one day. Keep moving one step at a time. Keep building your education one block at a time. In the end you will make something very beautiful and great. Maybe you cannot see it now, but don’t stop making a strong effort to build yourself for the future.
Thank you very much and have a great day.
D.I.Y.
ABC or XYZ. These are letters of the alphabet. For me, my favorite three letters are DIY, which means “Do It Yourself”. I like going to the home center. I like tools. If I have a chance I like to build things or do home repair. In our house sometimes I need to repair something so I go to the home center and buy the tools and materials I need. Sometimes I am not sure how to repair something or how to build something, so I check the Internet and get some ideas what to do.
When you are a child, there are many things that we do not do ourselves. There is not so much “D.I.Y.”. Mother and Father help us with many things. Mom and Dad make breakfast, make lunch, make dinner, wash your clothes, iron your clothes, buy your bicycle, give you some money, help you with your homework, help you when you are sick, and so many more things.
I hope you remember to say “Thank You” to your mom and dad sometimes.
Anyway, when you are a child you do not have to D.I.Y. so much, but when you become a teenager it is important to become more and more independent. Mother and Father cannot help you as much as before. You will need to “grow up” more, and fight for what you want to do. This is a good thing. This is the process of growing from a child into an adult.
I recommend that you try to do more and more things yourself. You should think about making your own breakfast in the morning. You should start to wash and iron your own clothes. You should make your own lunch. You should clean up your own room. You should do your homework yourself. When you have trouble, and you don’t know what to do, it is always good to ask for advice. Ask your teachers. Ask your mother and father. But, and this is important, it is YOU who should do the work.
Of course, cleaning your room and doing your homework are not very fun things to do. It is hard to really enjoy cleaning and studying. But when you do it yourself there are some big benefits. Your feeling changes a lot. You don’t need so much help. You are more independent. You can do things yourself. You become stronger. You become smarter. You become an adult.
I hope that you can think about what your mother and father and teachers are doing for you everyday. Please think about what they do for you. The next step to becoming independent and free is to try as much as you can to D.I.Y.
D.I.Y. is the difference between children and adults. You are teenagers now, and not yet completely independent. As you get older and as you grow from junior high school to high school to university and beyond, the students who do the best in school and who have the best careers are usually the students who understand why D.I.Y. is so important.
Stay Awake
I have been to Tokyo many times. I like the big city. I like the many theaters and restaurants. I like to shop, to enjoy different kinds of food, and to see so many different kinds of people who live in the big city.
One thing that always surprises me when I am in Tokyo is how people can sleep on the train. I don’t know how they can do it. I see people sleeping everywhere. They just sit, close their eyes and shut off their brains. But, they also seem to be able to get up at the right time, and get off the train on time. Amazing.
I know that if I tried to do that I would fall down on the floor and sleep for an hour or two. I would not get off the train at the right place and I might crush some high school students or older person by accident. For me, it is a good idea to NOT sleep on the train and to stay awake.
I like to stay awake during the day. I can’t take naps. If I sleep in the daytime I always feel bad after. For me, sleep is for the night, and the daytime is when I need to do my job, and to try to help students.
Maybe your parents and teachers always tell you to stay awake in class. I think that this is VERY important advice and I hope you will listen to them. If you stay awake during your classes, even if your class is not so interesting, you will do better in school. If you sleep, turn off your brain, your time in class is 100% wasted.
If you are sleeping you cannot communicate with anyone. If you sleep you cannot hear anyone around you. You cannot ask questions. You cannot hear your friends talk to you. You cannot join anything around you and you get nothing from sleeping during the day.
Of course people need to sleep to get their energy so they can do their work and to study and play sports. The time for that has to be when you are at the end of your day, when your study is finished and everything is ready for tomorrow.
Someone who is awake can “jump back” into action, but someone who is coming out of their nap really doesn’t have much energy or power. I hope you can stay awake during the day and I am glad you stayed awake for my short speech this morning. Thank you!!
Cooperation: A Sweet Sound in English
In Canada, people often talk about how they can do anything they like. People say, “I am free. I am good enough. I can do whatever I like.” This is true, and it is good that people are free, feel good about themselves and are free to do what they like in life. Canada has a culture of the individual, of individual rights and people usually express themselves in a way of “I can...”, “I want...” and “I need...”
In many ways, Japan is a different culture than Canada. The food is different. The language is different. Many ideas are also very different. One big difference that exists between Canada and Japan is the idea of cooperation.
Cooperation does exist in Canada, of course, but I think that in Japan the idea is something that is much more natural and is expected. It is a beautiful thing.
For example, when we see Canadian or American sports stars on television, sometimes the star will say something like, “I am glad to be with such a great team” or “We could win the game because we had very good teamwork.” But usually, the sports star will talk about himself, about his condition, about his ability to get the win for the team. The sports star talks about “me me me”. This is not such a beautiful thing.
We need cooperation in our lives, for almost everything. It is true that each of us has great chances and abilities to grow and learn, but we also need other people too. Many people have goals in their lives. Many people have an idea about the kind of future they want to have. But to reach that future, we also need support, help and advice from people who are close to us.
Right now you are all working very hard in your studies. You must go to class. You must listen to your teachers. You must go to club. You must do your homework. You might also have to go to a juku or some other activity as well. I think that you must be very very busy. You have a heavy job to do.
But to do this big job you cannot do it by yourself. You need a lot of cooperation every day. You need your teachers to cooperate with you to help you learn. You need your friends and teammates to cooperate with you in your club or sports team. You really need your mother, father and grandparents to cooperate with you every day at home. You need a lot of cooperation and help.
To get the best cooperation from our friends and family we also need to give to people around us. We must ask ourselves, “How can I help my friends and family?” or “How can I help make my class a good place to be?” We need to cooperate with each other. It is not really a “give and take”, but more like a “We give together and enjoy the benefits together” kind of relationship.
Cooperation with other people gives us a place and an identity. It is not so troublesome, but more necessary for our lives. Cooperation makes our family. Cooperation makes our school. Cooperation makes our society and our future.
GOAL！
It is a new school year. The cherry blossoms have come and now they are falling like rain to earth. This is a beautiful time of year. April is the beginning of many things. There are many challenges for you this year and I hope you will work hard, and fight hard to reach your goals.
But…what are your goals? Do you have any goals? Do you have a goal for this year? Have you thought about having a goal? Why is having a goal important? Don’t you think that only adults and teachers have goals?
Let’s talk for a moment about goals, what a goal is, and why you should have a goal.
Goals are places you want to go, or things that you want to do. A goal can be having good scores on your tests. A goal can be changing your body shape. A goal can be improving your ability in sports, or music, or your studies.
Having a goal is important because it gives you a reason every day to come to school and to work hard. If you don’t have a goal, your effort and your work will not be so good. A goal helps you push harder to move ahead.
Now is April, and the beginning of the school year. This is the perfect time to make a goal. What will your goal be for Math class, or for Science class? What is your goal for Japanese class or English class? To make the best goal, you need to make your goal very clear. How many points do you want on your test? How many English words will you master? How many kanji will you remember? Please make a note and put the paper in your pocket. Every day look at your note and remember what you are doing. Remember your goal and think about it. Your mind and your body will follow your goal.
I think that having a goal is very important. Having a goal gives your day purpose and direction and meaning. Maybe having a goal sounds like something that is not fun. For people who want to have success, having a goal is as necessary as air, as food, as water.
Having a goal is kind of like a celebration. When a soccer player makes a point everyone shouts GOAL!!!!!!
What is your goal this year? Take some time to think about it. Write it down. Look at it everyday and keep pushing forward to reach your goal. If you can catch your goals you can control your life, control your future, and be free.
Good luck this year! Make a goal and fight hard for it.
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