One year ago, Japan had the worst natural disaster that has ever come to
this country. The terrible earthquake and tsunami killed over 19,000 people.
Many people's homes and families were smashed and taken out to the sea.
This week we could see in the news the survivors who remembered, and many
who continue to suffer today. The photos and video of that place, and those
people is so terribly sad.
This week we remember the loss of so many people. We remember that those
people are just like us. They had families and homes and everything was
destroyed and lost. People lost their children and their parents, brothers
and sisters, grandparents and friends. They suffer in ways we cannot completely
understand.
The natural disaster was so terrible and the area is also so terribly affected by the man-made disaster of nuclear energy leaking and environmental damage. How can those people ever go home? Maybe for them, there can be no home. Maybe for them they will never get to have their old life back.
Even though we see on our TVs and computers the unbelievable horror and terror of that disaster we also can understand something for our lives too. We understand that life, somehow and someway must continue. We must keep living, and we need to be grateful for the life that we have. We need to understand that our life is precious. We need to understand more that we have many chances to keep living and that we must never give up.
Right now maybe you are having some hard times in school. We finished final tests and maybe you are not so happy with the results. Maybe you got some bad news that it will be difficult to go to the university you want to go to. Maybe you have to change your plans and find a new way. That can be hard.
But this week I think that we need to remember that we still have so many things to do in our lives. We still have so many choices and so many chances. Trouble will come but we are able to have many more chances and opportunities. Sometimes the hard times can teach us something very important about how to live and about how to move forwards.
We should remember the people who were lost in the Tohoku area by living our lives as best we can. Each day that comes is a gift. Each day with friends and family and choices is a gift. Life is beautiful and wonderful. You are still here today. We are still here today. Keep moving forward. You still have many dreams to have, and many more dreams to make.
You can do it. You really can. Let’s remember the past and move towards the future.
Feb 29th 2012
Your English is OK
Why does learning English take so much time? Why can’t I learn English
as quickly as I learn Math? Why can’t I learn English as quickly as I learn
Science? Why can’t I learn English as quickly as I learn History?
These are the questions that many students have about their English study. Why does learning English take so long? Why is English so difficult to learn?
These are good questions. I can help you with an answer.
Learning English is not like learning Science. Learning English is not like learning Math, or History, or Geography, or Biology or Chemistry.
Learning English is like learning how to play music.
Some of you play the piano, the violin or the guitar. All the members of the Otemae brass band can understand what I want to say. Learning English is like learning how to play a musical instrument.
When you play the piano for the very first time you cannot make a good song. Your first time to play the piano is bad. The first time to play the violin is terrible. The first time to play the guitar or trumpet or flute is all bad. It sounds bad. You cannot play any kind of music.
So, what do you do? Do you quit?
No, of course you do not quit. You play again. The second time is also bad. The third time is bad. The fourth, fifth and sixth times are all not good. But something begins to happen. You can make some sounds. You can make the very beginning of music. You are not as bad as the first time. It is better. It is only a little better, but it is better.
So, what do you do now? Do you quit?
Of course not. You must continue. You must keep trying until you can play a song. But the first time you play a song it sounds bad. The tone is bad. The rhythm is bad. The timing is bad. It just sounds bad. But you keep playing. You MUST keep playing.
This is how we learn English. English has new sounds, and new tones and rhythm. Your mouth and brain are very new to English but you must keep putting more words in your brain and keep trying to make sounds, and sentences and longer expressions.
Your English is OK, for now. But you must keep playing and practicing. Just like playing the piano, or trumpet or guitar you must keep making sounds and sentences. You will be better if you do not stop. So, don’t give up. Keep making music. Keep making English.
I love the expression I hear so many times: no music no life. That is true. But one more thing is true: no English no great job in the future.
Let’s keep both music and English as part of our lives every day. You can do it! Keep practicing.
Feb 22nd 2012
Passion and Imagination
This is the time of the school year when you have tests coming soon. Your
teachers are very busy helping you to remember the many things you have
studied. There are many details to study and remember in Science, Math,
Social Studies, Geography, Biology and Physics. It is amazing how much
data we can put into the human brain. These final tests will give you a
chance to show your teachers how much you have remembered.
There are some things that school does not teach so much, and these are
things you will need to learn by yourself. They are passion and imagination.
The job of school is to give you information and skills to understand. The job of school is to help you prepare for the future, and to get the test scores you need so that you can go to university and have a career. The job of school is very important, so you really must listen very carefully to your teachers and to study your homework.
But for your life you will need to have passion for learning and growing.
You may also have more fun with a powerful imagination.
How can we develop and grow a passion for learning? How can we grow and
develop our imagination?
One of the biggest problems for us today is that we watch TV too much, we use our cell phones too much and we play video and computer games too much. We cannot get much imagination from these things. TV, cell phones and computers are not bad things, but they only show us images and make sounds. There is not much for input into these devices.
We need to find ways to grow our imagination through doing things. If you
love video and movies how about finding ways of creating short films? If
you love comics and art, how about getting pencils and paper and develop
your own style? If you love music how about playing piano or guitar? How
about joining the great Otemae brass band? They gave us a wonderful performance
recently.
If we look for ways we can join and participate we will have chances to
explore our imagination. If we find ways we can create new things we will
develop a passion for learning and exploring.
These next few weeks will be very tough for you as you study, but I hope you can find some time to think about how you want to use your passion and your imagination to make your life better.
Thank you and have a great day!
Feb 15th 2012
Red Hand Campaign
Since 2002 countries all over the world have been holding the Red Hand Campaign. The Red Hand Campaign is a campaign to stop children becoming soldiers in wars around the world. The Red Hand campaign is sponsored by UNICEF, Amnesty International and the International Red Cross.
At this time, even in 2012 there are many children who are living as full
time soldiers. The countries where children are used as soldiers today
are Palestine, Columbia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Ivory Coast, Sudan,
Uganda, Rwanda and Congo.
In both Japan and Canada, children usually grow up healthy and safe. We do not have any war. We do not have to worry about food or homes. We do not worry about education and medical care. Children in countries where they can become soldiers usually do not have many choices in their lives. They live in a world of violence, murder and hopelessness. We live in worlds of opportunities and choices. They live in worlds of hopelessness and darkness.
Being a student in a school sometimes is not fun. You have many tests coming soon. You have a lot of homework. You have a lot of pressure. There are many things that you must do. But you will be OK. You will survive. You will write your tests and do your best and be safe the next day. Of course you must study hard, and you must try to get a good score.
We are lucky to be free. We are lucky to have a world that has schools and hospitals and warm homes. We have a great gift of a bright future. We have everything. Those kids in the countries where they must be soldiers have nothing. Let’s remember to be grateful for our freedoms in life and not forget the kids who don’t get to live like we do.
I hope that the Red Hand campaign will continue to grow. I hope that both Japan and Canada will be active members of the international community to help stop children participating in wars. Kids should have books and pencils, not guns and bombs. Let’s keep working together to make our world better so that all kids can have the chance for a bright future.
Feb 8th 2012
Recently, in America there is a university student named Jake Reilly who
is in the news. He decided that for 90 days he would not use the Internet
or telephone to see if he could live without his computer and messages
to his friends. He learned a few important things about computers and technology
and human relationships. He says that he has no plan to return to his old
life of being always connected to machines.
Many people today are always checking their cell phones and computers. They check their Facebook information and phone messages. Many people are always looking at the very small screen of their cell phone and computer and forget how to communicate with other people. Jake Reilly decided to try to see what life is like without always being connected to the Internet. He discovered that sometimes life is really good without the technology.
I am very glad to use my computer and my cell phone. These are great tools to help me with my work and to talk and communicate with my family and friends. I think that if I did not have my computer I would have some big trouble with my daily life. Maybe many people live the same way. We depend on our technology a lot and if we don’t have it, we feel very alone and become nervous.
Many people can agree that technology, and computers and cell phones are not bad things. They are not good or bad. They are tools. But we need to also be careful about how we use our tools. We need to not get lost in our cell phone or lost on the Internet.
The world is full of people, and not machines. We need to remember to communicate with people around us, to turn off our cell phones, TVs and computers and to enjoy talking with our families and friends. Technology does not feel anything, but people in our lives--our family and friends have feelings and ideas. We need to be connected to them.
Technology will change and grow, but we have to keep the people in our lives close. People are what is the most important so we should not forget how to communicate our ideas face-to-face. Computers can be great for work, but sometimes they become a barrier between people too.
Use your computers and cell phones for tools, but remember to fill your life with people and laughter and fun.
Thank you very much and have a great day.
Feb 1st 2012
Yokoi Shouichi 横井 庄一: The Man Who Would Not Give Up
Since I came to Otemae school I have had a great chance to meet a very
interesting teacher. That teacher is Mr. Kasai in the English department.
Mr. Kasai is not only a great gentleman, but I learned that he and I share
a very strong interest in history. It has been wonderful to talk to him
and to learn from him. Mr. Kasai is really a teacher’s teacher.
The other day it was quite interesting that Kasai Sensei mentioned to me about Yokoi Shouichi. Maybe you do not know about him but he is a very interesting man in modern Japanese history. I will tell you a few things about Mr. Yokoi.
Yokoi Shouichi was a soldier in the Japanese army in World WarⅡ. He was
with soldiers that went to Guam. The war was over in 1945, but Mr. Yokoi,
and a few others, were left in the jungles of Guam. Mr. Yokoi lived in
the jungle, many years completely alone, for almost 28 years. In 1972 he
was found. So many years after the war he learned that the war was over
for a long time and he finally came back to his home.
Mr. Yokoi’s story of personal survival is incredible. He had no one to help him and no one to take care of him. He had to get his own food. He ate fruits and insects and rats. He made his own clothes. He had to keep his mind active for so long. We cannot imagine how difficult it was for him. It was probably so scary and so terrible that you or I maybe could not survive. But he survived and he came back home too.
Right now, many of you have a hard time in school. You have to study for so many hours. You have to begin to prepare for your final tests this year. You have many things to do and you have a lot of pressure. Your teachers understand your problems and they are also very ready to help you too. But, if you feel that your life is getting hard and you cannot continue, I think that we should take some time to read more about Mr. Yokoi’s life and how he could survive when he had some hard times.
Mr. Yokoi’s story is about personal survival, and about never quitting. Many hard things can come to us in our lives, but we have to fight. We have to not give up. We have to continue. Mr. Yokoi believed that he must continue and live and do his best.
Mr. Yokoi is an excellent example to us today about not giving up. Let’s keep going and keep doing our best. We don’t have to try to survive in a jungle so let’s remember to keep our focus and to keep moving forward.
Thank you very much and have a great day!
Jan 25th 2012
This Day in History: The Apple Computer
Today, in the year 1984, the very first Apple computer went on sale. I was in junior high at that time. I had seen a few computers but we did not have them in my school. Maybe that was a simple time but it was the beginning of one of the world’s biggest and most important companies in the world.
Today, Apple computers are everywhere. We have them in our companies and in our homes. Many people have iPods, iPads and iPhones. The Apple company is everywhere. It is an amazing story and the life of Steve Jobs is also very interesting.
It seems that the Apple company has made our lives more convenient and interesting. We can design many things using computers. Our cell phones are powerful devices. They have movies and music and internet and applications for everything. The Apple company has changed how people communicate and how people live.
Sometimes these big changes in technology are wonderful. We can share information. We can communicate with anyone in the world. We can get new knowledge and new understanding.
But one big problem with having a small computer in your cell phone is sometimes it makes our world smaller, and sometimes more dangerous. Too many people are using their cell phones when they drive their cars. Too many people are using their cell phones to read and send messages when they are riding a bicycle. It is true that the Apple company has brought to us huge technology and power in communication, but we have to be careful too.
The screen on your cell phone is very small. Are you looking at such a small screen for too long? How long are you using your cell phone every day? One hour? Two hours? More?
The world is much bigger than the size of our cell phones. There is music and sports and art and people around us. I hope that we can remember to put our cell phones in our pockets and to remember to communicate with the people in our lives. A face to face conversation is much better than simple messages sent by cell phone.
Our technology should help us live, not stop us from living with each other. Please be careful with your cell phones. Of course, do not use them when you are on a bicycle or walking on the street. Keep your face up and your eyes looking at the world around you.
Please remember that you own your cell phone. Your cell phone should not own you.
Thank you very much and have a great day!
Jan 18th 2012
You Are Old Enough
When you are a teenager you are told that you are only a child. You are
not an adult. You cannot drive a car. You cannot choose your own job. You
cannot go where you want to go. You cannot do so many things. You are not
free. To be a teenager is not a fun time.
The hard part about being a teenager is that you know you are not free. When you were a young child you did not know that you were not free. But when you are a teenager your mind is more open. When you are a teenager you can understand so much more about the world. You can understand the world of adults, but you are not a member of that club.
In this way, to be a teenager is a very hard thing.
But, the good part about being a teenager is that you are now able to learn everything. Your mind is open. Your mind is much more free. You can get information. You can understand many new things. You can begin to grow in many ways. You can understand science and math. You can understand art and music. You can understand literature and foreign languages.
When you are a teenager you also can begin to make choices.
You can choose to think. Or you can choose to close your mind. You can choose to be active. Or you can choose to sleep. You can choose to fight. Or you can choose to run. You can choose to attack many new challenges. Or you can choose to do nothing.
In my country, when you are 16 years old you can get a license to drive a car. So, to my eyes if you are a high school student you are already an adult. In a couple of years you will go to university and begin to live your life like an adult. I hope that you are already beginning to think like an adult, to plan your life like an adult, and to chase your dreams like a free person.
You are old enough to think. You are old enough to believe in yourself. You are old enough to make choices for your future.
You are old enough.
Thank you very much and have a great day.
Jan 11th 2012
A Fresh Start
January is a wonderful
month for change and making new plans.
Dec 21st 2011
Keeping a Warm Heart on a Cold Day
Winter is here. Every day is colder and colder. We are close to Christmas
and the Winter Vacation. Every day students come to the English Workshop
and the first thing they say is, “It’s cold! It’s cold”.
The season changes and the winter comes. Today it is much colder in the north. It is now very cold in the Tohoku region. Many people there are still trying to find a new way to live. How can they continue? How can they make a new life?
There are so many difficult things. There are so many difficult times that come our way.
Poets say that winter is the season of death. The trees are empty. The leaves are gone. The animals hide from the wind. They live in holes in the mountains. Even if our world is cold, and the snow and ice come, we know that we are alive. We know that we can still have warm hands and warm hearts. We breathe. We laugh. We talk. We share our ideas and feelings with other people here.
The end of 2011 comes to us so quickly. How will we remember this year? How will we remember the terrible events of March and carry hope with us to the next year?
We must keep our hearts warm. We must find a way to help each other and to continue into the new year. How can we carry our warm feeling into 2012. We can find a way.
We are all standing here today on this cold morning. We all have the same warm heart. We all share the same school of Otemae. Let’s remember to keep each other close, and let’s remember to keep warm feelings for people in our classes and in our school.
It might be cold, but it is a good thing too. Sometimes the cold air reminds us that we are still warm inside and that we have something good to share with others.
Please have a good winter vacation. Good luck with your homework, and I hope you can keep your heart and mind warm through to next year.
Dec 14th 2011
Falling Down
When you were a little boy or girl you learned how to ride a bicycle. Maybe your mom was helping you. Maybe your dad was helping you. Maybe your grandmother or grandfather was watching you when you rode your bicycle.
Did you crash? Did you fall down? Did you hurt your arms or knees?
Probably.
Most people who learn to ride a bicycle crash and fall down. We get injured. We get scratches and cuts from accidents. We try new things and sometimes we get hurt. That is the natural process of learning new things and trying new things.
Did you have many tests recently?
I know you did. Everyone here had to write many tests last week. Did you crash? Did you fall down? Did you have some bad tests? Did you have some terrible tests?
Probably.
Most people who are students have trouble with tests. That is something that is natural too. But you also maybe learned some new things too. Maybe you learned about your weak points in your tests. Maybe you had to study again some of the things from your classes. Your teacher is still here to help you and to keep coaching you in your studies.
So, what will you do next? Maybe you fell down from your tests, but you will need to get up again. You need to stand up and try again, and to study again.
Riding your bicycle and learning new things are kind of the same. There is a lot of crashing and a lot of falling down. Falling down is hard, but you will get tougher and smarter too. Falling down can teach you some important things. Just get up, try again and keep moving forward.
You can do it. You have many teachers and friends here who are with you.
Crashing is sometimes OK. You can learn. Get on your bicycle again. It gets better the more you try!
Thank you very much and have a great a day.
Nov 30th 2011
Thanksgiving
The weather is now colder. The trees are orange and yellow and red. The
sun rises later and goes down earlier. We are in deep fall season. We are
at the very end of November. November is a wonderful month. It is the very
last of the warm days of the year and the beginning of winter is coming
soon. November also has a very special holiday in America, it is the holiday
of Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is a day where we try to remember the many good things in our lives. We want to have a thankful heart and to be grateful. Many times we are so busy with study or with work. We have school and club and friends and juku and we just forget. We forget to be thankful for the many good things in our lives.
Here are a few things we should be thankful for.
We should be thankful for good health. When we are sick or have trouble with our bodies we cannot do very much. Let’s be thankful for good health.
We should be thankful for food and water. We have good food and clean water everywhere in our homes and schools. We are never really hungry and we can have clean water to stay healthy too. Let’s be thankful for our food and water.
We should be thankful for education and for the chance to learn. We have books and computers and television and the Internet. We can get information and we can share information. We can learn and grow and go to school. We can go to university. Let’s be thankful for our schools.
We should be thankful for our families and friends. We do not have to live alone. You have people who need you and who love you. We are connected to each other. Let’s be thankful for our families and friends.
We should be thankful for the peaceful place we live in. We do not have war here. We can be free. We are free to speak and express ideas. We are free to live the way we like. We are free to do what we like. Let’s be thankful for peace.
Thanksgiving is an important time. We should have it every month, but let’s be thankful for the good things in our lives, our health, our family, our friends, our school and our bright future.
Nov 9th 2011
Protests in New York
If you watch the news you will know that there are many unhappy young people in America. The name of their protest is “Occupy Wall Street”. The young people are unhappy because the economy in America is very bad and the big banks in America did some very bad things. Those young people feel that they do not have a good chance for a good future and cannot have a good life if the economy is in a bad condition.
The protest groups in America have also come to Canada and to Japan too. Life in Canada and Japan are not like America so sometimes we cannot understand so clearly the purpose for the protests.
The economy in America is not so good. The economy in Canada is not so good. The economy in Japan is not so good. Many people will say, “The future is not bright. You cannot have a good job in the future because there are too many problems.”
What do you think about that? Do you really think that your future has no chance? Do you really think that everything is not fair so you can’t have a good life?
I think that sometimes the media does not understand the human heart. I think that the media does not understand that no one can see the future. We can make the future for ourselves and choose our own way.
One thing that we know will help make a good future is having a good education. This idea never changes. If you do not have a good education you cannot get a good job and make your own career. A great education is a very important tool for anyone.
Otemae is a very special school that is very proud to provide an excellent education for students. Your teachers work very hard and very long each day to help you get to your future goal. Many people forget to say “Thank you” to their teachers, but they work hard for you anyway. That is a really beautiful thing.
So, no matter what the protests say in New York or around the world, the future is still not decided. You can decide your own future, but you need a good education to have the best selection of choices. Please do not quit school. Please do not stop studying and making progress.
A bad economy may come, but your teachers here are ready to help advise
you and guide you in your studies. You will need to be aggressive to learn
and study hard, but you can do it. Otemae is here for you. Your teachers
are all here for you. Let’s not listen to what protesters say and focus
on what you can do for YOUR future and your dreams. Believe in your own
power. Your teachers believe in you too.
Let’s make our own future.
Thank you very much
Oct 26th 2011
United Nations Day : October 24
This week, last Monday, was United Nations Day. It is not a big holiday
and many people do not know that it was United Nations Day. But United
Nations Day is an international holiday. I know you had to come to school
on Monday but let’s talk about the United Nations and why we should remember
what the United Nations is, and what the United Nations does.
The United Nations building is located in New York City in America. It is the place where 193 countries around the world can come to meet, to talk, to argue and to discuss the problems that we have.
Many people have said that the United Nations does not do anything important. They say that the United Nations does not stop war and cannot fix the problems that the planet has. There is some reason to think this way and there are things that the United Nations can improved.
But the United Nations is still a very important place and a very important organization. The United Nations has many groups inside to try to find solutions to problems in countries that are poor, in countries that have no food and water, and in countries where there is no peace. The United Nations is a place where people from different countries can find places to meet and to try to make human connections, and to talk about how to bring peace.
Both Japan and Canada are long time members of the United nations. The Japanese government and the Canadian government believe that the United Nations has an important role in the world to help bring change and to bring peace.
If you are interested in learning more about the United Nations, I hope
you will talk with your teachers and do some research on the Internet.
The United Nations is a very important international organization that
can do great things for our world. Let’s learn more about it, and also
how we may even join in the good work they do.
Oct 12th 2011
Christopher Columbus
On this day, October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus traveling from Europe
landed in the Bahamas. Christopher Columbus believed that he had arrived
in Japan. It was an amazing journey and the character of Christopher Columbus
changed our world.
Before Christopher Columbus left Europe and found land on the other side
of the Pacific Ocean, everyone believed that the world was flat. Some people
of Europe believed that the earth was not round, like a ball. They believed
that the world was like a giant plate, or a giant pancake. If you traveled
too far from Europe you would fall off the earth and die.Christopher Columbus
did not believe that. He did not believe that the earth was flat. He believed
that he could travel around the world and go to Asia. On the way, he found
the Bahamas, and then North America.
Columbus coming to the “New World” was the beginning of the next 500 years changing North America to the place that it is today. Columbus is a person in history whose name is connected with a spirit of adventure and challenge. Today is a good day to remember Christopher Columbus.
So, what is the connection between Christopher Columbus and student at Otemae, Takamatsu City, Kagawa, Japan? That is a question. I believe that when we look at important people in the histories of the world, we learn something about the human spirit. Christopher Columbus was not so different than you and me. He was a human, he had ideas and feelings. He had dreams and he had chances in his life to do interesting things.
The important thing about Columbus for us is that he took his adventures when they came to him. He was not afraid to try. He was not afraid to make mistakes or to fail. He believed in his heart that he was going in the right direction. He listened to his own mind. He listened to own heart.
I hope that we will all remember to listen to our own hearts and to use our own minds. You can make choices for yourself. You are the Christopher Columbus of your own future.
Thank you very much and have a good day.
Sep 28th 2011
No One Can Understand You
Many students, in both junior high school and high school say, “You don’t
understand me. You don’t understand what I think. You don’t understand
how I feel.”
That is correct. The ideas that you have and the feelings that you have belong to you. You are the only person who can understand yourself best. It is true that other people cannot understand you in every way. There are many things about every person that are secret and mysterious.
But the question we should ask is also, “Do you understand yourself?” What are things that make you happy? What are things that make you sad? What are things that make you angry? Can you understand why you feel happy or sad or angry? Can you understand how you see your life? Can you know your inside mind?
Many great writers and scientists talk about how it is very important for a person to understand their own human heart and their own human mind. If you can understand how you think, and how you react to people around you, that is a very important and helpful thing.
We should also ask ourselves the question, “Who do I want to become? What kind of person do I want to be? What is my purpose? Where is my life going?”
Of course it is impossible for anyone to answer these questions easily. Many of your teachers cannot answer these questions too. Our lives are always changing and growing. The questions we have also change and grow.
Are you OK if you do not have an easy answer for these questions? Maybe we should not know ourselves in every way. Maybe we need to have parts of our hearts to grow and learn about as we grow.
Our lives are not black and white. There are a lot of grey areas too. We need to be OK with the gray areas we cannot understand so easily.
Many people cannot understand you in every way. That is true. But we must also make an effort to explain our thinking and our feelings to people around us. We need to live in a community with other people who have similar questions? If we can ask questions like, “Who am I? Who are you? What are we doing here together?” we can build a connection with each other, and grow and learn from each other too.
No one can understand you, but let’s try to work hard to understand each other.
Sep 14th 2011
A Very Important Job
You are junior high school and high school students. You are not kids. You are not little boys and little girls. You are teenagers. Teenagers have a lot of pressure. You have to study hard in school. You go to your club activity. Your parents want you to have a good future. Maybe you go to a juku or you have other lessons after the school day. It is not easy.
You have many jobs too. You must clean your room. You must clean your classroom. You must do your homework. You must prepare for tests. You must be a good daughter. You must be a good son. You must be a good teammate. You must be a good student.
That is a lot of jobs for one person.
But one job that is also very important is you must also be a good friend.
Being a good friend is a very hard job, but it is also a very important job too.
A good friend is very rare to have. A good friend is very special. I hope you will ask yourself, “Am I a good friend to my friends?”
Let’s check if you are a good friend.
1. A good friend listens to you.
2. A good friend tries to understand you.
3. A good friend will help you when you have trouble.
4. A good friend does not run away when trouble comes.
5. A good friend stands beside you when you are alone.
Being a good friend might be one of your most important jobs for your life. It is easy to decide to be alone, but it is not easy to try to be a friend to another person. Is there someone in your class who is not so friendly? Maybe you can try to be a new friend to that person. It is a good challenge, and you might learn something important too.
If all of your friends are the same type, that is not so interesting. I hope you will try to make friends with many different kinds of people. Try to make friends who are both boys and girls. Try to make friends with people who have different hobbies than you. Try to make friends who have different feelings and ideas. If you do so, you will have a very interesting life, and you can learn many new and interesting things too.
Thank you very much and have a good day!
Sep 7th 2011
If You Don’t Try.... You Don’t Know.
Are you a good dancer? Are you good at playing piano?
Are you good at ice hockey?
Maybe no. But would you like to try dancing?
Would you like to try to play the piano or to try to play ice hockey?
What do you think? Do you think you will be a master dancer, or master piano player, or master ice hockey player very soon? Maybe not, but it would be interesting. It would be interesting to try something new. It would be interesting to try something different.
Would you like to learn how to do magic tricks? Maybe you could try.
Would you like to learn how to make a blog on the Internet? Maybe you should try.
Many people never challenge something new. Many people do only the things that are easy, or the things that other people think are OK. Maybe you could try to do something that only YOU would like to do. That might be very fun.
Do you think you might be good at playing the drums? Do you think you might be good at something like aikido or acting in a drama? You won’t know if you do not try.
It is good to try different things. It is good to try to do new things in sports, to try new sports or new exercises. It is good to try new things in art, in music or in traditional activities.
Every person here is original. Every person here is unique. It is natural for all of us to have different ideas about what is interesting. There are many different things to do. There are so many different things to try.
If you decide to try something new today you will not be good in one week. For example, if you decided today to begin to play rugby you will not be a great player by next week Wednesday. It takes time. It takes passion. You need to have an open mind and an open heart.
You teachers at Otemae hope you will learn and grow in interesting ways. Your teachers hope you will try many new things and to find something that is special and unique for you. But you will need to try. You will need to be ready to not be great immediately.
Do not worry about what other people think. Be yourself.
If you don’t try you will not know how great you can be.
This July has been very interesting. We have had many rainy days, and many evenings have been cool. The rainy days in the past few weeks have been very nice for rice fields and for vegetables and flowers. The weather report tells us that the rainy season is now finished and that summer is now here.
Summer is a time when we have a chance to enjoy many things. It is a great time to go to a local festival, to go to the beach, to eat summer food and fruit, to go swimming and to enjoy sports. Summer is a wonderful time for hiking and, if we have some free time, to travel too.
The spring season is finished and the first semester of this school year
is over. You had many tests a few days ago and now you know what classes
are good, and what classes are not so good. This is a time to think about
your studies and to talk to your teachers about how to improve and to raise
your scores.
You will probably have some summer homework to complete and many more things to study and remember. There is always some pressure for you to study and to do your best. The summer sun can be very hot so I hope you will find some cool places in school, or in your home to do your homework and to focus your study time. The summer heat can take your energy so please make sure to drink enough water and to have a healthy breakfast every day.
But summer time is not only about study, and homework. Summer is also about taking some time to enjoy nature. Summer is a time to go to the sea and watch the water and to enjoy festivals and time with friends and family. You may need to do a lot of homework, but you also need some time to refresh your mind and your body too.
Summer is a good time to think carefully about the big job you have with homework, but summer is a time to get outside and to get some energy too. Please take care to be safe and to enjoy. Summer is a wonderful time.
Jun 22nd 2011
Student Life is Not Convenient
Japan is a wonderful country. There are so many great things about Japan. I love living here in Japan, and I love living in Takamatsu. Japan has wonderful art and culture and history. There is so much to study. Japan is also very very convenient. There are convenience stores everywhere. We can find Circle K, Lawsons, Sunkus, Mini Stop and Family Mart. In other parts of Japan we can also find AM-PM and 7-11. Japan is very convenient. Whenever you need a drink, or potato chips, or gum, or a sandwich you can get one anytime.
But there are many things that are also not convenient. For students at Otemae there are many things that are not convenient at all. You have to go to many classes. This is not convenient. You must study every day for your tests. This is also not very convenient. You must go to club, study music, make art, clean your classroom, wear a uniform, and do a lot of homework. Everything is not convenient. It is all very inconvenient. I think that learning English is maybe the MOST inconvenient of all.
As a student you must do many things that are not convenient. It is not easy to come to school when it is raining, or when it is too hot, or too cold, or you have so many tests. So much is troublesome and not fun.
But, if you can do all these inconvenient things you can also get some very important benefits later. You can go to university. You can get more chances to have better jobs. You can see other countries and do very special things. If you can do the inconvenient things now, you can get good things later. It may be difficult to see now, but I hope you can believe your parents and your teachers. The inconvenient time is not forever.
There are many things you must do as a junior high student and a high school student. Please do not quit. Sometimes, however, you do need to take a short break so I hope you will also get something cold to drink or some ice cream at the convenience store from time to time too.
When things seem very hard, please talk to your teachers. They will certainly help you through the times that are the hardest, the times that are the most inconvenient.
Jun 15th 2011
Everyone Needs Manners
Every country in the world has different ideas about manners.
Every country in the world has ideas about what are GOOD manners. Sometimes it is difficult to understand other cultures. Sometimes it is difficult to understand what they think are good manners and what they think are bad manners.
When I first came to Japan I did not know anything about Japanese manners. I knew that people in Japan bow, and was told that no one will shake hands. But when I came to Japan the first time I met many nice people who wanted to shake hands. That was very nice and I felt very comfortable. I think that Japan has changed a lot of ideas about manners and is very welcoming and kind to foreigners who come here.
Maybe your mother and your father, your grandmother and grandfather, your teachers and coaches all tell you that manners are very important. That is true. Good manners are very important to start communication, and to make good human relations.
In the future you will have many chances to go to countries that speak English. There are a few things about manners that I hope you will remember. Here they are:
1. Always say “Thank you”. If someone gives you something or does anything for you please say “Thank you” or “Thanks” or “Thanks a lot”. Saying “Thank you” is the number one English expression to learn.
2. If someone says, “Thank you” to you, please say “You’re welcome”. This is also very important for English manners. Please remember. If you do not say “You’re welcome” the other person may think you have no manners or are very cold.
3. If you come to a door at a shop or school or any place, please hold the door and let another person go first. You can say, “After you!” This is a very nice thing to say in English. The other person will say “Thank you”. Then, you can say, “You’re welcome”.
Other things about manners, like which fork to use when eating salad, or if you should be careful about how to use a knife and spoon, please do not worry about that so much. If you are friendly, and kind, and remember to say “Thank you”,99% of your trouble will go away. Good manners are important so please use them in every language you learn.
Watching the news last night I saw the usual reports. There was news about entertainers. There was news about the weather. There was news about sports. But, there was not any news about the big earthquake that was in the Tohoku Region or the tsunami or the trouble that many people have in that area.
I think that the news forgot about the people who still need some help. That is not a good thing. But news reports are about the most recent news and not about news that happened two months ago.
But we should not forget. There is still a lot of people in the Tohoku area who still need houses. They need schools. They need companies. They need everything. We should not forget about the people who are in trouble.
I hope that there will be more news reports about the trouble in the Tohoku area and about how they still need help. The work is not finished to rebuild eastern Japan and there are many things to do.
The big problem about the television and the media is that they have very short memories. Watching the news is important, but sometimes the news is not the best place to get information about many things. Thankfully we have the internet, radio and a few programs that continue to give us information about the huge problems in the Tohoku area.
Remembering things about the past is important. We need to read history
too so that we understand the mistakes and troubles of people before us.
If we do not remember things that happened in the past, there is a chance
we may make the same mistakes.
Do you know much about history? It is a very important subject to study for everyone. We should know the history of the past. We should remember the problems of war and disaster so that we can prepare ourselves for today and work together for a better future.
There are many things for us to remember, so let’s keep remembering the people who lost everything so that we can work together for a brighter and better future.
I think that I am very lucky to be a teacher at Otemae school. This is a school that has many excellent teachers. I hope that you feel that you are lucky to be here at Otemae too. I think that Otemae has many wonderful and very talented English teachers here. Otemae is a great place for you to learn and understand English.
I want to talk to you today about studying English and how English study may be a little different than your other classes.
To master English you will need to study many different things.
First, you need to learn basic vocabulary.
Second, you need to learn grammar.
Third, you need to learn common expressions for daily life.
Fourth, you need to learn pronunciation, how to speak English clearly.
Fifth, you need to learn expressions and idioms.
That is a lot to study! But, you can do it.
First you need to get a notebook, and a pencil and a dictionary. You need to build up your basic vocabulary. Keep your English notebook with you every day and try to add more words to it.
In your English grammar classes you must listen very carefully to your excellent English teachers and to study your textbook.
In your English reading classes and conversation lessons, please try to write down the usual expressions you hear, and try to use them when you have a chance.
To improve your pronunciation, please come to English workshop or ask your English teachers how to make clear English sounds. You can do it. It only takes some practice.
When you are getting better at your English and you feel more comfortable,
then you can begin the bigger challenges of English expressions and idioms.
Learning a second language takes a lot of time, but don’t worry. You are students in an excellent school and you have many great English teachers to talk to and to get the information you need.
Do you like French food? Maybe you do not know. Do you like Spanish food? Maybe you never ate Spanish food. Maybe you do not know. You should try it. Do you like to climb a mountain? Do you like to use a canoe? Do you like to ride a horse? Maybe you do not know. You should try.
There are many things to try. In English “try” can have a meaning to taste, to eat, to drink. “Try” can mean “do”. There are many things you should try. There are many things to eat, many things to drink, and many places to go. You should try.
We have many chances to do new things. We have many chances to eat new things. We have many chances to go to new places. You should try. You might eat something wonderful. You might go some place very interesting. If you do not try you may not get something good.
In English “try” has another meaning. It means “to fight”. It means “to do your best”.
In your classes you are learning many new things. You are making new friends. You are in new clubs. In your classes you must try to do well. In your classroom you must try to make good connections and have good communication with other people. In your club you must fight. If you are in sports you must use your body as best as you can. If you are in music or art you must use your mind and heart as best as you can. In everything you must “try”!
Teachers too must always try. To try is not only for students. We all must try. We all must grow and become better in everything. We must use our minds and our bodies in good ways to grow and develop. We must always try to grow.
We must also not be afraid of new things. We should try new things. We must try to try new things.
Next week we will have tests so it is an important time for you to try hard to get a good score. In everything it is important to do your best work. If you try hard, and even if you do not get a perfect score, you can feel proud that you could try and you gave your best effort.
Good luck with your tests next week. Thank you very much and have a great day!
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.
