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| Plymouth, MA Harbor and the Mayflower |
It all
started in 1992 when I was working as a Special Needs Teacher in
Kingston, Massachusetts, my home State. My wife, young son and I were
living in Plymouth, a neighboring town, when my wife read about a new
school in Japan that sounded like it was interested in setting up a
curriculum that integrated Japanese and English, so I wrote to the director and asked him if he was looking for an English teacher with previous
experience teaching in Japan.
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| the school |
The school already had an Australian
guy I knew setting up an English program. The director was pushing
the international angle in his public relations and hired me as
well—to make me the foreign “face” of the school--as it
eventually evolved. It soon became apparent, however, that there
wasn't enough work for two English teachers and the school didn't really
know what to do with me.
I was in a unique position since,
being a licensed teacher in the US, it turned out that the school was
able to use my American teacher's license to obtain a Japanese
teaching certificate. This put me on a par with Japanese teachers in
terms of contract and salary conditions as well as assuming the
responsibilities of a Japanese classroom teacher. I was able to take
sole responsibility for my classes without having to have a Japanese
co-teacher in the room. Not being compatible with co-teaching (too much ego) this
was a golden opportunity for me to experiment without being under the
watchful eye (and potential interference) of another teacher. But
first, I needed the right situation.
c |
| in the stained glass studio - c. 1986 |
The school suggested various
alternatives to English classes to make fuller use of my time. One
suggestion, which I felt was right up my alley, was to teach Art and
tie it in with English using simple practical English for directions
and vocabulary—a kind of low grade “immersion”. I agreed to
set up and teach Art classes for Grades 2 though 6 and be phased out
of teaching conversational English classes in two years and devote
all my time to the Art/English class after that.
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| free form lamp - hydrangea with butterfly |
A little back- ground might help in
making sense of why I felt comfort- able with doing an Art program.
First of all, I've liked to draw since I was a child and have been
drawn to various types of visual expression over the years:
studied mechanical drawing in high school; took fine arts classes in
college and art institutes; got interested in photography; studied Japanese
Ikebana [生花]; did stained
glass with a Japanese artisan [
先生
sensei]. I felt that teaching an Art class might also
stimulate me into expanding and exploring new dimensions in my own
visual expression as well as developing lessons and techniques for
turning kids on to their own potential creativity. As an extra added
bonus, kids make a terrific captive audience for showing your work.
For that matter, so does your own blog.
(Who needs an art gallery?)
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| Ikebana for Xmas decoration |
To be continued...
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