Last Samurai

This post doesn't have much to do with EFL, only with being an American in Japan and the kind of insight one can get this far away.

Saw the film, "Last Samurai" last night. It was a profound film for me, probably more on a personal level than anything. It may not have been a great film, but it was certainly good to watch. This film embodied many of the feelings that I have about the conflict in Iraq.

The first moment that the film struck me so personally was this one where Higen and Algren were talking. Higen is the son of a warrior that Algren had killed in battle.

HIGEN
Will you fight the white men?

ALGREN
If they come here, yes.

HIGEN
Why?

ALGREN
Because they come to destroy what I
have come to love.

The things that Algren had initially come to fight for in Japan had changed. His beliefs had transformed so that what the American and Japanese governments actually stood for, no longer represented his world view. I'm not saying that his initial world view was noble; on the contrary it had mostly to do with finacial reward and alcohol. I can relate to his new world view now in Bush's conflicts in Iraq and Afganistan. In the film, the rich and powerful people of Japan and America were interested in futhering their own financial powers by building railroads and dealing in arms at the expense of the common people. The same is now true in Iraq and Afganistan, but with oil thrown in the mix. Like Algren, after being apart from the America for a while, and after having been thrust into a circumstances that necessitate reflection, there is room for new perspectives. It is easy to see for me that the rich and powerful do not represent what I believe. They do not represent what I believe is the best of America. And the people who suffer are the common people. The farmers, and the soldiers. Our soldiers are fighting to defend what is good and right about America, while Bush and his like pervert their good intentions. The good people of Iraq and Afganistan are dieing in the tens of thousands, and suffering knows no bounds there.

Another point here is that our warriors, our men and women who have so bravely gone to fight for the true and good America, need support and protection from the perversity and greed of their leaders, even though I don't really know how to do that right now.

I was also interested that in the movie, the good guys lost. The good people of Japan lost to the greedy and powerful, and the Americans actually got the arms deals they were after. The greedy and powerful in Japan went on to cause great suffering and grief, not just in Japan, but all over Asia and Russia in the years after the film. American history, well you know all about that. The blowback still goes on. The arms deals still go on.

Teachers' Seminar

We had another gathering of the teachers in the Yokkaichi teachers' initiative today. Several things that I want to write about. First is that one of the teachers' father died last week and she couldn't attend today. I feel for her loss. Teachers are always there for their students, especially these teachers. I hope she has the support she needs and deserves.

We did a workshop on Reflective Teacher Development today. That is always an interesting topic. Our first activity was to write an autobiography as it relates to our chosen profession. Some of the commonalities were revealing. Most of the teachers had overseas experience before they chose their profession. All but one of the teachers started out in other professions or with other professional goals before choosing to become teachers. All of the teachers had an extensive background in English learning before they chose to become teachers. Many of the teachers expressed an interest in meeting many people as being a reason for becoming a teacher. Everyone had a generally enjoyable first experience in teaching.

Their second task was to remember how their visions of teaching were similar or different from the actual practice of teaching. Some of the teacher mentioned that even though they were sure that students understood student/teacher roles, their students did not always obey the teacher. (Surprised?) Next they were all surprised by the stuff involved with teaching that actually has nothing to do with teaching like clubs, meetings, and busywork. This left them, in one teacher's words, "pressured, stressed, tired."

One other quote that I heard today was, "They (students) don't come to class to study English. They come to have fun in English." I liked that distinction.

translation costing alot

Looks here like
a school in Gunma Prefecture wants to start a school program in English only, but the cost for translating textbooks is causing problems.

It is interesting that the reason for translating Education Minstry approved texts is provide parents with peace of mind that they are conforming to an established curriculum. Lots of questionable motives here.

Daily Yomiuri On-Line

There are some interesting suppositions in this article passed off as truths.
1. The reason teachers have a hard time mananging first-grade classes is that children are unable to adapt to their surroundings.
2. There is a disintegration of acceptable behavior.
3. This disintegration is the fault of family and community to raise children properly. Even though a few paragraphs later a university spokesperson hints that teacher training may be a problem.
4. Children who are not psychologically mature enough (read children who do not obey blindly) contribute to "unacceptable behavior."
5. Children who cause trouble are those who cannot adapt. (see #3 above.)

On the whole, a pretty poorly written article, but one that demonstrates the level of confusion in formal education about how to educate young people. Small classes? More teachers? Better parents? Lots of thrashing around, but no real evidence supporting any decisions.