Part 1では、Ms. Susanの来日エピソードや日本での印象をご紹介してきましたが、いかがでしたでしょうか😊
Part 2では、日本滞在中に、長年指導してきた生徒さんやご家族と再会された際のエピソードを、Ms. Susanご本人が綴ってくださいましたので、ご紹介いたします。
私自身も、Ms. Susanには娘がKinderの頃から長年ご指導いただき、また息子も帰国後にオンラインで教えていただいており、まさに子どもたちの恩師です。
今回の来日をきっかけに、ゆかりのある生徒さんやご家族にお声がけさせていただいたところ、皆さまお時間を見つけてMs. Susanに会いに来てくださいました。
そうしたお話を伺い、教育を通じて生徒さんやご家族との信頼関係を築いてこられたその歩みが大変貴重なものであると感じるとともに、あらためて人と人とのご縁の大切さを実感いたしました✨
生徒さんたちの成長や、長く続くつながりの温かさが感じられる内容となっております。
ぜひご覧ください。
※本文は英語での掲載となります。
The Highlight of My Trip: Reconnecting with Prior Students and Their Families
When we were finalizing our trip to Japan, I reached out to my former students, whom I had taught at Stony Brook Elementary School in Pennington, NJ, as well as students whom I had taught solely on Zoom (previously on Skype).
Thanks to Maki Yamaoka, I had the opportunity to teach her daughter Anna in kindergarten and first grade in NJ, and then continue teaching her remotely until she entered junior high school. When her son Rei was five years old, I began teaching him. He is now in his sophomore year of high school.
Yuko Sugishita also had a similar situation with her daughter Reina and her younger brother Kazu, whom I taught for many years. Through my connection with Maki and her online ESL school in Japan, I made connections and taught other Japanese families’ children when they were living in NJ, as well as several families whom I knew only remotely.
It was an incredibly special and memorable experience for me to be warmly welcomed by these families when I came to Japan. We made prior arrangements to meet, and I was thrilled to meet Hayuka Miki for the first time in person at Billboard Live in Tokyo during Temple University’s premiere performance. It was wonderful to meet in person and catch up on each other’s lives.
I taught Hayuka from age 17 to 22. She uses her English daily in overseas sales at Kawasaki Heavy Industries and frequently travels to Korea and China for business. I am so proud of her! She has grown into a successful, beautiful young woman! I made sure to ask about her two brothers, Rishu and Takusu, whom I had taught as well. It was an incredible evening of soulful jazz music and nostalgia!
In Kyoto, we got together with the Yanagimachi family at one of their favorite okonomiyaki restaurants near our hotel (a restaurant where the chef prepares the food on a grill in the middle of the table). I had tutored two of the three boys at their home in Princeton fourteen years ago. Kazuho and Haruto were about 12 and 10 years old. Takumi was 5 or 6 years old.
Now they are all handsome and successful young men with great personalities and a terrific sense of humor. Our friends Amy and Jim joined us and had a wonderful time talking with the boys. One of the boys is attending university in Kyoto.
All three of them towered above my four-foot-eleven frame! I had not realized that the family had traveled three hours to see me and had to drive back that night! I deeply appreciate the time and effort they made to see my husband and me. On top of that, they insisted on treating all of us, which was a wonderful surprise gift to all of us!
On our last day in Kyoto, we took the train to Osaka to meet Maki and her daughter Anna, Yuko and her daughter Reina, and Yuko Tomita and her daughter Mao, whom I had taught in kindergarten in Pennington, NJ.
We took the subway together to Osaka Castle, where we learned all about the history of this important fortress. Michael and I had watched the series “Shogun” on TV in preparation for our trip, so we had some prior background.
Afterwards, we ate at a beautiful traditional restaurant with a breathtaking view of the city. Then, we took a short ferry ride on a golden boat from the moat to the subway. We also spent some time experiencing the remarkably busy restaurant district. It looked like Times Square in New York City with all the flashing billboards, restaurants, and advertisements everywhere!
I very much appreciate all the time and effort it took for Maki and Yuko to organize this day for Michael and me.
I am deeply indebted to them both for their intense dedication to education and for trusting their children to me as their English language tutor for so many years. I was impressed with how mature and beautiful Anna and Reina had become! Their level of English is very advanced, and we were able to communicate with no problem.
Although the boys did not come that day, I wish them both the best of luck in their studies, and I hope that they will continue to work hard on their English and use it to communicate in the future.
I have received the honor and pleasure of teaching all of my Japanese students over the years. The greatest gift I received from them and their families is the trust they have placed in me over the years and their respect for my knowledge and experience as a teacher.
I have been a teacher for over 45 years, first as a high school Spanish teacher for 28 years and then as an ESL teacher—first in high school and middle school, and for the last 13 years at Stony Brook Elementary School. I am now 68 years old. Although I formally retired in 2022, I am continuing to teach ESL to adults part-time at a local community college.
Why am I still teaching?
Because it is what I do. It is part of who I am.
Because it is rewarding to see my students grow, and I take extraordinary pride in their accomplishments. Teaching and helping others give meaning and purpose to my life.
I wish all my students long, happy, and successful lives in which they, too, can find meaning and purpose.