Recently, when I was visiting my godson, he was amazed by my daring, revolutionary and transgressive method of writing in block capitals. He was agog, he was aghast– a saving light had come at last! See, he explained to me that “capitals are much easier to do” and so, much like Uncle Rory, he…
Hyogo Board of Education’s annual Skills Development Conference November 21-22, 2013 Attended by 485 ALTs and JTEs A review by two JHS ALTs: This year’s Skills Development Conference was a pleasant surprise. Sort of. Well, there were pieces that were helpful and interesting. Unfortunately, there were more parts of the Conference that were frustrating and…
JETs are a varied and interesting group mostly characterized by their relative intelligence (usually anyway) and their flexibility and willingness to try new things. Hey y’all – I’ve got a hell of a thing for you to try! I first heard about Vipassana from a tour guide in Cambodia, but it seemed like a thing…
As I’m sitting in the steamy outdoor section of the Oosado onsen hotel on Sado Island, Niigata, I’m struck by the vast beauty of the Japan Sea and the snow-covered garden that serves as the only barrier between the hotel and the coast. The scenic view engulfs me in a calm serenity despite the frigid…
“One day Roland Barthes strolled up the Champs Elysees toward L’Etoile and met an outside-insider. There are many outside-outsiders and a few inside-insiders, he would say, and there are even a very few inside-outsiders [. . .] but the authentic outside-insider is rare.†(Robert Rawdon Wilson, In Palamedes’ Shadow 48)…