Spring! A time when the temperate climate areas of the world awaken after a period of hibernation. In some cultures, spring is celebrated as the start of the New Year and budding plants and trees symbol new growth. Here in Japan, we celebrate the New Year in January but spring is the beginning of a new academic year and entrance ceremonies all over the country are packed with the excited energy of students in shiny new clothes. Teachers look forward to their new classes and parents wonder how their children grew so fast. School leavers and college or university graduates adjust to becoming freshman again in companies and businesses as they take on adult roles in society and we all settle down to a new year of study or work as we await that special break called Golden Week.

Spring in this part East Asia is also the season of cherry and plum blossoms and a signal to prepare for Hanami gatherings under the trees. In the Edo era, the upper classes would be inspired to write poems as they gazed at the blossoms but these days, many people simply enjoy the experience of a friendly picnic under the trees with their co-workers.

At KIFL, we are looking ahead and planning alternate ways to provide education and practice in skills that will help our graduates enter the next phase of their lives. The demands of today’s world are a challenge for all of us and I find myself filled with awe as I see how colleagues and students adapt to them.

This year, we would like to take a moment before we step into a new academic year and take a small step into the past. I recently read in a BBC news article that the term, “nostalgia” was an expression first used by a 17th Century medical student to describe a state of anxiety after the Greek words that meant return and pain. However, according to psychologists today, a nostalgic journey can help us look at ourselves more objectively. It’s a timeline of our experiences. Our challenges and successes, our mistakes and lessons learned. It helps us to remember what we can do and this provides motivation to redirect our energy toward new or forgotten goals.

At KTW, we often focus on the work of the students but we neglect to mention all the people who support them. Firstly the non-Japanese teachers who have left their familiar support systems behind in their homelands and who have had to adapt and adjust to new customs and lifestyles as well as teach in a different learning environment. Although most of the non-Japanese teachers share a common language, we come from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Looking back 30 years, I recall how many jokes and teasing phrases have been misunderstood and sometimes caused upsets and hurt feelings but I also recall the incredible support and pulling together of a great band of people whose main connection was by location and shared work. We learned to become more flexible more open and perhaps more confident as we worked with different views toward teaching language and along the way, we forged real friendships and respect for each other’s differences.

We would not be a school without students to educate nor could we have a school without the teachers to educate them. Then, we have the administration staff who handle all the logistics of running a business and at the same time, provide support for both students and teachers. In order to attract new students, we need to show the public what we can do for them and that role is very important in today’s world of confusing information and media. At KIFL, we have a hardworking supportive public relations department but we also need to remember that our graduates and alumni play both an important role in our history and in helping to promote our future. And, of course, we should not forget our amazing housekeeping staff. In this edition, we are only touching on some of our memories but in the next edition, we shall explore our past and history in depth. I often ask my students to make a timeline of their lives in order to extract experiences and skills that are valuable for their job hunting efforts. It is time to do the same with our school. We have a long history of accomplishments that were achieved with the efforts of a combined group of people and KIFL Times would like to show our readers the pride we have for all that we have done and all that we can do.

If any of our readers would like to share their memories, do please contact us at ktimes@kifl.ac.jp . We would love to hear from you. In the meantime, take a few minutes and explore our albums. They might help trigger some special moments you have forgotten. We have a few special memories from our admin interviews that also might help.

One of our long time Japanese colleagues, Kodama San, has been kind enough to share some of his photos of KIFL teachers in Japanese language dramas. Mr. Kodama was very active in helping the teachers with their language skills and as he started at KIFL in 1973, we shall be interviewing him in more detail for the next edition. Mr. Mizuno, our school president, has shared some of his favourite Sports Day photos from 20 to 30 years ago and we hope to provide some more nostalgic reminders in our future edition.

Our KTW student assistant, Masaru Usui, has interviewed a couple of Japanese teachers and student friends about their past memories and also visited the only spot in the Kanda area that escaped the bombing of WWII. Masaru interviewed a long time resident and mentions a couple of restaurants including one of my own favourites. If you have not wandered over to that part of Kanda, we recommend you do so to experience the atmosphere and to try the delicious soba.

We have another interesting article from our guest writer, Ken Ninomya. He will take us on a small walk down his memory lane and remind us that nostalgia is not always a memory that helps us move forward. It is sometimes simply looking back a little sadly.

On a completely different note, we have a new member working for the Sano Foundation, Kid’s Club Department. Anna Hosonaka has written an article that will remind all of us that any decision we make will be right because of the valuable experiences that we have as a result. She comes to us with a unique skill. She was a professional dancer in the US and loves passing on her knowledge to young children. We do not have a Music Therapy Course but all psychologists say that exercise and movement keeps the happy chemicals working in our bodies. I am sure that Anna will help many children feel that happiness. Kid’s club is very lucky to have Anna who left Japan as a shy uncertain teenager and returned as a confident, sophisticated and strong young woman.

Thanks to the three very committed Eco Kentei members, we have some clear information and solid advice to follow. As I write this, I am sipping Fair Trade coffee, a lesson and gift from Naoaki Joza. Natsumi Ikeda has challenged us to a specific action for Japan’s Earth Day on the 17th and 18th of March and Mami Takeuchi has given us a green consumer check list to follow. Student research is a process of shared information which provides us with a comfortable place for language correction but it is in the uncorrected opinions and reflections from our students that I find motivation as a teacher.

Editor