Posts Tagged ‘careers’

Japan Needs Japanese Teachers

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007

The figures in the previous post were embedded in an article from The Daily Yomiuri on the critical need for Japanese teachers here in Japan. The number of primary and secondary students whose native language is not Japanese went over 20,000 for the first time. It should be noted that the vast majority of these students do not speak English as their first language either. The jobs are clearly out there; the challenge will be to train teachers who can teach Japanese to speakers of any language in addition to preparing speakers of these languages to teach Japanese. The breakdown of students in need of Japanese skills by language is somewhat different from the numbers of foreigners living here:

Rank Language Number Percentage
One Portuguese 7,562 36.5
Two Chinese 4,460 21.6
Three Spanish 3,156 15.3
Four Filipino 2,176 10.1
Five Korean 859 4.2
Six Vietnamese 754 3.6
Seven English 487 2.4
Eight+ Others 1,238 6.0

So, any students out there who are still thinking about what they would like to do for a living may want to consider a career in teaching Japanese. Keep in mind that you might need to make a move to a location where there are higher concentrations of students in need. These seem to include the Kanto and Kansai areas.

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Bye, Dad

Tuesday, July 25th, 2006

My father passed away earlier this year from heart disease. This happened just as the family here was getting moved in for the sabbatical. Needless to say, a visit with him before he died would have been a very good thing. His passing came as a shock to us and all who knew him. I put together some words about him which follow:

He was born in Laurel, Mississippi where he lived until he joined the Navy in 1943. He was a flight instructor during WWII and was one of the few pilots at the end of the war to be asked to continue service. He was trained as a fighter pilot and flew Navy fighters such as the propeller-driven Wildcat, Hellcat, Bearcat, and Corsair. When the Navy moved to jets, JB flew the Banshee, the Panther, the Cougar, and the Crusader. Since he was always ready to fly, he also took assignments in various non-combat planes such as the C-3 and Beechcraft models of the day. He was trained as a photography pilot and was deployed on several aircraft carriers which toured East and Southern Asia. Another highlight in my father’s naval career was as one of the commissioning officers on the nation’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Enterprise.
After retiring from the Navy in 1966, JB began a career as a flight instructor and later, corporate pilot. He worked at Jim’s Air and moved to Crown Air where he was Chief Flight Instructor. Later he became the Chief Pilot for Hawthorne Machineries and flew Mr. Hawthorne and his clients to various places in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. He also flew several fights in the Hawaiian islands where research into atmospheric conditions was being conducted. JB retired from professional flying in the 1990′s, but he maintained his private pilot’s credentials until his death. In total, he had over 23,000 hours of flying time, and his flying career spanned close to 63 years.
In more recent years, JB stayed active by riding his bicycle, going to the sauna regularly, and staying active in his community. He was well-known by all the businesses he frequented and was famous for making and sharing his chocolate chip cookies.
He will be sorely missed by all whose lives he touched. Happy flying, Dad…

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