Sakura Mya
Minato Chie-Fisher
This month’s teacher of the month is Mrs. Martin. We all know her as a fantastic English teacher, advisor, social studies teacher and of course, a good friend of Mr. Martin *wink wink* . She is one of the most kind, caring and passionate individuals that the Saint Maur community should definitely be proud of. Out of the 15 questions below, she explains her favorite places she has lived and visited, her childhood, favorite parts of Saint Maur, her journey as a teacher, and of course, we asked her plenty of questions about her loving family. Enjoy!
Question 1. Where were you born?
“I was born in El Salvador, which is a country in Central America.”
Question 2. As a third-culture kid who has resided in many different places, is there a favorite place and a least favorite place in the world?
“Actually, out of all the places I’ve been to and lived in, I’d say Japan is probably my favorite, hence why I’m here. And least favorite, when I was a teenager I lived in Mauritius, which is an island off the coast of Africa. Not a reflection of the people itself, or the place itself, it’s just that I found the culture really repressive and kind of in contrast to how I was being brought up in my home and in the school even. It was very difficult to leave the school environment and have to conform to all of the societal rules that I didn’t really want to abide by. I was also a teenager then, so.”
Question 3. Speaking of being a teenager, what was your childhood like? Describe it in three words.
“I’d say, very warm. I have a brother and a sister who I was very close to, so lot’s of arguments and lots of fights. But I would still say quite fun. So… warm, arguments, fights, fun?”
When jokingly confronted that she had described it in four words, she laughed and said, “fights and arguments in one word.”
Question 4. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done as a teenager?
“When I was fifteen, one of my best friends was from India and I asked my parents would it be okay to travel to India by myself and visit my friend in India. And to my surprise, my parents said ‘Yes.’ So I got on a flight to India by myself and I traveled to lots of different parts [with my friend] and a couple of other friends. And we were traveling India by ourselves when we were just fifteen. I don’t know why my parents let me do that, but I think that was pretty crazy.”
Wouldn’t have expected that from our Mrs. Martin now, would we?
Question 5. What are your hobbies?
“I love watching TV. I’d say that’s probably my number one hobby. I consume a lot of television.”
Question 6. Who is your favorite musical artist?
“When I was young, I would probably say, like when I was about your guys’ age, I would say… a guy called David Gray. He’s a singer songwriter from the U.K and I still love him now, he’s amazing. But recently I’ve been listening to a lot of Phoebe Bridgers and she’s got another band called Boygenius. And I’ve been obsessed with Boygenius recently.”
Question 7. Who is your favorite author?
“I’d probably say that my favorite author when I was young hasn’t changed, I still love him now, and that’s Roald Dahl. Someone who I was obsessed with when I was little and even into my teen years because I started reading his short stories, his adult short stories, I’d say he still ranks number one now for me.”
Question 8. What led you to becoming a teacher?
“Lots of things, I think it was lots of serendipitous moments that then helped me get the job that I eventually have loved so much for so many years. But firstly actually it was the fact that when I graduated from university there was an economic crash in England. So that meant that I couldn’t get the job that I wanted to get at that time because basically no one was hiring. And the job that I thought I wanted to do, was to be a museum curator and I wanted to be working with anthropologists because I was doing a degree in anthropology. But that didn’t work out, so I worked for about a year at KFC. I was trying to figure out how to get back into the field of anthropology but no one was accepting master students at that time. So then, I asked my mom ‘What do I do?’ and she said ‘Why don’t you just come to Japan and work at the school I’m working at just as a teaching assistant because we need a teaching assistant.’ So I was like ‘Okay.’ And I had worked with kids before as like a babysitter. So I was like ‘Okay, why not. I’ll see how it goes. I love Japan.’ So I came back to Japan, and my mom got me the job, and then I really loved it and I ended up getting my teaching certification. I started teaching, firstly, the little ones, the three year olds, and then I moved up to Middle School. And I said ‘ell, actually I don’t really like the Middle School kids.” So I wanted to teach High School instead, so I started teaching High School.”
It’s interesting to hear how Mrs. Martin’s journey to becoming a teacher was shaped by unexpected circumstances and chance encounters. We’re lucky that her path led her to teaching, a profession that she has clearly found fulfilling and rewarding for so many years. A truly inspirational person, Mrs. Martin is.
Question 9. Why did you choose English out of all the subjects?
“It kind of just… happened. I mean, I already had a background in social studies mainly but I wanted to do English more than social studies because I felt like I was better at English actually, better than the social studies stuff. So, I ended up getting my teaching degree in English.”
Question 10. Why Saint Maur/favorite things about Saint Maur?
“The kids. I would say the students will always be number one. The people I have worked with everybody, we spend a lot of time here and there, we plan things and sometimes we hang out and talk. I love the people I work with. Everybody’s really kind and really friendly… really accepting, really supportive.”
Question 11. Where did you meet Mr. Martin?
“Mr. Martin and I were working in the same school previous before we came here. We were working in K-International school. And that’s when we met and he was teaching there. I think I met him maybe the first year I started teaching there but I had already been there for about 4 years before him. We were just friends hanging out and we would spend a lot of time outside of school. On Fridays after school, we would go to karaoke together. So, we were friends before we started dating.”
Question 12. Favorite thing about Seth and Mr. Martin?
“Favorite thing about Seth AND Mr. Martin? Everything!”
Her face lit up with excitement as she stated so. It was not difficult to tell how much she cherished her family.
“But that’s so hard. Favorite thing about Mr. Martin is… I don’t know. Just how beautifully supportive he is of me. And how much he loves me for who I am. Anytime I feel down or unsure about something… doubtful, despite being in a bad place, I know that he is there for me and that makes me feel… influenced. It’s hard to find people that you know can be fully trusted. And that that person’s going to tell you the truth… and Mr. Martin’s one of them.”
When it’s Seth’s turn to be described about, the flush on her face was there all over again.
“He [Seth] is truly a reflection of all the good qualities of Mr. Martin. And all of my good qualities I think? Sometimes. I think he is just beautiful, kind, he is really, really gentle and he’s got such a beautiful spirit. It also feels quite rewarded that he is incredibly smart.”
Wonder if he’s good at math.
“I don’t know about that yet. I mean, he counts really well?”
Question 13. What is the most memorable moment with Seth?
“Probably when he was born because when I think about him I think about how he was inside of me for many months and when he came out of me, I was like ‘what??’, like it blew my mind that him and I were one being for so long and then he was outside of me and he was his own dude. It was mind blowing, and I still do find it when I think about it. So, his birth. I felt him inside of me, kicking me and now, he’s outside of me. I find it incredibly amazing.”
Question 14. Who’s your favorite teacher (other than Mr. Martin)?
The question seemed to have been quite vague so it was decided that she were to talk about the teacher she got along with most.
“I have known Mr. Ito and Mr. Boyd for a very long time. Longer than I have known Mr. Martin because we used to work together. So I have a very soft spot for Mr. Boyd and Mr. Ito because they have been friends of mine for almost ten years now? Maybe a little less for Mr. Boyd… like 8 years and 10 or 11 years for Mr. Ito. They are my very close friends.”
Question 15. Advice for the Saint Maur students?
“I would say try not to be too harsh on yourself. Try not to worry, and this comes from a worrier who consistently and constantly worries about everything so I’m a hypocrite. But how I felt when I was a teenager was being overwhelmed. Be happy and try not to worry about stuff you cannot control.”
Thank you, Mrs. Martin, for taking part in this month’s Teacher of the Cycle; we truly appreciate your dedication to teaching and the impact you have on your students’ lives.
Sakura Mya & Minato Chie-Fisher