Maoko Ishikami
This week, I interviewed Ms. Nakashima, a teacher at Saint Maur. She has taught Japanese here for a few years now, and is currently my IB Japanese teacher. During class, she sometimes reveals her experiences which makes her lessons engaging, fun, and something to look forward to throughout the day. Her popularity among many students is apparent, so I interviewed her to get to know more about her life, and how she has ended up as a teacher here at Saint Maur.
Question 1: Where were you born?
「私は日本の愛知県で生まれました。」
“I was born in Aichi prefecture, Japan.”
After answering this question, she proceeded to share a story about the time she was a Japanese teacher in the United States, and joked to her students that she was born in South Korea. They thought she was South Korean for a while after that.
Question 2: What is your best childhood memory? / How did you become a teacher?
「放課後の習い事かな。もう毎日同じルティーンでくせになっていたからそれが子供の頃の1番の思い出かな。」
“Probably my after school activities as a kid. It was a habit to follow the same routine everyday, so that is one of my core memories from my childhood.”
She proceeded to share the different after-school activities and extracurriculars she used to do as a child. These included piano, electric organ, shodo, “Soroban” (算盤), and singing. She revealed that during high school, she wanted to become a music teacher, and pursue a career in the music field. However, after her piano teacher was replaced, she started thinking negatively of music due to her teacher’s negativity and verbal abuse. The constant criticism she received led her to stop wanting to do music.
She shares, “If I had a stronger mentality back then, I may have continued music. However, my mind was still developing and my mentality was weak. That is why one day, I suddenly committed myself to the decision that I would stop doing music altogether. I would do it as a hobby, but will not pursue it as a career.”
After this sudden turn of her life, she started realizing her interest in different cultures and English. She started studying English, and came across a volunteering program of becoming an assistant of a Japanese teacher at a private school abroad. After passing the exams and getting chosen, she was sent to Louisiana, United States. After assisting there for a year, she realized how kind the people there were, and how happy she was there. She also had experience at being a Japanese class assistant all throughout elementary and high school, and was interested by how many students held interest for Japan and its culture. This led her to commit to teaching Japanese, and attended graduate school to pursue this dream.
Question 3: What is your best memory from university?
「私とは違う国々の人たちと出会って、様々な考え方に触れたこと。」
“Being exposed to people of different cultures, and meeting people with different ways of thinking.”
Question 4: What is the craziest thing you have ever done?
「私は結構良い生徒だったからそんなに考えられないなあ」
“I consider myself to have been a pretty good student, so I can’t think of anything too crazy I have done”
Despite her response, after a moment of thought, she remembered one incident. She had just gotten a driver’s license in the US, and was driving her co-worker’s child to work. Since she was not too familiar with the roads, she was driving at a fast speed in the school zone. The police eventually stopped her and started telling her that she was driving too fast, and needed to be fined. However, Ms. Nakashima decided to pretend she cannot speak English, and continued with her act until the police gave up and told her to go. She is not as innocent as we thought…
Question 5: What is your favorite thing about Saint Maur?
「アメリカでは当然アメリカ人の生徒や先生が多かった。でも、この学校では様々な文化や国の人たちがいる。学校に来るという事は、私が教えるだけではなくて、他の人から毎日何か新しいことを知れて学べる。」
“When I lived in the US, obviously I was surrounded by Americans. However, this school has people of so many different nations and cultures. Whenever I come to school, I not only teach but I learn new things from others everyday.”
Question 6: Favorite food?
「焼肉とお寿司。穴子のお寿司！」
“Yakiniku and sushi. Especially the conger eel sushi!”
There was zero hesitation in her answering this question.
Question 7: Favorite movie?
「夢を叶えるゾウ」
“Indian Elephant’s God That Makes Dreams Come True”
Question 8: Favorite student?
「真生子さんです！」
“Maoko!”
Question 9: Any life advice?
「時間を大切に使うこと。将来や夢のことを考えるのは怖いけど、そういう怖さに意味はない。」
“Time is precious. Use it wisely. It may be scary to think about your future and your dreams, but there is no point in feeling scared. Work towards it.”
Some final words of wisdom from her sums up this interview. Her bright cheeriness and positivity during school never fails to make students’ day. If you don’t already know her, talk to her! She will always know how to cheer you up from the stresses of school.
Thank you Ms. Nakashima for being our first Teacher of The Cycle!
中島先生、ありがとうございました！
Maoko Ishikami