I started receiving emails from Participant Media. I began receiving their newsletter after I saw the movie, An Inconvenient Truth, on global warming. It has information on very interesting matters. This month the newsletter introduced several movies and books which touch on socially important issues that we as human beings need to be aware of. In this particular newsletter they introduced the upcoming movie, The Soloist, which is about a Juliard-trained strings player who, suffering from mental illness, ends up homeless on the streets of LA. It stars Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. The trailer can be seen here: The Soloist. This is the site for TakePart.com and includes blogs on events, movies and books that have a social interest value.
Teaching English in Japan in many ways has lead me become more aware of and interested in the affairs of the world. The election of Barack Obama, the first African American president, the film, An Inconvenient Truth narrated by former U.S. Vice President, Al Gore and a score of other issues have been important events to trigger my interest in being more socially conscious. Of course I can introduce my students to such issues, but I cannot be too overbearing about these with my students. It is up to them to decide for themselves what is important. In any case, teaching English in Japan with Smith’s School of English has allowed me to take more time studying such social issues and becoming aware of the work of people to bring these issues to light.
So this is another reason to consider a career teaching and to join the Smith’s School of English Franchise system. Think about it. Do you really enjoy what you are doing now? If not take a look at Smith’s and what we teachers are doing.
Al,
I do agree with you that this career switch to teaching here at Smiths School of English has certaintly provided me with much more time to pursue personal interests and its enjoyable to share those with our students in the classroom.
Alex
Alex,
Thanks. We are lucky, I think, to have this wonderful opportunity to touch the lives of so many nice people, to share in their experiences and to include them in ours. I have never had a time that I regretted this career change. And it is great to be associated with so many professionals who really care about what they are doing. You are all simply the best people I have met in my life. We learn share our ideas and learn from each other and that is what makes it work so well. School ownership makes us much more than just teachers. It’s great!
Al, SSE Okamoto