I’m failing at my own goals. I had said that if I was ever too busy to go for two swims in a week, that I was doing something wrong. Now I’m too busy to even write this blog. But I’m kind of stuck. Teaching 8 classes a week is really taking its toll (especially …
In regards to work, in regards to becoming a linchpin, you first need to have some sort of expertise, in some sort of niche. I would say that any area is fine, so that people call upon you when it is your area. Well, any area that has value to people that is. Choose a …
I’ll give you a good tip for travel in Japan outside the main centres. Get a car! This may sound obvious, but anywhere that doesn’t have a decent transport system is going to be too much hassle without one. Japan is famous for its trains, most notably the bullet train and things like the Yamanote …
Today I was talking with some old friends and the conversation turned to something of a sore spot for me, a place that I used to work for that had unceremoniously let me go. However, this was a few years back now, and I had all but forgotten about how I felt at the time. …
A friend asked me about working in Japan, and I made the following list. I thought it would be worth sharing in case you were interested, but it is extremely random. What are the top 10 most surprising things about working in Japan that you wish you had known before you started. 1. Learn how …
The importance of self-guided learning just increased ten-fold. Well, not just, but since we’ve all had to start working online, being able to put the onus of education on the learner has increased in value exponentially. This also means the trust we place in our students to do right by them has also increased in …
I’ve never had to judge a competition until today, so I wanted to share what I learned in case anyone was ever in the same position. Until now, I’ve graded essays with the assumption that it’s good, say 100% and I take away points for things that don’t quite add up. It turns out that …
How often do you think about why you do the things you do? So I teach a bit of English at university, and I’m pretty sure I talk more than the average teacher. When I did my training we were told to keep teacher talk time TTT to a minimum to increase the opportunities for …
Although it’s not by any means an ideal situation, it is exciting to see what sort of innovation and ideas will come in the next few years. Crisis has a way of making us think in innovative ways, because we are sort of forced into it. It pushes us to try things we wouldn’t do …
When you’re doing something for the first time, it pays to take your time with it. If you try your hardest at new things, you know you’ve given it your best, so if it fails, you know it’s not because you didn’t try. The worst thing you can do is to not try and then …
