Ruth Martin
Ruth Martin was placed in Nara, in 1988-89. During her two years on the Programme in Nara there were endless memorable moments. Here’s her story:
In 1988 I was a "one shot" visiting a different school in the prefecture each day . It was a rewarding, but exhausting experience to be a VIP guest daily and I was grateful to the English teachers at Koryo Junior High school who arranged for me to attend their school for one whole week out of every month .
Japanese English also teachers deserve recognition for accepting and adapting to ALTs at their school. Without their cooperation the benefit to Japanese students would be less and life of an ALT could be so much harder
Kitagawa Mineko sensei and I often taught by singing UB40 or Wham songs in the classroom , while Yoshida Keiko sensei edited an English newspaper. She would ask the students to write messages to me in English as a great way of connecting, though recently I found the following comment that still makes me laugh and brings back happy memories of efforts to motivate students! It suggests that singing was perhaps more of an inspiration to students than the omnipresent New Horizon textbook
After some 37 years it's been a thrill to be reunited with Yoshida and Kitagawa sensei when they have visited London and testament to strong lasting ties formed through JET Programme, between JLTs as well as ALTs. I often think of T Matsumoto and wonder what he is doing!
Additional memorable ties were emerging from Nara-kintetsu station, before the days of mobile phones and social media to see posters announcing the death of the Showa Emperor. It wasn't a surprise as detailed daily updates on his health had been given daily on the news on TV news, but it was a momentous historical occasion, especially around New Year when many events were cancelled out of respect .
JET was intended as a stepping stone to my post graduate studies relating to Japan. I diverted to Japan-related work at a Japanese bank on the way, but eventually came back to my original academic intention, though with a different focus that lead me to further concentrate on Anglo-Japanese relations, specifically on the Japanese community in the UK!
That flexibility that got you selected for the Programme and that was tested in the most unexpected ways every day as a JET will stand you in good stead forever!
Are you a JET alum with a story to share? Get in touch to be featured in an upcoming Senpai Spotlight.
