This is from Martha Nojima:
Ben said Susie galvanized teachers here in Japan. That’s right. A year ago when I started this I never imagined it would be so successful. The timing was right for many things and they clicked into place to make this work.
Susie told me she was nervous about presenting in Japan. Japan has such a reputation for being impossible to change. Ask anyone who works in the public school system and they will agree. BUT our Board of Education chief, the head of the education department of Shimabara city, raced to the workshop all three days after her duties to participate.
She loved it. She was surprised. I don’t think she had planned to come all three days. I think she couldn’t stay away. There were many people who were surprised. I’m not sure what they were expecting but probably not the impeccable quality, the depth of knowledge, the attention to detail, the energy and power that is Susie Gross.
Using Alaska (amazing turnout you have Michele, that is so great!) as a model we can now keep the energy going. We are planning local monthly meetings and are working out how to skype or webinar across the country. A group of powerful ready to go young people emerged that can drive this thing.
Jack Taylor from the UK, teaching in Northern Japan, already has the bilingual forum up and running. Tom Armstrong who was my right hand man in organizing the workshop, is working on how to link us all, as well as stepping in with both feet in his classrooms last week.
We are lucky to have Cameron Taylor who has been teaching Spanish using TPRS quietly on the base in Sasebo since 2003, as our wise sage. Yuki Watanabe who was Susie’s interpreter and a teacher trainer herself, jumped in this weekend with a four hour teacher training workshop where she used many things she had learned from Susan.
This is a very international effort. Tom is Australian. Cameron is American. There were 4 teachers who are Filipino. Jack as I said is British, as is Dominic, and Marc, along with the Japanese teachers.
At Los Alamitos I fell in love. I fell in love with the feeling that everyone was creating with their passion and dedication and enthusiasm. I wanted teachers in Japan to have that feeling, of working together and creating something together. I told a few people about it and they shook their heads, trying to soften the blow they were sure I would feel when it didn’t happen. But it did happen. It happened the first day. By lunch time.
Susie came and galvanized. We have three days of information to process and put into action, new skills to develop, work to do. She didn’t stop giving the whole ten days she was here. She left us a solid group. How do you thank someone for that? When she comes back we are going to need a much bigger room.