Pope retired/ Build a School in the Cloud

February 28, 2013
Dear Friends
Today is the last day of Pope Benedict as a Pope. If he can retire, so do any of us.
I would like to write on TED. Today it came with an interesting name and interesting topic.
The name was Sugata Mitra.  I thought this man should be a Japanese known in the world.  So I click it to observe his lecture, but found out he was an Indian and trying to build a School in the Cloud.
It was quite interesting, maybe that is the solution for revival of SJC, long pondering in my life.
This is what he is doing plus with TED prize. Onstage at TED2013, he makes his bold TED Prize wish:
Help me design the School in the Cloud, a learning lab in India, where children can explore and learn from each other, using resources and monitoring from the Cloud, Self Organized Learning Environment.
I wish I could be on the same line for the education of Future.
gto

February 27, 2013
暁星の生徒が横浜駅のそばを歩いているのを見るたびに、なぜ横浜山手にあったセントジョセフは日本人の為の国際学校をやらなかったのだろう、といつも思う。

私はＴＥＤが好きだ。
今日はダフニー・コラーの講演を視聴した。
非常に好奇心をそそる講演で、彼女は無料でネットを公開するようにスタンフォード大学を口説いたそうである。
ＴＥＤ、ぜひ見るように。

gto

Mr. Yamada, looking for his American father.

February 26, 2013
Dear Friends
I met Mr. Yamada on Sunday. He is trying to locate his American father. He was born between an American corporal and a beautiful Japanese mother. Two soon got divorced and father went back home and he was left with his Japanese family. It was the decision of his mother to stay in Japan.  He still has a document of the marriage but none of his father's picture. The pictures were all destroyed by his mother.
His mother lived as the outstanding bar attendant and finally died as a Geisha lady in Hakone.
He went to 13 different families as an adopted child but never made it and his grandmother made him her son. He repeated mentioned his hometown of Beppu never segregated him being "half", but his mother repeatedly mentioned it is embarrassing to have a "foreign" kid, tried repeatedly avoid his presence.
Now he is without mother and being divorced without any heir, he is really alone. He wants to meet any relative in the USA or if possible his own father. He learned my case and asking us to help him find his father.
If anyone reading this Blog come to find his father or relative, contact us.
gto

東京にクエーカー教徒の場所

February 25, 2013
日本にクエーカー教徒がいて、集まっている場所があるということは、アメリカ人でも知らない人が多い。
「アメリカはピューリタンによって創られた」と、司馬遼太郎氏をはじめとする多くの人が言った。
しかし、その専門家である慶応大学の教授がこの夏の授業で興奮気味に語っておられたのは、マサチューセッツ州はピューリタンが開拓したのは真実であるが、南部にあるバージニア州などはそうではなくイギリスのジェントリーもどきを目指した入植者たちが開拓したのである。
そして幸いな事に、その間に位置するペンシルヴァニア州はクエーカーたちの実験的な試みにより、人種、宗教に寛容な州になった。

クエーカーには神父や牧師がおらず、像や十字架もない、
ただ対面して、ベンチに座り沈黙して、自分の中にある神と対話をするのである。
クエーカーの人々は極めて質素に生活し、欲を持たず、シンプルな生活をし、決して、人を殺さず、嘘をつかず、清く正しく、キリストが教えたとおりに生きようとしている。
自分に厳しく、他に優しく。
日本人では新渡戸稲造が有名である。

教授ご自身や、他の学者の方達も、クエーカーにより創立されたアメリカのジョンズホプキンズ大学へ留学されて実感されたそうだ。

gto

Quakers in Tokyo/Picture of the classroom of SJIS

February 24, 2013
Dear Friends
Today I was at the meeting place of the Quakers, officially called the Religious Organization of Friends.
They are quite different with the conventional Christians. They stress on the continuous revelation and that God is in everyone.
They are known as a total pacifist and live with what Jesus /spirit had told everyone. Pennsylvania is known as a Quaker State, founded by William Penn. Johns Hopkins is a Quaker University where Nitobe Inazou became a Quaker. But not many people know that the Quakers have a school, Friend Gakuen and Tokyo meeting place in Japan.

The picture you see above is the last classroom of Seniors of SJIS 2000.
 I replaced Jeff Miller for two months in April and May of 2000 as last teacher for the alma mater. NHK had televised it.
Brother O'Donnel was in charge of this mission. I really sympathize him for this work.  It is much easier to build a new school than closing one.It is the closest room to the entrance and in my days, extra room for typing or business classes, in late 1960's, Brother John Sullivan and Brother O'Donnel were the business teachers who had taught in this room.  It was right next to the bell, calling Brothers or teachers from all school corner to tell them there is a phone call or some visitors are in the office. Mrs. Koizumi was a long time secretary.
However, in 2000 this room became the only room used by the last fifteen students. I remember the map I got from Nihon Kyouzu in 1980's standing there as a monument of my teaching career.
I asked the school to give me as many equipment(s) as possible for I had  a space and very strong feeling to them. But the school didn't want to have anything remaining behind, wanted to close it fast and destroy any remembrance.
But, I asked Brother O'Donnel to let me have the desks.  As a typical Brother O'D onnel, he wanted to close the SJIS school account with "0", he didn't give me the desks free but sold them to me with the exact amount of my payment for teaching the last two months.
Though there was a slight expense on my part, luckily to all SJIS graduates, I do have the last fifteen desks and chairs with Zabuton for earthquake evacuation head protector, plus Brother gave me 15 dictionaries which were in this classroom.
Whatever it may be I always liked Brother O'Donnel and tried to follow him.  I don't have a good sense of business like him nor like Fr. Tagawa,SM or Sister Minagawa of Futaba.
Gradually I see my true mentor was Father Gerber not the ones I wanted to follow.  He was the one who hired me and overwhelmingly protected me in time of troubles. Maybe in this line I should pursue my life.
gto

St. Joseph College students, George, Fr. Gerber

February 23, 2013
Dear Friends.
This is a picture of SJC students, George, Fr. Gerber in 1978 or79 , Seamen's club or Officer's club.
This group was my youth and my youth were with them.
 I became a teacher when they were 3rd grade and Father Gerber was my real mentor. He was the living Saint.
Once Brother Isidore,f.i.s., one of the founding Brothers of St. Mary's International School-Tokyo, mentioned how lucky  I am for working under the living Saint, Father Gerber,S.M.
gto

Ｆｅｂｒｕａｒｙ２３，２０１３

明大が国際大を傘下に

国際大は全授業が英語で進められており、途上国からの留学生が多いのが特色である。
ただ、国内での知名度不足などから将来的な経営不安を抱えていた。
そこで明大の知名度や人気を生かして学生獲得を、と考えた様である。
明大も国際大の外国人教員らを招いて英語による授業を充実させる等のメリットがあると判断した様だ。

１月に両学校法人は”系列法人化に関する協定”を結んだ。
期間は４月から５年間。
私がダートマス大学で日本語を教えていた頃（1990年）、ダートマスには世界で最初に創られたＭＢＡコースがあった。
そして、その当時すこぶる経済状態が良かった日本は経団連を中心に国際大学を創立する事にした。
確か、慶応大学と共同で大学ＭＢＡコースを設立した事が国際大学の始まりだったように覚えている。
それが、今回この様に明治大学と系列化する事になったのはなぜなのだろう。

新潟の魚沼に創立された当時、「日本で都心から随分離れたところにこの様な大学を創って大丈夫なのだろうか」と思った。
ダートマス大学はアメリカの中でもとてつもない田舎にあるが、アメリカではそれは当たり前である為、都会ではないがダートマスにはエリートが集まり、特に経営学のレベルはとても高い。
1990年代には自慢の大学であった。

都心から離れた秋田や会津でも努力されており、日本全体でも幼児教育や大学教育で国際化を推し進めているが、初等、中等教育では未だ一部を除いて国際化は進んでいないのが現状であり、教育の一貫性が徹底されていないのが問題である。
gto

国際大学とは？

　　　　　　　　　　　明治大学和泉校舎、図書館とメデイア棟

February22,2013

２３日付の朝日新聞によると、明大が国際大学を傘下にし、今春から理事の過半数を派遣する、との事。

「明治大学と国際大学〈新潟県〉は２１日、今春から国際大学が理事の過半数〈６人〉を明治大学から迎え入れると発表した。事実上、国際大学が明治大学の傘下に入れる。合弁ではなく、経営は別々の法人として続ける。」

gto, to be continue.

SJ House とクルトゥルハイム

22, February, 2013
明治４５年（１９１２）、イエズス会は上智大学設立のために紀尾井町に土地を購入した。
この土地の売主の一人、高島氏の邸宅であったのが現在のクルトゥルハイムだ。
子爵の爵位を持つ華族で、陸軍大将も務めた高島氏が明治２９－３０年（１８８６－９７）に建築した。
この建物は関東大震災や第二次大戦中の空襲でも被災を免れ、今や大学構内に現存する唯一の明治期の建築物である。
「クルトゥルハイム」と呼ばれるようになったのは昭和になってからであるが、その名称の由来はドイツ語で、”文化”を意味するクルトゥルと、”館”をするハイムとを合わせたものだそうだ。
その名のとおり、クルトゥルハイムはこれまで文化の館としてカトリック文化を継承してきた。
全てを見守って来た由緒ある柱時計は、今も入口のホール中央で穏やかにに時を刻んでいる。

February 18, 2013
Picture of KulturalHeim,
A chapel of SJ House, Sophia University.
Baptism taken place on Monday, March 3, 2013
under Father Currie, SJ

February 21, 2013
Dear People interested in History of Yokohama
This is a very rare picture of an American School in Occupied Japan. It is very impressive building by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright.
It was a Girls' commercial high school and now the building doesn't exist as well as the school is now Chuo University high School moving out to Center North in Yokohama this spring.
gto

February 21, 2013
Dear Friends
Hope you all are doing well
This is a picture of myself taken by Tom Power at Meiji University, Izumi Campus, Liaison Building.
We were taking videos for the ACE course of Department of Political Science and Economics.
The course is designed to the students of that department to go abroad or be excellent in English to enter the career after their graduation. We all teach in spoken English in courses designed to the students of TOEIC score of over 550/620 to challenge in advance level Enlish learning.
gto

２０、February, 2013
今日は寒かった。
朝９時に家を出て、横浜→井之頭線→明治大学和泉校舎でＡＣＥコースのインタビュー撮影。
初めて、リエゾンビル１階へ入った。こんないい所があるとは知らなかった。
トラッド英会話でおなじみのアトキンズ先生によると、この建物はバウワーズ先生のお陰で建ったのだそうだ。研究室棟のすぐ隣にあり、隠れ家のようである。

明治の後は成績と教職について話すため慶応大学の事務所へ寄った。
そして、研究室の坂上さんにもお会いした。
坂上さんが退官されるまでに心理学の研究で（私の念願でもある）博士になるように、との助言を頂いた。
実現するように努力するつもりである。
gto

a superman

February 19, 2013
Dear Friends
Life is unfair, some people work hard, study hard but can't get a good job and never can find a partner to leave their genes behind and die in vain, but there is a person  marries more than three times and has many children and marries to a younger, educated woman each time.  He is a superman.
 We are all just jealous.
gto

18,February, 2013
今日、上智のクルトゥルハイムに行ってきた。
娘のマリが３月にカトリックの洗礼を受ける事になった為、カリー神父に会いに伺ったのだ。
行きは四ッ谷駅にあるポール（パン屋・喫茶店）に寄り、帰りはニューオオタニでお茶をして帰ってきた。

四ッ谷も上智も「自宅から遠い」と、つい足が遠ざかりがちになってしまっていたが、上智の方々はどういうわけかいつ行ってもよくして下さるので感謝している。

彼女の人生がこれを機会にまた一歩前に出る事を願う。

gto

February 17, 2013
This is a picture of graduating class of 1923. Brother Gaschy and Eiben were still young I may misspelled
their names but both were known to be leading Marianists in the pre-war days. One being the French and the other American, example of the pre-war days bilingual education. The school taught classes in French and English. I think Father Tagawa is doing that in his elementary school and has an outstanding reputation for that.

February 17, 2013
This is a picture of graduating class of St. Joseph College, 1923, just before the earthquake. Brother Gaschy was known to be a renowned educator. He built the school and his death in 1954 was a great loss.
St. Joseph in those days were a bilingual school of French and English.

February 17, 2013

Dear Friends,

フェリスでの生涯学習クラスを昨日終えましたが、受講生の一人から早速お便りを頂きました。
その方のご家族がセントジョセフにいた事があり、その写真もあるそうです。
１９２３年の写真という珍しいものです。
ベーリックで講演をした時に、その写真を私の教え子である長田君（Ｐａｔｔｅｒｓｏｎ）に渡した、との事。
彼があちこちを駆け回り、講演が成功するように努力していたのを思い出します。
その際、セントジョセフの兄弟校である暁星学園にもセントジョセフに関するものがあれば譲って頂けないか、と何度か足を運んだそうですが、残念ながらそれは叶いませんでした。

gto

February 16, 2013
Dear Friends
This picture is from Aoyama Gakuin Sagamihara Campus Welsley Chapel under snow.
Winter is cold season of the year. We must be careful in cold weather.
We are freezing in this cold weather.
Today I went up to Ferris College up on Yamate to speak on the early Meiji Christians in Yokohama.  Yokohama was the start of all the modern infrastructures, telephone, railroad, modern water supply, food, finance, etc.
gto

I planned to have Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday English edition.
                         Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Japanese.
                         plus Sunday, either of the two.
Hope you will continue reading.
gto

February 15, 2013
Dear Friends
I went up to Yamate and set up a desk for my office work in the Foreign Cemetery.
I want to go over the past minutes of the Gaikokujin Bochi as much as possible. Minutes are all put in boxes and held on the unknown shelves.
Then I went to Ferris to visit the Archives.  They have very impressive ones
They have lots of materials and well organized.
gto

14, February, 2013
日本の教育は段々と変わっていっているようだ。

島田君（イエズス会の学校に通っている生徒）によると、灘や麻布のトップの生徒は夜も寝ずに留学する勉強をしているらしい。

教室にあるアメリカの高校のテキストを島田君に渡したところ、一週間後にはノートにびっしりりと色分けしてそのテキストを勉強して来たので驚いたのだが、彼によると灘の高校生（１年生）は寝るのも惜しんでもっと勉強している、との事。
どうやら、日本の優等生たちは日本を見限るようになってきた様だ。

東大合格ランキング１位である開成の校長も、今では生徒達を東大ではなくハーバード大学に行かせたい様である。
校長ご自身もハーバード（ＨＡＲＶＡＲＤ）で教えておられた事があるので、その良さをよく知っておられるのだろう。

なんとなく、でも確実に、日本は変わって行くようだ。
gto

February 13, 2013
The light is turning to the new world of education in Japan.
Ryoya Shimada, a fifteen year boy attending a Jesuit High School in Japan,
was telling me that the most regarded high school, Kaisei, will target their school entrance not to Tokyo University but Harvard..
gto

February 12, 2013
Aoyama Gakuin University is moving back their humanity courses back to Aoyama campus.They are one of the many universities in Japan, building and building their buildings. Compare to China it is much smaller scale but still look like wasting energy.  Why we are building?
gto

February 11, 2013
Dear Friends
Here is the construction of a new nursery school, ages 0 to 6, near Higashi Hakuraku and Higashi Kanagawa, Hirakawa-cho, right next to a park and Kanagawa Sougou High School.
The owner, Mrs. Nakamura, is a builder. This is the third accredited school in ten years.
gto

February 10, 2013
Kermit and I went to Chinese Temple on Chinese New Year.
First we have to bang the Chinese bell to wake the gods to listen to our prayer.
The prayer is simple, not our father who art in heaven, but listen to our prayer to bring more
money in everyday life.  They are more realistic than any other gods in this world.
gto

February 9, 2013
Dear Friends
I watched YouTube in the morning and went up to Yamate to visit my mom's grave yard. It is her fourth or fifth year after burial.  As we are not Buddhist we are not counting the years.
We went home and had cakes and I head to the office.
I bought a cheap used computer from NEC and trying to connect to Kermit's network. It was hard but did it. Around 9:30 saw Kermit struggling with the sound pose for his Christmas Carol, went home and wife said are you going to have a dinner so late, but got it.
gto

February 7, 2013
I forgot to write this blog which was on Thursday. The day was cloudy and became warm later. The whole day was moving the desk from Kamakura to Yokohama.
It was originally belonged to Dr. Takenori Takahashi,MD, father of my wife, who died at the age of seventy.
My daughter needed a good desk to study her law for becoming a solicitor.
 We are hoping this desk will transform  a good brain to her from her grandfather.
Good Day.
George

February 8, 2013
Dear Friends
Yesterday I went up to Kamakura to pick up my desk from in-law house. It was very difficult. Two young men had to use ropes bring it down as well as bring up in my house. It took two hours in Kamakuyra to get ready and pull down and one hour at my house.
We had to clean the room before. I am going to clean old letters today and sewnd some lettters later from the post office.
Have a good day. George

February 6, 2013
This picture is a faculty picture of Ferris University and nothing to do with
what I did today.
I went to CostCo to renew my membership and bought some goods.  I think we are over spending and it is not good for all.
Simple life is better.
Then, I went up to a movie theater with Mary and Michiko to watch Les Miserables.
It is amazing story by Victor Hugo.
gto

February 5, 2013
Dear Friends
Today looks all right but tomorrow may snow.
What are you going to do on a snow day?
I will see Tom to take my profile for Meiji University.
I can not make it next day because I am going to Kamakura
to bring a desk from in-laws to my house.
gto

February 4, 2013
Today is Monday.
Hope all of you are doing fine.
I put this picture to think the library you are going.
This picture is taken from a library of St. Joseph College, later called international school.
It was one of the pride of this school.
gto

February 3, 2013
Dear Friends
This is the faculty room of teachers in Ferris University.
It was the last day and many were tired and caught a cold.
gto

February 2, 2013
Dear Friends.
If you can not access to Blog, mail it to aiinstitute@gmail.com.
Maybe that is better.
But if you can add to comment it is much better.
Here you see Mount Fuji seen from Ryokuentoshi Campus of Ferris University on Monday, January 28.
gto

February 1, 2013
Dear Friends
You all are doing fine.
It is February and as I promise to have a short message each day to encourage you to write a short message and think in English, I will start with this.
This is a picture of Father Dominic Tagawa,S.M. who is the owner and the head of  Gyosei International School , age 88,  on Monday, January 28, 2013.
gto