Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.

July 28, 2013
Dear Students and Friends
"Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily."
Johann Schiller
German poet and dramatist
1759-1805
簡単なことを完璧にやる根気強い人達だけが、難しいことを難なくこなす能力を身につける。

Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.

July 16, 2013
Dear Students and Friends
"Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick one thing till it gets there.
Josh Billings
US writer
1818-1885
切手のことうぇお考えてみなさい。その利用価値は、向こうに行き着くまで一つの者に貼りついていられることだ。

A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit.

July 22, 2013
Dear Students and Friends

”A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit."
Richard Bach
US writer
1936-
プロの作家と、書くことをやめなかったアマチュアのことだ。

Well, I think what I will do is
1.   to continue this Blog as an educational one.
2.   gtoglobal teacher.blogspot.com    as a Japanese Blog writing
3.   gtostoryteller.blogspot.com          as an English Blog writing.

Hope all will work.
gto

The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but no vision.

July 18, 2013

Dear Students and Friends

Good Morning Tokio/Yokohama

How are you today? 

Hope all are fine.

As I listen to Professor Saito Takashi of Meiji University

on NHK  FM Radio Sunday 12 to 2 o'clock I was fascinated by his talk 

and it was very inspirational for teaching language.  

I shall write the talk in later Blogs.

Today on I shall write "Quote ... Unquote" for my Blogs in July to September 

and see how it  may work as my Blogs.

"The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but has no vision."

Helen Adams Keller

US lecturer and essayist

1880-1968

世界で最も哀れな人とは、目は見えてもビジョンのない人だ。

There is no failure except in no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within.

July 16, 2013
Dear Friends and Students
"There is no failure except in no longer trying.  There is no defeat except from within, no insurmountable barrier except our own inherent weakness of purpose."
Elbert Hubbard
US author
1856-1915
挑戦をやめてしまうこと以外に、失敗などない。うちなる敗北以外に敗北などないし、
生来の目的意識の弱さ以外に、征服不可能な障害などない。
gto

Rev. Henry Mittwer, SJC in 1930's, a Buddhist monk of Tenryuji, a brother of the first IBS Scout, John Mittwer: 即 (his message to us)

July 15, 2013
To Friends and Students

 Rev. Henry Mittwer was my long time friend in Kyoto.
His life is more exciting than any other Japanese/Americans.
He was born and raised in Yokohama, went to St. Joseph College,
then went to the USA to see his father and young brother, nut could not return to Japan
due to the outbreak of the war.

He gave me this word on Shikishi:

即  （そく）

the meaning:

life equal death
death equal life
there is no past, present and future.
now=no separation
life and death is all illusion.

Rev. Henry Mittwer Roushi, Tenryuji temple
gto

I am thinking of the best plan to work on Japanese/English writing.

July 9, 2013
I am thinking of the best plan to work on Japanese/English writing program.
Still thinking.
I will go to Gifu/Nagoya and re think of this matter of Japanese/English

Monday, Wednesday, Friday .....English/Japanese

gto.story.teller@gmail.com

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday....Japanese/English with Iai

Sunday:Union/Quaker/Roma/Iai

gtowriting@gmail.com

Try.
gto

If you want to succeed, you should strike out on new paths rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.

July 11, 2013
Dear Friends and Students

"If you want to succeed, you should strike out on new paths rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success."
John D. Rockfeller
US industrialist and philanthropist
1839-1937
成功したければ、ありきたりの成功へと向かう踏みならされた道を行くのではなく、　新しい道を切り開くべきだ。

The hot summer is here and we are suffering the heat,
but  the navies of this area are patrolling the Senkaku islands off shore of Okinawa/
Rukyu and Taiwan islands, they are going to face what  the Mongolian Empire under Khublai Khan
had to encountered, it is the huge typhoon is moving toward them telling the control of the seas is not easy as the most expect.
Take care and be aware that the warming earth , more exhaust the industrialists put out
more  the typhoon will be emerging from the Pacific Ocean to this site.
Greed, greed, the Lord will be punishing the greed of all.
Let there be peace upon the seas.
Shalom, Shalom.
gto

"

July 9, 2013 on the presentation and studies

July 9, 2013

Dear Friends and Students

Those who study Britain Today(Nihon University): 

The final day of this semester is coming close. Our goal for the semester is to end with Language section. We should watch My Fair Lady to prepare for the final presentation on English Language.

I want all to speak on "English Language".

 

Today I went up to Suidobashi to start a lesson when met a young tall Canadian teacher who lives in 

Karuizawa.

 One of the professors asked about Bill Gates luxurious house in Karuizawa. I was surprised to know that MicroSoft Inc. was building a massive Resort House in Karuizawa. It is a sign that Microsoft Inc. things that there is a potential and future to this country.

gto

What took place with the Christians in Japan?

                                          Yokohama Country and Athletic Club in 1920's and 1930's

July 5, 2013

Dear Friends and Students

What took place with the Christians in Japan?

The earliest possible Christian converts took place under Jesuit priest Francisco Xavier.

It was the period Japanese were facing the Warring States and people were looking for salvation 

under the hardship.  Christians, too helped  the Japanese with hospitals, orphanages, and seminaries.

Many joined for salvation as well as for trade. Christian westerners brought guns and exotic goods which

Japanese were eager to get. 

One unwritten account for the early Christians I think is that many leaders joined the Christianity but through 

the change of leadership from Nobunaga to Hideyoshi to Iyeyasu and later to his grandson, Iyemitsu, Christians were disliked and persecuted. This is due to political reason more than anything. 

 

Meiji period changed this scene to convert many Japanese Samurais into Christianity after the fall of Tokugawa Shogunate and their lords. The reason why many Samurais became Christians is studied by many scholars.  Recently I am interested in the Religious Organization of Friends(Quakers) in Japan.

Strange to say their number is very small but had a tremendous influence among the early Meiji leading scholars, namely Nitobe Inazou, Uchimura Kanzou, Tsuda Umeko, the founder of Doshisha, and Arishima Takeo.

gto   

Some questions you should answer as written discussions for your homework(Music and fashion)

July 4, 2013
Dear Students of
"Welcome to Britain"
Answer the following questions:
1. Which bands or singers do you like?
2. Have you ever sung a song in English?
Which one? Where did you sing it?
3. Which pop fashions do you like?
3. Which pop fashions don't you like?
gto

To understand American independence day, July 4,1776

July 4, 2013
About 150 years ago Gettysburg battle of the Civil War took place.  To understand the difference between the North and the South we should go back to the Independence War.
(to be continued)
As you know the North were basically found by the Puritans , Calvinists.  They believed strongly in studying
Bible and through that Massachusetts and its vicinity had Universities from the start.  This is quite often mistaken by the scholars in the world as the American standard. One example is the Japanese writer/historian, Shiba Ryoutarou, mentioned that the American nation was not founded by convicts but by middle class Christian Puritans, strict to themselves and hard working highly interested in education.
But a professor in Keio who received Ph.D. in Johns Hopkins mentioned that is not true.
The South were group of colonies interested in  having nice life, cultivating land and live as  plantation owners and they are Episcopal Church members, in another word Church of England. They wanted to have nicer lives in these new frontiers. English were not disordered like the colonialists living in America where wanted to expand their territories and take lands away from the natives.  You can easily see in difference between Canada and the USA history over the treatment of the natives. So, George Washington's interest was to expand the colonial territory west of Appalachia mountains, whereas the homeland, English did not want any disordered expansion.  American colonialists and even today Americans generally don't like to pay tax. English came with the idea of tea tax, thus Bostonians dumped tea to the bay with Indian outfit and the war started between the two.
Pennsylvania was given to William Penn, a Quaker, from King Charles and became a colony with tolerant view to religious groups.  They were very strong pacifist and this pacifist capital, Philadelphia, became the capital of declaration of Independence I think shifted all of the thirteen colonies to move to independence.
I think America was lucky to have Pennsylvania as in the center between the northern states and the southern states of America as being liberal and tolerant colony/state.
gto

July 2, 2013 from GTO

July 2, 2013
Dear Students and Friends
I think I should be writing a blog in any time any where to meet the demand.
I found out that my students are expecting me to write the blogs as I initially planned.
Surprisingly or I should say expectedly they are reading my blogs.  That is a good sign
on their part and I should work as expected.
One area I am still thinking is how to put time into Japanese with this English blogs.
I found out that thinking in Japanese and thinking in English should be timed into
differentiated  two.
I will be taking some courses in social studies this summer and add to that I will be applying for a Japanese social studies teacher's license and if I can not write course plans or any related
work to become one I will be in big trouble.
This is July and I should move with some sound plan to solve the problems of the days in English and days in Japanese.  i think I should try Monday, Wednesday, Friday to be English days and
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday to be Japanese days.
I don't know how it works but let's try it that way.
I think writing in English is far easier for me than in Japanese.
But as I said before it is necessary for me to train in Japanese.
Let us try. July 4, 2013 in .
American Independence Day

アメリカ独立記念日に思う。
１７７６年のアメリカでは　北部はピュリタンで宗教的にも厳格な集団で勤勉努力
を重んじるグループであった。南部はどちらかというと、良い生活をしたい為にイギリスから移ってきた。宗教でも、北部はカルビン派、南部はエスピコパルイギリス国教会
である。

Some practical commitments /Testimony that grow out of Faith

July 1, 2013
Dear Students and Friends

Let me start with some testimony by Society of Friends.
Some practical Commitments/Testimonies
that grow out of Faith.

Simplicity 簡素な生き方をする。
Peace  平和を築くために積極的に働く。
Integrity  誠実に神と人に接する。
Community　共同体をよりよくするために奉仕する。
Equality　平等に人を尊び、社会から差別をなくす。
Stewardship 　環境保全に留意し社会に積極的に働きかける。

Aoyama Gakuin students should be aware to do the work given and  be serious and participate in classes.
The school does not allow anyone not performing to be promoted.  I would start collecting all the given works and InterAction participation is required.

Nihon University students must answer the last three questions of the chapter.

Meiji students should follow the given assignments.

Keio will be Social Studies.

Ferris Students(Monday) should remember there is no class on July 15.
The essay writing test will be given on the educational value of Korean schools and other non-Japanese education in Japan.
What were some reasons why people need to take a vacation?Why are such vacations important?
The outcome for this unit is to write a paragraph explaining how much vacation  time you need.
gto