人生で一番のケガや病気は？

I was in the doctor’s office last week and I was thinking about the different injuries and illnesses I have had in my life and was a little bit surprised after I made a list. There are some people who have never had any injuries or illnesses but I am not one of them! I have had a handful of different illnesses and injuries but I actually consider myself pretty lucky—I am pretty healthy compared to some people I know! 

So that brings us to this week’s question:

What are some injuries or medical problems you have had in your lifetime? And what is the worst injury or sickness you’ve had?

My answer:
I have had several broken bones but none since moving to Ise (knock on wood!). For example, I broke my arm, my ankle, my wrist, a few fingers, my thumb and I broke my back a few years ago. I have had stitches on my head, face, hands, and legs. I’ve had a concussion and I got knocked out once when I was a kid. If you want to know how I got these injuries, ask me during class!

As for other medical problems, I used to have high blood pressure when I was a kid. I used to have really serious food allergies, even though most of them have subsided in recent years. I also have a bunion on my right foot and I have flat feet!

Probably the most serious injury I've ever had was when I got knocked out while playing baseball when I was an elementary school student. I got hit in the mouth with a bat one day in gym class and got my front tooth knocked out and stitches in my lip. As my dentist can tell you, I am still suffering from that injury almost 30 years later!!!

So how about you? Have you had any injuries or medical problems in your lifetime? If yes, let’s discuss them when we speak to each other next.

Have a great week and be careful—don’t get injured before class!

Keith// 

This week’s vocabularies:

injury
けが

illness
病気

handful
手に余るほど

knock on wood
そうなりませんように．．．（木をたたくと悪を払い除くことができる、という迷信から来ている言葉）

concussion
脳しんとう

knock out
意識を失う

high blood pressure
高血圧

food allergies
食アレルギー

subside
治まる

in recent years
近年では

bunion
足の親指の付け根の部分の骨（腱膜瘤-けんまくりゅう）

flat feet
扁平足

suffer
病む／苦しむ

自分に影響を与えた先生は誰ですか？

Please check the vocabulary below.

This week’s question:

Whether it was in pre-school, elementary school, junior high school, senior high school or university, who was your favorite teacher? What subject did they teach and what impact did they have on your life?

My answer:

I have had many good teachers in my life but there are a few that really stand out. The first was Ms. Woog, my kindergarten teacher. She was always cheerful and exciting and she always made me feel safe. I will always remember one day when my dog “Noche” followed me to school. When I told Noche to go home, he didn’t listen to me, he only wagged his tail. So when Ms. Woog saw me, she let me take Noche inside to play with the students. Then she called my mother and asked her to pick Noche up. So, my class got to play with my dog until my mother picked him up. I thought that was really cool when I was 5 and a half years old.

When I was in 4th grade elementary student, Mrs. Doreau taught me about weather, geography and physical science. She always made her classes fun and exciting. I didn’t know I was learning—I thought I was just having fun—what a great teacher! To this day, I still can look up at the the sky and identify what kind of clouds I am looking at, all thanks to her.

Next, is my Mr. Callanan, one of my high school English literature teachers. He taught me about Shakespeare, Greek tragedies, and the power of the English language. He was always passionate about English and even more passionate about his students.

And finally, when I was 20 years old and somewhat directionless in university, spending more time partying and having fun with my friends, I met Professor Keen. And soon after I met Professor Keen, my life changed. After looking at my grades and hearing my story, he frankly told me that I had to stop having so much fun and start working harder. He taught me to focus on what was beyond the textbooks and to focus on what I was passionate about. He taught me more about life than science and for that I will be eternally grateful.

How about you? Who were some of your favorite teachers and what did they teach you?

I will look forward to hearing from you.

Be well,

Keith//

This week's vocabularies:

subject
（教科の）科目

impact
影響を与える

stand out
目立つ/印象に強く残る

kindergarten
幼稚園

wag his tail
しっぽを振る

weather
天気

geography
地理学

physical science
自然科学

identify
見分ける

clouds
雲

all thanks to her
全ては彼女のおかげ

Shakespeare
シェークスピア

Greek tragedies
ギリシャ悲劇

directionless
目標がない

partying
パーティに行く

grades
成績

frankly
率直に

beyond the textbooks
教科書に書いてある内容を越えて

eternally grateful
永遠に感謝する

「黄金律」に従って生きていますか？

*太字の単語やフレーズは、今週のボキャブラリーです。この記事の最後に詳しい説明を載せています。


Growing up in my house, there were many rules. My parents always told me that I should be honest, share when I had enough, always ask before taking, and I should always be polite, especially to my elders. But the number one rule was always the “golden rule”. I remember my mother often telling me that I should always treat people with kindness and respect, even when they were unkind or disrespectful to me. My mother would ask me, “do you want people to be nice to you?” and of course I would answer, “Yes.” She would then say, “then you should always be kind and respectful to others.”


I remember it wasn’t always easy as a kid to follow the golden rule but as I got a little older, the golden rule was—and still is—the most important rule in my life. Whether it is a stranger I meet, my friends, my family or my wife, I always do my best to treat people with respect and kindness since that is how I want others to treat me.

How about you? Do you live by the golden rule? Also, what were some rules in your house when you were growing up?

I look forward to hearing your answers when we speak this week.

Be well.

Keith//

growing up
大人になる

...share when I had enough
充分に持っているときは、まわりにシェアする

always ask before taking...
自分の所有物でないものを借りたり、頂くときは、必ずその人に聞く

elders
先輩、年配の人や年上の人

golden rule
黄金律

treat people
（人を）扱う

unkind
不親切

disrespectful
無礼な

stranger
知らない人

今までに「ずる休み」をしたことはありますか？ もししたことがあるなら、そのことについて教えて下さい。

This week, I'm going to take it easy and play hooky from the weekly question!

今までに「ずる休み」をしたことはありますか？

Have you ever played hooky from something? If you have any comments or questions or would like to answer ANY of the questions from the past, please comment below. Thanks and I will see you all next week with a new question!

もししたことがあるなら、そのことについて教えて下さい。

Keith//

This week's vocabularies:

take it easy:
のんびりする. ▼take things easyともいう.

hooky:｟米略式｠学校のずる休み
play hooky｜ずる休みをする. ⇒TRUANT

今の仕事に就いた理由は何ですか？

*太字の単語やフレーズは、今週のボキャブラリーです。この記事の最後に詳しい説明を載せています。


This week's question focuses on how and why you decided on your job.

My answer:

I decided to work as an independent English teacher because before working for myself, I worked in and around Tokyo for two different language schools, AEON and a smaller language school near Chiba City. And all the while I worked for someone else, I always wanted to do things my way. I wanted to teach what I thought was important. And I always wanted to have time to focus on individual students’ needs.

When I worked at other schools, I couldn’t do that because there were just too many students. At one point when I worked at AEON Ikebukuro in Tokyo, the school had over 1,200 students! I didn’t teach all of the students but I knew or taught most of them. And when I worked in Chiba, it was pretty much the same—there were many students but I couldn’t give them a lot of individual time because I was just too busy! On the bright side however, I got to meet MANY different kind of people. And that was VERY fun.

Some of the positives of being an independent English teacher are:

I can give students more personal attention
I can personalize lessons for students
I can teach face to face or I can teach via the Internet and SKYPE
I can get to know my students better than before.

Some of the negatives of being an English teacher...

NONE! (that is a diplomatic answer!)

How about you?

How and why did you decide to be a __________ ?
What are some positives of your work?
What are some negatives of your work?

I will look forward to speaking to you about them when we speak this week.

Be well and healthy,

Keith//

This week’s vocabulary:

decide
決める

independent
独立した

all the while
その間ずっと

pretty much the same
ほとんど同じ

on the bright side
良い点は、

personal attention
より個人的な配慮

via
経由、〜によって

diplomatic answer
そつのない答え