About This Site

Recently, my boss started writing a blog with the goal of writing 100 articles before he turned 70 (at the time, in maybe half a year or so). While, of course, I am both writing my own articles for publication as well as keep a vault of notes on my classes and ideas through a note-taking program, recently I feel that publicly presenting my ideas and experiences is something that I want to do. I thought that my boss has the write idea, so I wanted to challenge myself to try something similar.

Originally, I had planned to use Blogger, but I recently discovered Leaflet and decided it seemed more ethical than relying on Google services more.

I don't think I'll set any specific time limit, but I have decided to write at least 100 articles in this blog. In my own classes, I often tell my students that I will never make them do anything that I cannot do myself. I have been consistent enough that this has been true for my entire career (the past 5 years) as a university teacher. But even so, I realized that while I require my students to finish everything by the next class, I have given up most of the writings that I have started halfway through. I've also given up on a blog that I was writing when I first came to Japan. This time is different (ironically, the most dangerous words in business).

Rather than a specific theme, this blog is where I will log my experiences, ideas, and reasoning behind much of my personal and professional work. I've come to realize that even within my own fields, Communication Studies and Language Teaching, there's a huge variation in perspectives and approaches. No one can be assumed to know much about the specific ideas and theories form the basis of your practice. I have become somewhat guilty of the exact accusation I often level at others. If you do not actively explain your perspective, there is no reason to assume others will automatically understand it.

With that in mind, I have decided to directly put my ideas out there. I have a few academic publications, but it is (unfortunately) unlikely that many people will read them. While I don't believe this blog will be that popular, I can at least say that it is out there in an easily accessible format. In this blog, I will talk about communication, language, education, experience, and whatever else I happen to find myself thinking about.

I hope you all take some time to read it.