Japanese Language - An Ellis tradition...
Updated: Aug 3
When my oldest child (now 26) was a child, she and her sister quickly became obsessed with anime and soon after, everything from Japanese culture was fair game. So, in 9th grade, when my girl found out they offered Japanese as a class in her high school, she jumped on the chance to take it. It was instant love of the language, the culture, and her teacher Slotsve Sensei. My daughter took the class for five semesters; Japanese 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. And she participated in Japan Club whenever she could.
Next came my second oldest (Now 23). She had the same love of Anime and Japanese culture so she decided to take Japanese in high school too. She took Japanese 1, 2, 3, and 4 and participated in Japan Club whenever she could. She also adored Slotsve Sensei. As you know, my kids are kind of spread out with there being quite an age difference between the first two and the last three. Would next in line be as eager to take Japanese?
Yep! My third born decided to take it too. Instead of taking one class per year, she was able to do one class per semester. And now as a Sophomore she just started Japanese 4. She is still undecided as to whether she will take 5 or not but one thing she does know is that she will miss Sensei when she is done with the classes.
Now it is time for my son to enter high school. He is an anime fanatic - as a child with ADHD he has focused interests and anime is the one his overworked mind chose. So, will he take Japanese also? He's definitely thinking about it. It has become a tradition and since he is interested in it, I kind of hope he keeps it up. Sensei has been amazing to my girls and I think she would like having my boy in her class too. She tells her students that she is their Asian Mama and I agree. She was always there for my kids no matter what and I am forever grateful for her influence in their lives.
Last but not least, will the tradition continue on down the line to my youngest? She still has a few years - three and a half to be exact, but she is definitely interested. Like the others she is interested in anime and Japanese culture. I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens because a lot can change in three years. But secretly, I think it would be great for all five of my offspring to experience not only a great class but an amazing teacher who really cares about her students.
Until Next Time... *Copy from https://take2brokenblog.wixsite.com/take2blog*