Our principal, Mr. Yasui’s speech was so easy to understand, and it was much more than “just a speech”. 

It was an “inter-active speech”, as he called on students, asking them to speak up and guess… requesting that they “fill in the blanks”.

 

His speech was based on 5 concepts, represented by the first five letters of the Japanese alphabet, and was titled, 

“DO NOT do these 5 things, otherwise, your opportunities may pass you by!!”

 

So… Here they are.

1)  あきらめる（pronounced “akira meru”… translated, “give up”, “or stop trying”）

2)  いいわけする（pronounced “i-wake suru”… translated, “make an excuse”）

3)  うしろむき（pronounced “ushiro muki”… translated, “backwards”）

4)  えんりょする（pronounced “enryo suru”… translated,”keep your distance” or “don’t get involved”）

5)  おもいこみ（pronounced “omo’i komi”… translated, “make an assumption”）

 

Well, we adults feel guilty about the 5 concepts above, don’t we? 

Again, these 5 things are what you DO NOT want to do if you want to take advantage of sweet opportunities!!

 

So… by all means, please use these concepts to remind your students how important it is to be PROACTIVE as they grow toward adulthood.

 

Mr. Yasui got an idea of the concepts from this Japanese book.

 

Also, Mr.Yasui has his own blog on the school homepage.  “From P’s room”.

Most of the articles are still in Japanese, but there are some contents in English.

Please have a look at his blog too!