About Me

Here and There

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If you have trouble reading the poem, start reading from the bottom of the hill.

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Why this page is both "About Me" and not "About Me."

One of the measures of success for Intelligent Worksheets will be the day when the words “About Me” on the menu can be replaced with “About.” My hope is that, over time, many people will contribute their own stories, reflections, and teaching materials here. This project is not meant to revolve around one person — it is about learning, growth, and the human experience of education.

But because I am starting this work on my own, people naturally want to know a little about who is behind it.

I went to school in the Marshall Islands, Japan, Spain, and Germany before arriving in the UK at the age of nine. What followed was, in many ways, a “top-class” education — and at the same time, a deeply unhappy and damaging one. That experience lit a lifelong fire in me: a determination to understand how education can become more human, more honest, and more supportive of the enjoyment of life.

After forty years of university teaching in Japan, I retired from my work as a professor at Meiji University in 2022. Retirement has finally given me the time to reflect on my research, my teaching, and the deeper patterns I’ve seen across my life in education. One thing is clear: the problems we face in Japanese education are not unique. They echo challenges throughout the world.

In English language education in Japan there has long been a deep divide between what happens in real classrooms and what is discussed in academic journals. Researchers must publish to survive, and publications generally require a specialized, narrow focus. Busy teachers cannot reasonably be expected to assemble a holistic understanding from hundreds of fragmentary pieces of research while also trying to support their students in the here and now.

What we need — especially in a time of rapid technological and social change — is integrative, systemic thinking. We need ways of seeing how everything connects. We need ways of recognising that 1 + 1 can equal 11.

This website grows out of that conviction.

Here, the process and the content are deliberately interwoven. The materials are not just about learning — they are themselves part of a living learning process. Teachers and learners are welcome not only to read, but to use what they find here: activities, reflections, language materials, stories, and thinking tools. This blog is becoming the place where I can finally express insights that never quite found their voice during my academic career — and where I can show how theory comes alive in real classrooms, real people, and real change.

One of the IW blog categories is “Stories.” There will be fictional and autobiographical pieces from others in the future, but these are currently drawn from my own life. I have an unusually vivid memory of my early schooling — all the way back to nursery school — and many of the stories you will find here are autobiographical. People often tell me that these stories help them understand their own educational journeys more clearly. Some may make you laugh. Some may bring tears. Together, I hope they shine a light on what is possible when education becomes more human and alive.

I am also writing a book for both general and academic readers — but I have realized that a book alone is not enough. People need practical examples, living materials, and honest reflection to see what educational ideas really look like in practice. This blog is becoming one of those spaces. It will also, increasingly, be a resource that teachers and learners can draw from directly — and a foundation for collaborative work with schools, universities, and companies, where English learning, team development, and human growth can come together in meaningful ways.

And all of this is happening in a world now shaped by AI. That reality forces us — perhaps more urgently than ever — to ask what it really means to learn, to think, to collaborate, and to grow as human beings. My hope is that Intelligent Worksheets can become one small contribution to that process: a place where people can build confidence, autonomy, awareness, and kindness in the way they learn and work together.

Finally — this project is also about being real. When we stop hiding behind social expectations and titles — in my case “Professor Emeritus” — life becomes richer and more human. We discover that we are not alone. And we find ourselves in a far better position to help one another grow and thrive.

That, more than anything, is what Intelligent Worksheets is about.

Summary

💠 Intelligent Worksheets is deeply rooted in lived experience.
💠 As a blog / newsletter, it complements but does not replace the book I am writing on the Individual in Japanese Education (working title).
💠 The materials here are practical, usable, and real-world.
💠 This space gives voice to ideas that bridge theory and practice — so English language teachers can use them in real classrooms, in ways that genuinely ease their burden and allow them to fully enjoy their work.
💠 The audience includes teachers, learners, and organizations.
💠 All of this sits inside the wider context of education — and human growth — in the age of AI.

Visit these pages for more information about the thinking behind Intelligent Worksheets: