ERHS would like to say “Konnichiwa” to its newest resident Japanese language teacher, Ms. Amanda Omatsu. She currently teaches Japanese 1 and 2, and said that she is happy to join the Raider Family, even if it is only for a year.

Her interest in Japan started when she was young, and she spent time at her Nana’s house watching the anime show, “Sailor Moon.” As she got older, she learned that “Sailor Moon” is from Japan, and from there her interest in Japan continued to grow. In her junior year of high school, she was able to go to Japan and study there through an organization called Youth For Understanding (YFU). Through the program, she was able to spend 6 weeks in Japan, thanks to a Toyota Scholarship. She loved it so much that she returned in her second year of college to stay for a year. She also met her husband in Japan on her second visit.

While there, Ms. Omatsu gained an interest in teaching and taught English in Japan for a year, and really liked it. When asked about a comparison between Japanese students and American students, she stated, “Students in America learn more in their world languages compared to Japan. English classes there aren’t very challenging. They don’t learn the Alphabet until fifth grade, which is mind boggling to me.”

She says that while teaching English in Japan is fun, it is “very intense” and “work-heavy” because of the strenuous amount of hours that teachers have to spend with students. Despite how hard it sounds, Ms. Omatsu enjoyed her time teaching there and is looking forward to teaching here.

Mr. Tetsuo Ogawa, who currently teaches Japanese 3, 4, and 5 acts as her mentor and says that he is “happy to welcome her to Eleanor Roosevelt High School”. He continued, “She is eager to learn and very motivated, and I hope that she will learn a lot, not only from me but from the students and the other team members during her stay at Roosevelt.”

Mr. Ogawa’s student aid, senior Lucero Cortez, commented, “I think she’s really nice…. She was really excited about teaching because we did a demo class over the summer and she was really into trying to get everyone to join the conversation. She just really wanted everyone to participate.”