Stories can be magical. No matter in what forms they are told, they can make our world a much bigger place.
About Me
Hello! I am Midori and first of all, I thank you for taking the time to visit my website.
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Let me make an introduction.
I have just completed the Teacher Education Program at the University of Ottawa in the spring of 2020. I got to the BEd program in rather a roundabout way after working as a Coordinator/Liaison for 7 years in Vancouver & in LA. I am a big book nerd and my two favourites subjects to teach are: Language Arts and Math at an Intermediate level (Grade 6, 7, 8).
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I was born in Hokkaido – the cold wilderness of Japan, as it were – and grew up in a small town called Togashira on the main island of Japan – somewhere in the middle of the long island if you check the map of Japan. My Mum and Dad had the foresight to think that you must master English in the 21st Century so they asked me whether I wanted to join a summer English course offered in England, I said I would. I was 13 the first time I went to Eastbourne and I spend consecutive summers in various parts of England. According to my spouse, this early exposure to England is why I love Philip Pullman, J.K. Rowling, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Downton Abbey, and the most important thing of all, CREAM TEA…
I didn’t quite fit into Japanese society at large and I crossed the Pacific (I like saying this so that I can imagine myself on a boat, but factually speaking, I flew, obviously) to Vancouver, Canada. There, I finished my BA in Political Science, MA in Children’s Literature, certified to be a Scuba Diver and an instructor. I am currently in Ottawa with a big passion to be a middle school English teacher.
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Now that situates me geographically and historically, who am I in other aspects?
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My passion lies with making discoveries with my students about all sort of new things through math and language arts. To me what is important with learning are: brainstorming, problem-solving, asking questions - Why? How?, pushing through an obstacle, and bouncing ideas off of other people. I believe that fostering imagination, encouraging problem-solving, and having loads of "a-ha!" moments affect human (especially children’s) brains to grow.
I plan to post many “a-ha” moments of my own, gripping (I hope) lesson plan ideas, as well as a list of fantastic children’s books & fun (yeah I mean fun!) math activities on this website.
I also have a Harry Potter degree! Below is a link to my analysis on the blurring boundaries and changing relationship between readers and writers in the age of online fandom. I write about both the good and evil aspects of Professor ALBUS DUMBLEDORE in fan writing. Here is a link: https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0135599