User:Thomas Simmons

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My name is Thom Simmons. I grew up in the Midwest (Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas) and spent a great deal of time in Oklahoma and Colorado when I was growing up. Two of four grandparents were born in Indian Territory (Texas and Oklahoma before Statehood) so that sort of makes me a second generation U.S. American. Sort of. In reality, contrary to popular belief of those who live elsewhere, there is no such thing as a "U.S. American" as such--except possibly those in the armed services. We are all distinctly regional in our charateristics, values, habits, beliefs etc. very different. Good way to sort out the naive from the knowledgeable is whether they classify you as "An American" or not. The ignorant do, the wise do not. And the truly stupid never learn

The irony is that those who do lump people together that way avoid this same mistake amongst those from their own country. So, the Japanese, for example are very poor at distinguishing the difference between someone from Chicago or Sacramento (and insist they are the same) but not Osaka or Chiba. New Zealanders are also less than discerning in this way and possibly more belligerent about it. JAFA's are definitely not Cantabrians but Floridians and Oregonians are exactly the same. The trend is fairly global so no one seems to be uniquely cognitively dysfunctional this way. Some folks are just slow on the uptake I guess. ( “Youth can age, ignorance can be educated, immaturity can be outgrown, and drunkenness can be sobered, but stupid is forever” Attributed, dubiously, to Aristophanes. Albert Einstein is credited with saying, "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.").

I went to Southwest High School with Chris Cooper of Oscar fame (sort of, he would not even know me: there were about 2,000 students and he was two years ahead). Nobel Laureate Richard Smalley graduated from the same high school (about 7 years before I got there) and attributed much of his success in later life to one of his teachers there ([1])

Seminal moments include watching Sputnik beeping overhead while we stood and watched it fly over in Omaha, Nebraska. I later got to teach at the high school attended by a guy named William Pickering who played a large part in the events following Sputnik's launch ([2]). I was surprised to find that none of the teachers much less the students even knew who he was.

I lived in Japan for 16 years and now live in New Zealand on the Kapiti Coast. I have degrees in education (B.A. Elementary Education, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 1978), applied lingustics (M.Sc. ESP, Aston University, Birmingham England, 1994) and clinical science (D.C. Cleveland Chiropractic College, Kansas City, Missouri, 1987). I have taught overseas at the secondary and tertiary level in the social sciences and to some extent, in the physical sciences for more than 30 years. My interests are in history, theology, biology and languages.

I was formerly executive director of a number of small unions in Japan for foreign workers (Kanto Teachers’ Union Federation and a National Union of General Workers-Tokyo South branch union) and the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT, a TESOL Inc. affiliate)

I have spent the last decade or so studying the history of the Christian Church with a focus on the Eastern Orthodox Church. I am a member of the Serbian Orthodox Church (New Gracanica Diocese) and work with members of the Georgian Orthodox Church on various projects, primarily language and education.

Publications

My professional publications are in administration and management of not-for-profit organizations, language (applied linguistics, language policy and planning), teaching and education (evaluation and assessment, curriculum, methodology and administration), labour law and labour rights, history, sociology and policy. Herein follows a condensed list, some of which are available on the internet:

BOOK REVIEWS

  • Holiday in Hell. Review of Kristin Semmens's (2005) Seeing Hitler's Germany: Tourism in the Third Reich. New York: Palgrave, Published by: H-Genocide (February, 2006)' [3]
  • Review of George Hicks's (1997) Japan's Hidden Apartheid: The Korean minority and the Japanese. Aldershot, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited. The New Observer (August 1999) [4]
  • Review of Robert Wilcox's (1995) Japan's secret war: Japan's race against time to build its own atomic bomb. New York: Marlowe & Company. The New Observer (Jun. 1999) [5]
  • Review of Thomas Armstrong's Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom. JALT Journal, vol. 18, no. 2, December, 1996
  • Review of Horio Teruhisa's Educational Thought and Ideology in Modern Japan: State Authority and Intellectual Freedom; Amano Ikuo's Education and Examination in Modern Japan; and Gary H. Tsuchimochi's Education Reform in Postwar Japan: The 1946 U. S. Education Mission. (comparative review of three books), JALT Journal, vol. 17, no. 1, Tokyo, JAPAN, May, 1995.

EDUCATION-Labour Relations

  • “Origins and Responses to Conflict in the Teaching Environment.” with Shiozawa Tadashi, The Language Teacher , vol. 18, no. 4, Tokyo, JAPAN, 1994.
  • “Working Conditions and Career Parameters in the Educational Environment for Foreign Teachers of Languages in Japan. ” with Shiozawa Tadashi, Journal of International Studies, vol. 10, Chubu University, Kasugai, JAPAN, 1993. ERIC ED 380 358. [6]

EDUCATION- Policy and Planning

  • "Change in Language Education: Historical and Social Perspectives." with Shiozawa Tadashi, Torkil Christensen and Dawn Yonally, On JALT '95: Curriculum and Evaluation. JALT Conference Proceedings, Nagoya, Japan, November, 1995. ERIC ED 402 770. (Second of three papers listed in one document.) [7]
  • “The Winds of Change in Education in Japan.” With Shiozawa Tadashi and Dawn Yonally, Aichi University of Education Research Journal, Kariya, JAPAN, 1995.
  • “Social and Administrative Parameters in Methodological Innovation and Implementation in Post- Secondary Vocational Schools in Japan.” with Shiozawa Tadashi, Journal of International Studies, vol. 11, Chubu University, Kasugai, JAPAN, 1994. ERIC ED 380 357. [8]
  • “Change Facilitators and Curriculum Innovation in Foreign Language Teaching in Japan.” with Shiozawa Tadashi, Journal of International Studies , vol. 12, Chubu University, Kasugai, JAPAN, 1994.

EDUCATION-Pedagogy, methodology, and programme design

  • "Task Based Content Area Syllabus for a Practical Reading and Writing Course at a Post-secondary Vocational School in Japan." 1995. (paper for master degree at Aston University) ERIC ED 385 830. [9]
  • "Do Improved Test Scores Indicate Improved Skills?" with Shiozawa Tadashi , Journal of International Studies , vol. 13, Chubu University, Kasugai, JAPAN, 1995. ERIC ED 390 252. [10]
  • "Constructive Methods of Dealing with Large Classes." with Dawn Yonally and 
Edward Haig, On JALT '95: Curriculum and Evaluation. JALT Conference Proceedings, Nagoya, Japan, November, 1995. ERIC ED 402 775 (see last article in collection pp. 94-99) [11].
  • "Foreign language education in the distance learning mode in Vietnam: Status, potential & limitations." paper, UNESCO International Conference in Teacher Development for a New Asia Proceedings, Bangkok, THAILAND 6-8 December, 1995.

APPLIED LINGUISTICS and SOCIO-ANTHROPOLOGY

  • "Face Threats In A Faceless Medium: Negotiating Ideological Parameters In Computer Mediated Communication." paper, Language and Ideology: Selected Papers from the 6th International Pragmatics 6th Conference, VOl. 1 Jan Verschueren (Ed.) International Pragmatics Association. Antwerp, BELGIUM, 1998
  • "ESP, Genre and Language Registers for Instruction in Japan.” paper, The Language Teacher , vol. 22, no. 11, Tokyo, JAPAN, 1998
  • "Analysis of discourse in computer mediated communication." with Shiozawa Tadashi, Language Lab. vol. 33, Tokyo, Japan, June 1996.
  • "Politeness Theory in Computer Mediated Communication: Face Threatening Acts in a 'Faceless' Medium." dissertation for M.Sc., Applied Linguistics, Teaching English for Specific Purposes, Language Studies Unit, Department of Modern Languages, Aston University, Birmingham, England, August, 1994. ERIC ED 381 005. [12]
  • "Teaching Discourse Strategies for Communication in the Japanese EFL Classroom," with Shiozawa Tadashi, Journal of International Studies , vol. 14, Chubu University, Kasugai, JAPAN, 1995.

Authorship and contributions on Citizendium

Articles I have contributed

Original Works

Adaptations

  • Autism Adapted from Wikipedia. I wrote or edited large portions of this on the WP site and have made extensive changes since then.
  • Asperger syndrome Adapted from Wikipedia. I wrote or edited some of this on the WP site and have made numerous changes since then.
  • Hemochromatosis Adapted from Wikipedia with extensive changes.

Articles to which I have contributed

Constable links

New applicants
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