Mark's New Year's Resolutions for 2010

Well, it's that time of year again.

In 2009, my resolutions/goals were like this, and I think I was able to blog, run, write articles, read to my kids, and spend time with Megumi quite a bit, but, for all categories, I wanted to do more.

Basically, my goals for 2010 are the same as 2009, but I want to write them out to keep them in mind more vividly.

Research/Teaching Career: Get a clearer picture of what my research specialization will be over the next few years. I have a wide interest in issues related to helping Japanese learners develop effective oral and written English skills and intercultural communication skills for academic and professional purposes. However, within that relatively wide area, what am I going to put my main emphasis on? Recently I've been doing work in the area of curriculum and instruction for academic speaking skills (presentations/discussions/debate) and might decide to go with that focus. Starting a doctorate in that area would be ideal, but I want to secure a permanent university appointment first, get my family settled, and then start the degree part-time while continuing my teaching. For now, I want to write and publish a literature review to find my "obsession" in the oral communication education area and proceed to narrow my main research question and possible approach for data collection.

Kids' Education: Do systematic research to develop a long-term plan for my kids' education. Michael will start Japanese elementary school in April and we will continue to home-school him for English with supplementary summer study in the US (hopefully), but we need a plan for switching to full-time English schooling. I want to visit at least 5 schools to start getting a sense of good candidates, and to start thinking about where my family might settle down in the long-term.

Personal: Keep blogging two or three times per week or more--150 for the year?--more short articles on what I teach/learn/read/watch/feel. Run one full marathon in Feb and one half marathon in October. Keep swimming two or three times per week. Climb one new mountain. Spend time in the US visiting relatives during the summer (possible?).

Social Contributions: More volunteer work, possibly with a new project in addition to supporting the international English book reading club my kids go to and the World Vision sponsorship we do. Something related to English teacher training or development in Tokyo, or something related to helping increase multicultural awareness and sensitivity to international issues and sustainable global development would be ideal. I want to keep my eyes open for opportunities.

And I still need to find that babysitter so that Megumi and I can go out on dates without our kids. 2010 is going to be a busy year, but I'm excited about it!

みなさん、今年もよろしく！