Densho Digital Archive - Kenji Goto Interview (denshovh-gkenji-01-0004)

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LD: All in all, how did you feel about the job that your staff was doing in training these men? What do you think the experience of, what you think was fairly, not quite as strong as it could have been, what did you feel at that time?

KG: Well, being an educator when I entered the army, I felt that there were lots of things that the army was doing, you know, that wasn't really effective. For instance, teaching the so called sousho, the cursive writing. We were taught how to write, but that was not the purpose. And I used to argue with my division chairman, said, "The purpose is not to teach them how to write, but teach them how to read." And I've taught shorthand, and the way to start teaching shorthand is not to teach how to write from the beginning, but to read, read, read shorthand. And then when the fellow's able to read, I used to teach them after about two months of reading, reading, reading shorthand, to write. Therefore, I used to tell my department, said, "You know, the way so-called sousho you start is wrong." The main purpose is to read and not to write, and therefore, as long as one is able to read, well, lots of time has been wasted teaching how to write.

LD: What about the attitude of your students? I mean, very often the teacher had to teach not only technical skill, but also reminding them of their purpose clarified, or purpose... what about that? Did you ever report to your students, the last time you see them before they graduate, that you know they're going to get their assignment going out, or maybe [inaudible]. Did you ever talk about that?

KG: Well, the thing is that in high school we have homeroom, but there was not homeroom type of... so that each one went and taught this subject, and therefore you were not in charge of that particular class. And so, but I was once asked by Major Aiso to take hold of a class of Kibei and teaching them English, English, English. And so I was with them about two months, the last two months before graduation. And so, well, as far as the Japanese, the reading of Japanese, well, they could read very well, of course, the Kibeis. And, but when it comes to translation, well, I used to tell them that, remember, it's army language, so-called, it's classical, what they call the bungotai, not the kougotai speaking type. So said, "You people can, you understand Japanese enough that you can just translate the classical Japanese into spoken Japanese, and then you translate this into English." And so with them I had lots of rapport because I was with them two months. So after, and one of them... well, at the time of graduation, there were people selected as best student, most improved student and so on, several categories. And I felt one of my Kibei students had improved in his English very much, and therefore I recommended him for the most improved student. Well, I burned the midnight oil to write my recommendation, and then he got this honor of being the most improved student. Then immediately after graduation, Major Aiso called. "Sergeant Goto," he said, "I'd like to commend you for taking care of that Kibei class." He said, "I'll read for you some of the comments," because at the time of graduation, they were given several questions to answer, how were the instructors, how was the food, how was the sleeping quarters and all that. So I think to the question, "How was your instructor," and they just gave me all kinds of good remarks. And one I still remember and I feel, well, I was very happy that what I did for them is reciprocated, was that "Now we are going overseas, I hope Sergeant Goto will lead us. And without him, we might be lost." So that comment I still remember, and it's one of the things that, satisfaction I get teaching students. So with that group I had lots of personal feeling.

LD: That student was saying that he would want you to lead him.

KG: Yeah. Well, I guess...

LD: He wanted that, too.

KG: Yeah. But each of his twenty students were in that class, but they got put in a different team. They were strong in the Japanese language, you see.