BY SHIN TERADA

Prof. Seizo Kasai came from Hokkaido University to Sapporo University after teaching classes at Sapporo University for 28 years as a part-time teacher. He taught History of English, English Linguistics B, and Method of English teaching among others last year. His lecture is sometimes strict but he sometimes sets students to laughter and urges intellectual curiosity. I fully learned many things which are required of English teachers in Method of English Teaching.

We interviewed him about what made him a teacher and the process of being a teacher. We got some interesting stories, including that he did not intend to be a teacher in his childhood.

"I wanted to be a carpenter for a long time because I was good at drawing pictures and making something by hand. I wasn't interested in study."

His father told him to be a carpenter, knowing his gift. He did not think of entering high school but of becoming a carpenter. However, he decided to enter the high school because his father told him that even a carpenter will need a high school diploma in the future.

Becoming a carpenter vanished from his mind in the second year of high school. He consulted not with his father, but with his mother about his course after graduation. His mother said, "You should get a stable income." Then he felt the necessity of higher education.

Though he studied economics in university in order to accomplish his purpose, he gradually came to see interest in educational courses. He started to lean toward becoming an English teacher.

We asked him what made him become an English teacher. "I like to play with children and I have a great interest in language. Those elements changed my future. The fact that I am not a carpenter but a professor may indicate that my life took a wrong turn," he answered jokingly.

Three years after he became a teacher he took a professional aptitude test with his students. The results said that teaching is not suitable for him. The most suitable job was as a mill worker or a philosopher. 　

Prof. Kasai said, "I think aptitude alone is not important. Whether I want to do something or not, that is the problem.　Many people are apt to be tied to what their parents recommend. It is most important to do as you want to do."

He continued, "There is a reason to say so. My contemporary in my university days who found work in a company and was promoted steadily says he doesn't know whether his life is wrong or not. He studied economics because it was very popular at that time. I guess he couldn't do what he wanted to do. I happened not to study economics."

Prof. Kasai is a great teacher who was president of The English Literary Society of Japan Hokkaido Branch, and has also published some books. There are so many teachers and students who respect him for his personality. He always says, "Teachers must be on the side of students." Prof. Kasai teaches class with this in mind. Students can learn many significant things besides English. I really appreciate Prof. Kasai for giving an interview.