７月２０日の離任式で，ALTのダニエル先生が話したスピーチを掲載します。

Saying goodbye is always difficult. I should know. I have lived in over 9 different houses and three different countries. It is still difficult to say goodbye. When I was a child, I lived in Japan. When I was eight, I moved back to America. Ever since then, I have wanted to come back to Japan. But, because I am an engineer, I didn’t think that I would be able to live in Japan again. Coming back to Japan, being a JET Participant, being an ALT. To me, it’s a dream come true. And I couldn’t have asked for a better placement than here at Nanshun. 
You are all such amazing students. You want to work hard. You want to learn. You want to achieve your dreams. I admire all of you. Do you know that word? Admire? In Japanese it is: 褒める(ほめる). I admire the students who talked to me outside of class because they wanted to practice English. I admire the students who want to become astronauts, teachers, doctors, engineers, fashion designers, and more. I admire the students who work hard every day to achieve their dreams. And I admire the teachers who put in so much effort to help the students do their best.
 I am happy that I was able to be a part of your journey, your adventure to your dreams. I hope that you can achieve those dreams. I am so excited to see where you will go and what you will do. I am proud to have been able to help you achieve your dreams. 
Even though I will not be your teacher anymore, I hope you will remember my lessons. Firstly, it is okay to make mistakes. If you never make a mistake, how can you learn? Secondly, try! You will never know if you can do something unless you try it first. And thirdly, have fun. No matter what you do in life, if you can enjoy yourself then you will have a good life. 
Thank you Nanshun for letting me become a teacher here. Thank you Nanshun faculty for welcoming me and making me feel like I make a difference. Thank you Nanshun students for making me smile, and for teaching me how to be a better teacher. Thank you for telling me about your dreams. Thank you for letting me join the culture festival. Singing was a lot of fun! Thank you for letting me join your classes. Thank you for playing with me. Thank you for laughing with me. Thank you everyone for becoming my home, my Kagoshima family. 
I have so many happy memories. So many stories of fun times. I will not forget Nanshun. I will not forget all of you. 
Even though I may not see you again, I don’t want to say goodbye. Goodbye sounds so final. Like we will never meet again. As I said before, saying goodbye is difficult. It is so sad. I don’t want to be sad. I want to meet everyone again. So, instead of saying goodbye. I will say “See you later!” So, またね.

 

 

とても気持ちのこもった，感動するスピーチでした。生徒たちもこのスピーチを思い出し，失敗を恐れず，夢に向かって挑戦し，人生を楽しんでいってくれると思います。

ダニエル先生，本当にありがとうございました。