THE QUESTION ISN’T so much what has Kevin White done. Rather it should be, what hasn’t he done.
Just a walk through the halls of the Deighton Griffith Secondary School and one is sure to see his name carved into several plaques, including for the Best All-round Male Student – three times in a row – for sports and as a proud boy scout.
School was awesome for him and he was the type of person who was never afraid to try anything new or challenging, even in spite of being born with cerebral palsy (CP).
According to cerebral palsy.org, CP is considered a neurological disorder caused by a non-progressive brain injury or malformation that occurs while the child’s brain is under development. It primarily affects body movement and muscle coordination. In Kevin’s case, it affected his motor movement to the point that he has a very pronounced limp.
“I wouldn’t term it a disability ’cause I do everything imaginable. It’s a challenge, yes; a disability, not to me,” he maintained during an online interview with the DAILY NATION.
This can-do attitude served him well throughout adolescence and later, when he wanted to achieve the unlikely goal of becoming a teacher, it was the motivating factor.
Kevin was born and raised in Lowlands, Christ Church. Admittedly, he was a bit “hard ears” growing up, but in a mischievous way.
“Everyone expects you to be sweet and innocent but I was raised no differently from my brothers and sisters. My friends treated me no differently. If we are wrestling, I’m getting my butt handed to me like everyone else. Whatever we were doing, if you want to be a part of it, you can’t expect special treatment,” he said with a chuckle.
After graduation Kevin envisioned his life fighting for the rights of those who were at a disadvantage economically and socially, and he thought that doing so meant he had to study law. Never did he think that by changing his major to French and minor in linguistics, it would lead him on basically the same route of making an indelible mark as a teacher.
A simple advertisement in the daily newspaper about eight years ago was all it took. The ad called for applicants to the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, a Japanese government initiative that aimed to bring people from across the globe to Japan in order to foster closer relations between the host country and the world. Participants usually assume the role of assistant language teachers, teaching English in Japanese schools.
Before that, teaching was way off Kevin’s radar. He had no formal training in the service but for some odd reason it felt natural. So he applied and after a lengthy, rigid interview process, was among five candidates who were successful, the biggest contingent ever selected from Barbados to go to Japan.
“I’ve always been a fan of anime and the themes discussed in them were always very philosophical and thought-provoking. Also, Japan is a pretty stable, safe and rich country so I figured, no kids, no responsibilities, why not learn about a new culture and a different way of life and see the world while I’m at it? I’ve always been a bit adventurous so it [the decision to go] wasn’t exactly surprising,” he said.
In 2009, he moved to Fukuoka and began teaching at a senior high school where he spent five years.
“I fell in love with teaching, so I decided to become qualified to become a better teacher. After JET, I went to England and did my master’s in TESOL [Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages]. I teach at a university part-time and I’m currently researching students’ attitudes towards teachers, especially towards native and non-native English speaking teachers, and language learning and cognition. The end goal is to eventually do my PhD in cognitive linguistics on something related to non-prototypical use of auxiliaries, prepositions and metaphors,” he said.
As one would imagine, language was the biggest barrier but surprisingly, so too was punctuality.
Whereas learning the three systems of Japanese – Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji – was a challenge mainly because he didn’t study as much as he should, readjusting from “Bajan time” was arguably more challenging.
Kevin explained that the general rule for any planned engagement was to be 20 minutes early.
“So if it starts at 9 and you arrive at 9 or 8:59, you’re late; 8:45-8:50 is on time. That took time getting used to,” the 36-year-old said, laughing.
Nevertheless, Kevin said he won’t trade his experience for the world. He still teaches in Japan and he loves it.
“One thing I’ve learnt is that teenagers are teenagers wherever you go. Japanese students are different from Barbadian students in that in Japan, it’s a group mentality. There is a big emphasis on maintaining group harmony and saving face, so they tend not to be as overt in their behaviour as Barbadian students may be, but I liked working with the students. When you get positive feedback from them, it really makes you feel as if you’re making a difference,” he added. (SDB Media)