As time marches on, saving Earth continues to be my goal -- and The Jingles my means!
1 ...The knife and fork came in handy when I partook of some Oregon elk, courtesy of Mother Earth.
2 Here I am yesterday showing just how low the water level in this pond is. All four of the ponds on my
land show similar drought like effects.
3 “New Pond”’s level is low because Oregon has been getting less rainfall than usual. I can only wonder if this is yet another sign of the effects of global warming.
Dear Fellow Earthlings,
A couple of days ago I taught a client -- let's call him Mr. M -- for the first time in many years. Mr. M pointed out that Ms. Shirao, the number two Jingles instructor in the world, has taught him recently -- but after a hiatus of FIVE years. In other words, Mr. M has been taught almost exclusively by my other Jingles instructors...
Particularly for clients who have been with us for over 5 years and/or whose JINGLES SCORES are 90.0 and above -- it is essential that they be taught by myself and/or Ms. Shirao at least once every three months or so.
I am concerned because Mr. M's applied speaking score during his Friday, November 8, 2019 session was only 90.1 -- despite the fact that he has been doing Jingles for all these years.
Other clients who have been with the Jingles for 6 years typically register scores of between 90.3 and 90.5 on their applied speaking endeavors. When I asked Mr. M how often he takes sessions, he responded that he averages only about one session per month.
Now I understand: Mr. M has not been receiving a sufficient number of sessions -- AND his at-home training
technique needs to be improved so that he can increase his rate of improvement.
It was agreed that I will again teach him on Saturday, November 16th starting from 11 a.m. Japan Standard Time.
At that time I will measure his applied speaking level, based on how well he can read Installment 1 of my blog (released on May 16, 2013) and Installment 500 (released on October 31, 2019). The time interval between the release of Installment 1 and Installment 500 coincides almost exactly with the length of time that Mr. M has been doing Jingles.
Mr. M's situation reminds me that my Earthsaving efforts are also suffering from a lack both of "quantity" and "quality":
During the six years that Mr. M has been having occasional Jingles sessions and mostly without the direct
teaching of the number one and number two Jingles instructors, Earth's plight has only worsened:
a. Plastic levels continue to increase,
b. The African Elephant's numbers continue to fall,
c. Natural areas are losing out to "development" and/or the impact of excessive numbers of tourists,
d. People who help Earth continue to be outnumbered by those who don't,
e. The Falkland Islands (and other smaller countries) continues to face threats both from without and within,
f. The number of people who push their personal agendas at the expense of the rights of others continues to
swell,
g. Languages are losing their uniqueness as a "leveling" occurs due to the fact that instant communication and
mass movements of people are uprooting the societies that give rise to linguistic diversity,
h. Various uses of technology are leading to destruction of time honored traditions and mores -- and technology
is often employed by malevolent organizations to stamp out dissent, disagreement, or quests for self-
determination.
In the face of all this, The Jingles have allowed me to keep some parts of Earth somewhat pristine: I have contributed to various wildlife funds, have "sponsored" various animals, and have used all available means to try and leave every place I go less affected by pollution and unnecessary change than it would be if I had not gone there.
But just as Mr. M must improve his Jingles improvement techniques, so too must I improve my Earthsaving techniques!
Steve Walker
Earthsaver and Jingles Creator
© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.