Business
I was a marketing executive and management executive for over twenty-five years. For about thirteen years, I was the vice president of supply and distribution for a 30mb/d. oil refiner.
My main job after that was that of senior marketing V.P. and corporate manager for a large international commercial real estate firm (Nomura Real Estate, U.S.A.)
In between those two jobs, I started and owned two different business: a direct mail company and a real estate sales company.
Japanese
I studied Japanese for two years at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan and worked for a Japanese firm for thirteen years. I am fit to teach elementary Japanese only since, over the years, my mastery of kanji has diminished. "Use it or lose" it is a cruel reality.
I see myself being able to teach first year university students the basic grammar, pronounciation, and writing techniques. I would also be effective in assisting Japanese speakers to speak, read, and write English by being able to assist them in learning by being able to explain English nuances to them in their own language.
Microsoft PowerPoint
My familiarity with PowerPoint is borne from my experience as a business executive and as an English teacher. As a marketing executive for a large international firm, I often used PowerPoint (both in Japanese and English) to illustrate and illuminate the subject at hand. In business of course, all the "cute bells and whistles" of PowerPoint are passe in presenting what we called "dog and pony shows".
On the other hand, as an English teacher, I have found that those very "bells and whistles"...animations, sound effects, movie clips, etc., are all important tools that I can employ to engage the young mind.
I have used PowerPoint for over ten years now and find it an essential instrument in my "teaching toolbox".
Music History
I am a consumer of music, not a producer. Nevertheless, I understand the fundamental underpinnings and science of it.
More importantly, I understand music's place in Western history (and to some extent, Eastern history). There is a reason why Western music "sounds" the way it does; music reflects the tastes of those who support musicians and pay for their music. Indeed music, like the other arts closely reflect the direction of political, social, and religious currents within society. The history of music therefore, must be an integral part of the teaching of general history.