Sixty years ago, when I was a high school senior, my family hosted a Japanese exchange student, Hana, for one year. That experience led to a unbreakable bond between us. We consider ourselves sisters, she’s my kids’ aunt, and I’m her kids’ overseas advisor. There was a time though, when I was her sons’ home-away-from-home mother. When each of her sons reached middle-school age, she sent them to Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Massachusetts. During their short vacations, they lived with me. Her eldest, Ren, graduated from Cushing Academy, earned a degree from Grand Canyon University, and is a vice-president for Namco Gaming in Chicago. Her youngest, Minato, also attended Eaglebrook.
As is true with all humans, Minato, was unique.When he enrolled at Eaglebook, he was fourteen years old, an accomplished soccer player, but a man child living in a foreign culture he didn’t have the experience or wisdom to understand. So it was not surprising, when the headmaster phoned, “Dr. Skidmore, I’ve already spoken with Minato’s mother. He will be arriving tomorrow in Phoenix, on Flight #2965 from Logan.”
“Why is that, sir? The fall term has another two weeks.”
“He has been expelled for hitting a teacher.”
“I see. I find that difficult to believe.”
“Well, you certainly know our boarding school is elite and well-respected. We have zero tolerance for acts of violence.”
After retrieving Minato from the airport, I asked, “Tell me, exactly what happened. Why did you hit the teacher?”
“He’s a jerk.”
Hmm. Had picked up some slang at this fancy, pricey prep school. “What does that mean?”
“My friends and I were standing in the line at the cafeteria. Mr. Ross shoved me over, cut in front, and took my plate of food. I shoved him back.”
“And then what happened? He swore at me and said I was the worst soccer player on the team. The next thing I knew the headmaster kicked me out.”
To this day, I don’t really know what happened. Frankly, I found it astounding that Eaglebrook would expel a tuition-paying, foreign student, so there must be more to the story. But I do know that Minato returned to Japan, and at age eighteen took the Graduate Equivalency Exam and passed. He chose to terminate his formal schooling and took an entry job with an international shipping company. Prophetic perhaps, since Minato in Japanese means ‘harbor.’
As Mark Twain so aptly quipped, “I never let my schooling interfere with my education.” Today, Minato is the president of another international shipping company, and he travels the world expanding his business. He’s no longer a shy fourteen-year-old, but a handsome, charming, bilingual gentleman in an Armani suit–who fortunately didn’t let his schooling interfere!
