The Big Short Big questions, Short answers
Kathy Krauth has been a member of the social studies department at ASIJ since 2000. Prior to this she was a member of the staff of Teaching East Asia at the University of Colorado. Her husband Greg is currently ASIJ’s director of transportation and their two children Sophia ’12 and Sam ’10 both graduated from the School. Where are you from? Minnesota and Colorado. What kind of student were you in school? I was not a pretty girl. I was a smart girl, competitive, a little sassy. Why did you choose to go into education? I like to learn and teaching gives me that opportunity every day. If you weren’t a teacher, what would you do? Work for the UN in human rights or with refugees or work in some capacity at The Asian University for Women What is your favorite thing about Japan? I love its long history. I love the people. I love the natural beauty.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Seismologically active archipelago. Which talent would you most like to have? I would like to be able to run fast. Who are your favorite writers? Roxane Gay. Yosano Akiko. Norma Field ’65. Which historical figure do you most identify with? Maybe not identify with but envy: Beate Sirota Gordon ’39.
Which living person do you most admire? Shiori Ito When and where were you happiest? Whenever I am with my family and my good friends. Where doesn’t matter if I am with them; a concrete parking garage would be fine. Who are your heroes in real life? My mother. RBG—RIP. What is your most treasured possession? The conjuncture of my own life choices and life’s contingencies have forced me to relinquish any real emotional attachment to stuff.
What is your favorite thing about ASIJ? Students, colleagues, alums, families, JSEM, Students Advocating for Gender Equality (SAGE), English Circle, trips—especially to Okinawa! What advice do you give your students? The United States is all about race. Nobody in my adult life has ever asked me what my high school GPA was.
Illustration by Matthew Worsley 64
THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN
