Part of my job on the JET Program was to visit the various kindergartens and elementary schools around the town of Hamaoka, where I lived. Every Friday morning, I visited a different school. I eventually became friends with Reiko Mano, the special education teacher at a nearby elementary school. A caring, compassionate and demanding teacher, Mano-sensei makes every activity the students engage in a learning experience, and working with her was a priviledge.

The students in Mano-sensei's class have a wide variety of learning disabilities from mild to mentally handicapped. I immediately fell in love with these children, and began to volunteer my time with them two Saturday mornings a month over an eight-month period. Because the children couldn't pronounce "Stevie-sensei," they called me "Speedy-sensei" instead. These images are from my days as "Speedy-sensei."