John was born in Phetchaburi Hospital at a time when maternity services were not available in Hua Hin.  His family was firmly based in Hua Hin, John’s mother residing here for the whole of her lifetime. Indeed, John has strong roots in the local area, back to before the King first made this his Summer Palace. This connectedness is one of the things that drew John, Joanna and their growing family to return to take up permanent residence in Hua Hin in 2006. Another factor was that John’s mother was getting older and John wanted to assist her in her daily life. Additional attractions were the cleaner, fresher air, Hua Hin’s western community, its family-friendliness and its coastal location, as John is drawn to the sea, swimming every single day if he can. John completed his education to Grade 7 locally but then attended secondary school and teacher training college in Phetchaburi, and after that travelled to and worked in many different places Thailand, including Chiang Mai, Phuket and Chonburi, where many of the children were born.

Joanna, a Dutch woman of Chinese heritage, first came to Thailand at the age of 19 to work as “au pair” for a family.  She met John and, as they say, the rest is history.  She never returned to live in the Netherlands, and had a task to convince her parents she knew what she was doing when the pair married, Joanna only 20 years old and John barely 5 years older.  A strong marriage, more than 40 years later, is clear evidence that the pair were not foolhardy in their relatively quick commitment to each other, but neither of the pair would have believed the extent to which their family would grow. John has two siblings, Joanna four, so family history had little to do with it. Although the couple are both Christian, this is not the main motivating factor either.  They just love children and are at their happiest in a family setting. Many readers would believe both John and Joanna deserve gold medals in the child-raising stakes, with their offspring now ranging between 42 and 20 years of age.  Joanna had 13 pregnancies, with Melissa and Rebecca, now 31, born fraternal twins.  Joanna has been pregnant for an astoundingly long time: over 9 whole years in fact.  The pair had to take a moment to correctly recall they have seven grandchildren already, the eldest soon to begin his tertiary studies here in Thailand, while others live in far-flung places.  Thank goodness for modern communication technology! The one thing that would most improve Hua Hin, from John’s perspective at least, would be the opening of Hua Hin as an international airport.

By all accounts, John had a happy childhood and experienced lots of freedom to explore. One of his most treasured memories is from his teenage years, riding his horse in the pineapple field, self-taught and bareback, without even a bridle.  Despite numerous falls, it was a very positive experience for the young man. John’s decision to study at Teacher’s College and then his subsequent accreditation in Early Childhood Education were undoubtedly spurred by his mother, who was also a teacher of renown.  In primary school, John accompanied his mother to her school, and was taught by her, in her class where he was the sole boy, until it was decided he needed to attend a school with other boys.  John recalls being a motivated and focused student.  In secondary school, he particularly loved geometry, because of its empirical nature. John has long been fond of learning which relies on logical reasoning to establish proof. He had musical talent from early in his life as well.  The very first song John learnt to play on his guitar was “Venus”, by Shocking Blue, a Dutch band. The choice of this song turns out to have been prophetic, strange as it may seem.  John had never heard of The Netherlands, and certainly had no clue where it was. Little did he know he would marry a Dutch woman and she would be his own personal Venus: goddess of love and fertility. John also has fond memories of his years at Teacher’s College in Phetchaburi.  While there, he joined a band with 4 other young men, as keyboard player and singer.  Using the initials of their names, the band was known as SAP, which translates as “Hot Stuff” in English.  SAP played regular gigs in the local area, and had a horde of adoring teenage fans, many of them female, so the name must not have been an exaggeration. It seems Donna Summer was not the only Hot Stuff happening in that part of the late 1970s.

John is a firm optimist in all things. He sees the many improvements happening in our world and cites the areas of technology and medical knowledge as being particularly exciting.  However, he notes a decline in issues of the heart, such as morality and family values, which is more disturbing to him.  A further thing that grates on John’s nerves is when rude foreigners say insulting things in his presence, assuming that he will not understand their hurtful words. John believes in kindness and continues to hope for it in return. John pinpoints his greatest life achievement is in raising happy and successful children, and then in using the skills he has acquired to impact society through his preschool, which has been in operation since April 2006.  There are no firm succession plans for the school in place, but at the top of John’s bucket list is ensuring that the legacy of his school will not be lost when he needs to step down from his role at Smart Kids. The preschool’s Facebook and web pages, as well as word-of-mouth, are instrumental in keeping enrolment interest high.

Smart kids Preschool offers early learning and child development, and a first school experience in a home style environment. The preschool is focused on early learning through fun activities, using a combination of teaching methods including Montessori, Glen Doman and others. The program is designed for ages 2 to 5 years old (up to the last year of kindergarten) and is based on fun, engaging and developmentally appropriate activities. John is the boss and main educator in the preschool, but is ably assisted by Joanna, their twins Melissa and Rebecca, as well as their youngest child, Alex. These 5 family members all work together with the children enrolled, to ensure quality learning happens in a safe, comfortable and supportive setting.  Enrolment numbers are purposely kept low, normally around ten or so children at a time, to ensure quality interactions between participants and staff are maintained. An American curriculum is the basis for educational programming, but is modified for the individual needs of the children, many of whom have parents of mixed Thai and western cultures, and are professional people themselves, seeking a solid grounding in English for their children. John’s educational philosophy is distilled in just a few words, “Education is like clothing – you make the education to fit the child, and not the other way around.” John also sees great value in giving children the freedom and resources to solve problems and interpersonal conflict by themselves, if at all possible, so as to develop age-appropriate self-reliance.

John’s experience with his own blended Thai/Western family comes to the forefront in his daily engagement with the children.  He believed that in embracing both cultures, and choosing the best aspects from both, he will help the children to become their very best selves. John’s methods blur the dichotomy between Eastern and Western practices and beliefs. His personal strengths lie is his determination, responsibility, loyalty and honesty. John is never without his phone, knowing he should always be contactable, in case someone needs him. As a professional educator, John’s heart swells when he sees children blossom under his care.  His heart is glad when he sees children have a “light-bulb” moment when something that has been perplexing them finally falls into place, or they finally gain confidence to put their knowledge into action. John recalled the case of a particular student who had struggled with English.  She became fluent, for her age, in only a few months at Smart Kids, as a result of immersion in an English-speaking home-style environment.  Her parents credit John with changing their child’s life in just a few short months.

Balance is a key thing in John’s life, and he likes to think he is equally good at working and relaxing. The preschool day runs from 8.30am until 3pm and demands John’s full attention during those hours.  Later, he devotes himself to his personal exercise regime which includes sea swimming, walking and cycling and is an essential part of his day. Other pastimes still include playing his beloved guitar and singing, which he also does with the children. John is also passionate about beach cleanliness and abhors seeing plastic or animal waste left on the beach. He is happy he has learnt how to approach people who do not clean up after their animals in a non-aggressive and non-confrontational way, and has been instrumental in securing other people’s help to remove plastic from the local beaches with his simple idea, “Just 10 pieces of plastic” which seems to have snowballed, with many people now making it a regular task on their daily beach strolls.

John has been involved in regular charity works throughout his life.  He has undertaken work with special needs children and has also volunteered in aged care homes. John has also taken roles in organising and running English-language camps for children.  It is not a stretch to say that John is one of this world’s “givers”, and what he shares of himself shows his deep love for humanity. John knows instinctively that his role in creating happiness is through helping others. But, at the same time, John doesn’t take himself too seriously. Both his wife and his best friend would say he is a riot.

A great admirer of King Rama IX, it took John a while to decide on the living person he most admires, but eventually he chose Chuwit Kamolvisit, a controversial political figure and former massage parlour owner who now actively works to expose corruption, at great personal risk to himself. John would like to have a positive impact in all aspects of his life.  He doesn’t smoke or even regularly drink alcohol, though he admits to indulging in too much sugar. John’s favourite meal of all time still remains his mother’s pomfret fish, with the delicious sauce only she could make. John is most grateful for his wife Joanna and the huge impact she has had on his life.  As a teenager, a young man who spent two years living with the Abbot at a temple, he would certainly never have imagined himself married to a foreign wife, a father of 14, enjoying family outings such as picnics on the beach. John appreciates the many people who have helped him, at different points in his life, and so continues to help others in turn. Being such an admirable role-model, it is no wonder the children in his care follow him, music or not. Their smiles and laughter bring even more sunshine to John’s already full life.