We left early this morning on a day's tour of one of the most beautiful cities in Japan... Kyoto. This extraordinary city was once the longtime historic capital of Japan, until the capital was later relocated to Tokyo in 1868. If you are ever planning a visit to Japan, a stopover in Kyoto is a must! The historic shrines, temples and parks are some of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Flip through the images below for an overview of some of what Kyoto has to offer! The hotel's concierge recommended that I stop in at the Buddhist temple adjacent to the hotel at 6:00 am to observe the Buddhist monks perform the morning's prayer ritual. Thanks to my still ongoing jet lag, I was up bright and early and able to snap up this 4 minute recording of the ceremony. What an amazing experience it was!
Visiting Hiroshima had a powerful effect on me. I was honestly overcome emotionally by the vast destruction by the Atomic Bomb; many lives were lost and the obliteration of a whole city. It is still something I can not fathom. Seeing The peace memorials, and the peace museum helped me to understand how Hiroshima first crumbled and its slow, but valiant rise to a city with a strong sense of hope and a never ending call of peace. It's quite inspirational. I met a man named Mito Kosei, in front of the dilapidated former Prefecture Instructional Promotional Hall, which still stands today as a skeletal reminder of what it once was. Mr. Kosei, who appeared to be in his sixties, a former English teacher, had a story he wanted to share with the world. I stood there and was transfixed as his told his family's story. While still in the womb when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, he tells of the horrific devastation his family suffered emotionally and physically, and the loss of life and the trauma that the people of Hiroshima continue to endure to this day. His goal for sharing his family’s story is very simple: to help sway world opinion to abolish all inhumane weapons. You can read more about his family’s experience and some basic facts here. A group of Americans, who were also similarly as effected as me, created an informative video with more information about the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and its devastating aftereffects. To view, click here.
Listening to Mr. Kosei effected me deeply. It saddens me to see such suffering, especially when innocent children are involved. As a teacher and a parent, children are entrusted in our care; we are their safe keepers, and seeing harm come to them is something I hope the world would never have to witness again. This message has also found its way through Hiroshima’s educational system. A special curriculum called peace education has been carefully developed to meet this calling. This curriculum compiles a collection poetry, essays, primary sources, and artifacts. The focus in no longer only to teach about the horrors of the Atomic Bomb, which can leave students with a feeling helplessness and despair. Instead, this curriculum's empahsis is to build hope for the future and to empower students to create peace by challenging them to help make a change. While these pictures tell a thousand words, our delegation was able to learn about how the Yokohama schools operate. At Azamino Elementary School and Azamino Jr. High, the average class size ranged anywhere between 30-40, extremely well-behaved and attentive, students. It's obvious that discipline is not an issue here, or a very minor one if ever. Teachers teach all subject areas, including art and music in the elementary grades, and begin to specialize in their one subject by middle school. Students participate in additional classes like Judo, swimming and home economics, where they learn how to cook and sew. We were especially impressed with the roof top pool! Interestingly enough, teachers are evaluated by parents, for the most part. I found that very interesting, as parents are extremely involved in their child's education throughout. Schools go to about July 19th here, and students return for the new academic year on about August 30th. So their summer break averages about 40 days, or about 6 weeks. While teachers are able to take a vacation, they are generally not on break during during this time. Instead, they are at conferences and attending board sponsored seminars and professional development. What was clear for me was the sense of cohesiveness and community throughout the classrooms. Students each have their own rag to keep their classroom clean. They are the one that bring up the lunch and all utensils to the classroom, which include pots, plates, chop sticks, milk and the actual food in large serving containers. Starting at first grade, students rearrange their desks to sit together in small groups; they distribute the food, take out their individual placemats, and eat together with their teacher and any guests. Then they put it away, and clean up the whole room! I was so impressed by their high level of responsibility and consciousness. It's so intrinsic and automatic. Definitely something I plan to work on more in my classroom! And this is just the beginning. I still have so many more questions I want to ask. On my agenda is to inquire more about cram school, differentiation, tracking, the implementation of best practices, integration of technology, their focus on developing critical thinking, inventiveness and problem solving, and the role of English in the Japanese curriculum. There is still so much more to learn!
It was truly a pleasure to meet Mr. Kevin Kishida, Mr. Tetsuro Mitani, Ms. Hosana Okamura and Akira Hatajiri at the JEEP orientation on May 15th at the JCCC. Together with Dr. Torres and Ms. Eggie, also 2014 JEEP delegates, we discussed the tentative itinerary, as well as an overall overview of the trip.
I am really looking forward to this experience and learning more about Japan... its people, culture and educational system. Can't wait! |
AuthorNashwa Mekky is a 5th grade teacher in Arlington Heights, and a 2014 JEEP Delegate. Archives
October 2014
Categories
All
|