Today we visited 2 schools. I impressed by the dedication of the staff and students as well as the independence and collaboration revealed by the Japanese students.
JIYU
Our first stop today was JIYU Gakuen. JIYU is a private school that
offers Kindergarten through university on its 25 acre campus in the
western suburbs of Tokyo. The name of the school JIYU means “freedom”.
This was evident throughout the school. This is an learning environment
that takes pride in putting the students in charge of more than just
their learning. Students in junior high and high school live on campus.
However, all students take part in the experience of community. Students
at JIYU prepare and serve lunch, they manage the gardens and grounds,
they also wash their own laundry by hand in the dormitories as we were told "convenience makes a lazy mind" However,
most impressive is that the students live in the dormitories in junior
high school and up with no adults. The students are in charge of
managing the dormitory and each other. Students here spend approximately
6 hours a day on academics and 1-2 hours a day on preparing food,
working in the gardens, or other chores. We were told that JIYU is a
unique school. It attracts students from all over Japan and is quite
different than public schools.
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| Learning about JIYU school |
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| The cafeteria all wood furniture made by students in woodshop class. |
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| Trout pond |
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| Pig pen |
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| The first building of the school was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright after he met the founder of the school in 1921. |
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| Student organized school lunch plan, students are responsible for cooking and serving meals as well as clean up. |
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| Check your shoes at the door. In Japanese schools you do not wear your
outdoor shoes into the buildings. You exchange your outdoor shoes for slippers. |
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| Frank Lloyd Wright inspired architecture. |
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| Farm to table. Students tend to the gardens at JIYU which include many vegetables and green tea plants. |
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| One of my favorite parts of the day. Getting a calligraphy lesson from a JIYU high school student. |
Next stop...
Inagi Daini Elementary School
The whole school welcomed us with an assembly where
the students sang the school song and presented us with gifts.
Afterwards we spent time in the classrooms of several grade levels
observing lessons. The teacher at this school is the single most important factor in a
child’s learning. The rooms at the school were pretty sparse. There was a
TV mounted in the corner of each room but other than that there was
just a chalkboard, desks, bulletin boards, and students. However, in the
short time I spent in the classrooms I saw incredibly high levels of
engagement and creative problem solving in every classroom – all of this
being led by the teacher. The students at Inagi Diani seemed so
happy at the school.
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| Welcome assembly. |
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| Classroom |
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| Learning about rice production. |
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| student calligraphy |
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