10-12-06 Thursday "Elementary School"

Thursday "Elementary School"

THURSDAY, Oct 12, 2006 “Elementary School”

TOP SECRET MISSION PROFILE:
Arao City Arao Daiichi Elementary School
Tamiko Sakai, Principal
Hirotaka Yokote, Vice Principal
981-1 Arao, Arao-shi, Kumamoto 864-0041
TEL: 0968-63-0065 FAX: 0968-63-0079
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Today we visited 1 of 12 elementary schools; Arao Daiichi Elementary School, with an appropriate school motto “To be right, to be kind, to be strong.” This school now services 395 students and at one time had 1,600. Before schools we interacted with four crossing guards in front of the school who were all volunteers and members of the community. The daily routine has kids traveling in small groups with little yellow banners on poles.



It is funny because their backpacks look like boxes with flaps over the top; nothing at all like we see in the states.

To my right, I chuckled to see two young children taking care of a live rooster and a turtle, just one of the assigned jobs amongst others including flowers & cleaning.

The next thing I witnessed made me think that the kids were going to a circus, not a school. Many of them came, went into a little corner of the playground and proceeded to get onto unicycles.



Flying around the paved area, it was funny to see a bunch of grade schoolers display their agility riding around on one wheel. Then when I thought I had seen it all, a kid walked by on stilts.



Passed a very keen looking footwall by a pool that was not in current use, kids in the playground were playing ball and seemed to be genuinely glad to be at such a safe and fun school atmosphere.



MEETING

Inside the library, our make-shift camp, we had a few moments to look around. During this short time, I found a book that I absolutely had to own. Translated “Barefoot Gen” a fully illustrated book depicting the atrocities at Hiroshima during WWII from a Japanese perspective. I was both surprised and disturbed to see the sad and startling pictures used to teach children of Japan what happened some only 50 years ago.



During the meeting we could hear the star spangle banner being played on recorders through out the hallways on the other side of the doors. I made a joke to Nauoku by putting my hand on my heart and saluting, which she got and was amused at. She then translated to the speaker, the vice principle, who did most of the presentation. Hirotaka Yokote ( under Tamiko Sakai – female principal) smirked a little, but all business asked “shall we continue?” (He sported a nice suit with white and orange sneakers –making my wood-by jeans look not to shabby.)

TEACHING PRACTICE INFO (from meeting)
• Moral Education lesson taught by homeroom teacher (sometimes principal)
• Interaction with community members (trips & activities)
• GREAT IMPORTANCE physical strength; emphasis on P.E.
• Longer break between 2nd & 3rd periods (often used for students to practice sports)
• Safe transportation lecture/session (from crossing guard)
• 20 mega-language lessons to achieve a better more stable understanding of Japanese language
• 4 occasions a year were parents can come observe all the classes
• 3 occasions a year for community to come observe all the classes
• 5 members in the school advisory body
• Integrated study hours – 3rd year in the elementary school all the way to high school, example: a 4th grader may study the ocean, then have to do research and presentation on their findings

ASSEMBLY



From the briefing, we went to an assembly MC’ed fully by the students. First we watched a “Pitch Black” Performance (where they used big colorform-like pieces of artwork on a black easel with a black light to illuminate it from the dark.) Then the students sang “It’s a small world after all” in Japanese and made me feel like I was riding that boat gimmick at Disney World. Lastly, our panel introduced itself and answered a few questions from students.





OBSERVATION TIME
Coming around a corner, I saw a Japanese language course being taught, engaging in the a calligraphy lesson. I was pulled in and given a table to sit at and play the role of a fellow student along with the rest. The symbol that we learned was the symbol for “the sun.”

With a Japanese calligraphy set in front of me, I painted what looked like a box with a horizontal line through the center of it. I soon learned that timing is everything. I was shown by a third grade student that you have to do each stroke in a particular direction and at a particular time. (He was right. My second draft was so much nicer.)

It was next that I participated in a Traditional Japanese Folk “Hanna-kasa Dance.” I saw a bunch of kids dancing to music in the gymnasium with these stage props. It turns out that these red compressed looking cones are actually symbolic of ancient kasa (hats) and had bells attached to the inside to help keep the rhythm. Perfect for a photo-op, you can bet that I joined right in on the fun.

Next, I watched a compass lesson outside and that is about when I saw Laurie, an older woman (but not too old) from NJ setting up a peace circle with the 6th grade. She had them all get in the shape and was up on a high walkway ready to take the shot and her camera didn’t work! She had to have Tim take it then he said, “There no problem. We will talk about compensation later.” Laurie was so stuck on getting this shot. She has collected similar shots from what I understand across the nation –so this for her was a God-sent. She talked about it the first day at the orientation, so it was rather ironic (and almost a little funny) that things weren’t working out when it came to fruition.