International Perspectives:
From Mt. Fuji to Kawasaki,
US Educators Learn in Japan
by Sharon Kaplan, Ed.D.
During a break in my morning workshop I noticed many of the
participants were gathered in front of a large picture window
with their cell phones in hand. As I approached, I realized
they were not using their cell phones to talk, but were taking
pictures of a breath-taking sight. Mt. Fuji, some 60 miles
away, was radiating against a bright blue sky. In Japan, it
is considered a sign of good luck just to catch a glimpse of
this graceful mountain.
This January I participated in a program sponsored and funded
by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology of the Japanese government. The trip was arranged
in collaboration with the Japanese Association of School Counseling
and Guidance. Dr. Keiko Honda, Assistant Professor at Tamagawa
University, and a graduate of Teachers College, Columbia University,
planned the program. After visiting different school programs
in the New York metropolitan area in March 2001 and 2002, Dr.
Honda decided to invite American educators to Japan as part
of an international exchange program. Her initial grant proposal
was accepted and teachers, social workers, counselors, psychologists,
and probation officers from the United States visited Japan.
Based on the success of that program, Dr. Honda's grant was
approved for additional funding for January 2004.
This year's program drew educators and clinicians from New
York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. An overview
of the Japanese educational system, visitations to different
school programs and facilities, and an opportunity to exchange
information with Japanese colleagues was arranged. A two-day
workshop, held at the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center
in Tokyo, offered sessions on comprehensive high schools, school
counseling, prevention education and special education. An
introductory lecture on the Japanese educational system, by
Mr. Takahiko Sugiyama the Director of the Sports and Youth
Bureau from the Ministry of Education, was a sobering experience.
He presented data on nation-wide problems of school refusal,
unemployment and a rise in anti-social behaviors. Mr. Sugiyama
discussed the efforts of the Japanese government, such as increasing
school-based counselors, career consultants, job placement
services, and work-study programs as a means to address these
issues.
Our trip to an elementary and junior high school in Kawasaki,
a suburb of Tokyo, highlighted that school districts' efforts
to bring students with special needs into the mainstream of
education. In addition to a self-contained classroom and a
resource room, consultation services to classroom teachers
were provided. Traveling on to a high school in Gifu City,
the ability of the students to plan and choose their own courses
based on their talents, interests and career aspirations was
exemplary.
In the private sector, an after-school
YMCA program in Tokyo, supervised by Dr. Akiko Kaizu, was
an outstanding example of accommodating the learning and
behavioral needs of children with disabilities. Observing
via a video monitor, the students were animated and engaged.
Students received one-on-one instruction in academic areas
and participated in cooperative learning activities. The
YMCA "Liby" program for school refusal
was another exceptional example of a unique environment which
permitted alienated, disenfranchised students the opportunity
to be educated in a nurturing facility.
Classroom teachers in Japan, like
the United States, are faced with meeting the needs of students
with diverse academic skills and behaviors. As a learning
disabilities teacher-consultant, my workshop presented strategies
and curriculum adaptations that could be used in the general
education classroom to accommodate learning differences.
These workshops were co-facilitated by Mrs. Shizuko Kame
Barnes, a bilingual psychologist, practicing in New York
City. During the question and answer session, concerns of
the participants were similar to those raised by teachers
in the United States. Issues regarding the reluctance of parents
to identify their child as having special needs, the extensive
time and support required by teachers to meet the needs of
students with learning differences in general education classrooms,
and insufficient funding and resources were discussed.
Through the generosity of the Japanese
Ministry of Education and World Youth Visit Exchange Association
(WYVEA) I have cherished memories of the time spent with
my "homestay" family,
wandering small streets in Tokyo and Kyoto, visiting national
treasures, learning traditional dances, riding the subways
and eating delicious food! I also made many new friends. As
Francisco Alberran, social worker from the Greenwich Public
School reported, "At each school our team was provided
with the utmost warmth and gracious welcome. Having the opportunity
to visit these schools, observe the classrooms and talk with
staff and students provided the ideal context and rationale
to continue our efforts in forming a partnership to address
the needs of all students."#
Sharon Kaplan, Ed.D is a Learning Disabilities Teacher-Consultant,
Tenafly Public Schools
