Japan Society Embarks
on New Paths
by Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
Recently appointed as the President of the Japan
Society, Dr. Frank L. Ellsworth is a staunch believer in public
education. Leaving his position as President of one of the
Claremont Colleges in California, Ellsworth has the strong
support of Michael Sovern, Japan Society chairman, who states
that Ellsworth's leadership will enrich an understanding of
Japan at a time when geopolitical issues and cultural trends
are evolving in East Asia.
At a recent meeting at the Japan Society, Ellsworth
discussed plans for opening two public schools: one in Manhattan
and the other in Tokyo. The school in Manhattan would emphasize
Japan and would teach Japanese. The one in Tokyo would emphasize
the United States and would teach English. Both would be community-based
public schools because, according to Ellsworth, a significant
portion of what students learn today is outside of school.
Both would focus on what teachers need to succeed with an emphasis
on exchanges between teachers and students.
Elaine Vukov, Director of the Education Department
for nine years, has focused on professional development for
teachers in New York, first by taking them on annual summer
trips to Japan, creating haiku contests and now, reaching out
to the wider education community through a cutting edge, interactive,
informative website. The material on the website comes from
experts and scholars to ensure accuracy and reliability.
Vukov introduced two teachers, who had been to
Japan and were incorporating their knowledge into courses at
Columbia Preparatory School and at the Institute of Collaborative
Education. David Morss from Columbia Prep started teaching Japanese History
several years ago. In his words, “Our school has a pretty
extensive Japanese language program, so I thought there would
be a natural interest and a need for a Japanese History course.
Luckily, my school gave me the freedom to invent a Japanese
History course. And I was fortunate that the Japan Society
Education Department existed as an incredibly wealthy resource
of materials and advice I could draw on as I constructed and
taught the course. Every couple of weeks I would make a pilgrimage
down here to visit their resource center and draw on the various
materials they had—slides, lesson plans, books, videos,
you name it. After that, I was invited to go with 11 other
teachers from a variety of different schools, on the Educators
Study Tour to Japan, which proved to be one of the most fantastic
experiences of my life as a person and as a teacher.”
Grace Kin Raffaele from
a public school, the Institute of Collaborative Education,
told the group, “I teach a 6th grade interdisciplinary
course titled “Language and Communication.” About
7 years ago I did my graduate work at Teachers College and
then became an active participant in the NYC Writing Project
of Lehman College. Not since then has my teaching been so
inspired and informed as it has been this past year through
the Japan Society. There were many things that I brought
back from my hands-on experience from Japan that was not
available in any other way. My first trip to the website
brought me a wealth of information, a timeline, pictures,
everything that I could bring right into my kids—it
was amazing how much information was there, and how accessible
it all was.”
Vukov summed
up the riches now available on the new website: “Over
the past 8 or 9 years, we have been bringing the wealth of
the Japan Society to a greater audience. For educators, we
know they don't have time to look around and find stuff so
we are here to help them and to make it easier for them.”
Education Update looks
forward to revisiting the Japan Society, an exciting new
place under exciting new leadership behind the tranquil entry
of stone and soft sounds of flowing water.#
www.japansociety.org/journey
