Author: billkralovec

The Osaka International School of Kwansei Gakuin, as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School tries to live up to lofty mission statement of the IB. The IB “aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world (emphasis is mine) through intercultural understanding and respect. One of the traits I like best about the IB curriculum, is this central focus on improving the world. Is that what we should always be doing, everyday?

In our school’s mission statement, we also have a similar phrase, … contributing to a global community. I define global not only as relating to the whole world, but also to another meaning of the word, relating to the “encompassing the whole of something.” Combining both concepts, our school community should be creating a better and more peaceful world for all members of society. It is especially important to focus on the disadvantaged or those at the margins, who live in precarious circumstances, if we want to be truly “global”.  

Service to the community runs through the three IB curricular programmes in the school. In the elementary, the Primary Years Programme (K-5) features the “Actioneers” a rotating group of students, guided by the coordinator and teachers, lead the students initiating actions in the community. In the Middle Years Programme (6-10) community service is an aspect all students must be a part of, and in the Diploma Programme (grades 11-12) students must complete the requirements in the Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) in order to receive the diploma. The idea is as a student matures and gains experience, they will be more independent in their contributions in this area.

One of the best initiatives we do at OIS is our support of the homeless in Osaka, probably the group most at risk in the community. I was surprised to learn that there are homeless people in Japan, and the neighborhood of Kamagasaki, located in one of the poorest wards in the city, Nishinari-ku, is where many end up. The homeless are mostly elderly males, physical laborers who for common reasons like gambling addiction, alcohol abuse, mental health issues, a tough job market, etc. have come upon tough times and found themselves without a permanent home.

 

Lyn Melville-Rea, a long-time OIS teacher and our current CAS coordinator and service learning coordinator, leads our students in contributing to the work of groups helping the homeless in Kamagasaki. Our students volunteer weekly to go on yamawari, or night patrol, to bring food, blankets toiletries, etc. to homeless men. They work with the Sannoh Children’s Center and other charities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Nishinari-ku, to support the homeless and poor. OIS has worked with these groups since the founding of the school, 25 years ago.

Besides providing the essentials, the students give the homeless something more. They give them recognition and human interaction. They are often ignored and shunned by people passing by, in a hurry to get to and from work or home. Our students stop and talk with them as they are providing them with much needed supplies.

Now you may question the safety of taking students to a ward known for its poverty and red light district (prostitution). Japan is unlike other countries in that the centrality of respect for others in the culture, makes crime rates extremely low. It is quite safe for students to walk at night there. The students find their stereotypes of the homeless are broken and they realize they are ordinary people like everyone else. Establishing relationships with the people of Kamagasaki has given our students self confidence and social skills in working with different types of people.

Our students’ actions with the homeless is certainly living the mission of both the IB and SOIS! On behalf of our students, I would like to thank Lyn for her leadership and dedication to helping the homeless and poor of Osaka. Many students have grown and learned from the experiences.

I accompanied the students on a yamawari last school year and you can read my impressions of the night. You can also listen to Mrs. Melville Rea and students talk about their experiences on the podcast page of our website here. 

 

Osaka International School grade 11 students are helping our sister school in Bali, SMK Payangan high school, promote their Sustainable Tourism & Education Program (STEP). The rural school is next to a hotel that is a training facility for young Balinese to prepare them to work in the tourism field. OIS has made 7 trips to the school and this year’s group is working on their online marketing efforts. Our students get valuable service learning experience while attracting more guests to the hotel school.

 

The International School Consultancy published an article this spring ranking the nations with the most international schools. The demand for international education is exploding! It used to be when I first started my career in international education over 20 years ago, I knew of almost all of the schools and they mostly catered to expatriates. Today, more local families are looking for English-medium international “western” education. I think this reflects globalization of the economy. Many parents feel their children, in order to be successful in business or other fields, need to be fluent in English and have a creative, critical thinking and collaborative skills in this economy. Families recognize the mobility future employees need in this age of rapidly changing work environments.

Japan ranks #6 in the world with 239 international schools. The top country is the United Arab Emirates with 549 schools educating over half a million students. Rounding out the top five is China, Pakistan, India and Spain. I am curious to see where this trend is going. It seems like new schools are popping up all the time, especially here in East Asia.

 

Over 20 people attended the session hosted by Abdul Shukoor Popal. He is a graduate student at Osaka University and has been a substitute teacher at OIS and worked in the Saturday School. He is a professor of mining economics in his home country. We learned how to prepare and make dishes from both eastern and northern Afghanistan. The raisins and carrots mixed with chicken in jasmine rice was my favorite. Besides learning some interesting recipes, we all had a good social time after a busy week.

Abdul’s presentation really brought home to almost 40 years of war the country has endured. He showed a more human side of daily life in the country, things you don’t often hear in the news. It was so sad to hear that he lost four uncles and his father in the 1980s wars. I can’t fathom the amount of damage done to the country after so much violence and unrest. He left us on a hopeful note pointing out the energy and enthusiasm of the youth of Afghanistan. Abdul is working on constructing a private, international elementary school based on what he has seen at SOIS. He said schools are respected by all groups in the country as they recognize the need for educating the populace. He is also supporting the many NGOs working in the country and showed us the example of how much a cow can do for a family.

We raised 42,000 Yen with donations from the evening. Thank you to the people who came and attended and to Abdul for sharing his experiences and expertise with us!

You can read the latest issue of Educator, the monthly newsletter of the Osaka International School of Kwansei Gakuin, online!

Here is a slide show of the highlights from Tuesday’s competition. It was a celebration of learning and cooperation! We are looking forward to the Bangkok global round!

 

Update: May 9, 2016 – I saw this in this morning’s paper:

The number of people skiing or snowboarding in Japan peaked at 18 million in 1998. The figure fell to less than a half of that number, 7.7 million, in 2013 due to the declining birth rate and the graying of Japanese society.

A survey by the tourism agency in fiscal 2010 found that people in China, South Korea and Australia prefer skiing and other winter sports rather than golf, mountain climbing and marine sports when they travel to Japan.

I read this news item in the Japan Times today, “Number of Children in Japan Declines for 35th straight year to hit record low”. There are 8.22 million boys and 7.82 million girls under the age of 14 which is only 12.6% of Japan’s total population, which is also an historic low. 150,000 less babies were born this past year than young people turned 15 which caused the decline. In looking at the 12-14 year old numbers versus 0-2 year old numbers, there are about 360,000 less in the younger group, which signals a further decline. The only prefecture (of 47 total) that recorded an increase in births from the previous year was Tokyo and that indicates young workers are moving there for jobs.

Seeing this population trend as an educator in Japan, this does not bode well for schools here. Less students means overall declining enrollment and schools need to consider either downsizing or trying to lure international students, which many universities are now doing. Our school is seeing an increase in enrollment but we are not dependent on the local population as Article I and public schools are. I see increased competition for students and schools closing in the near future.

In looking at the country as a whole, the 126 million today will be reduced to 116 million in 15 years and looking longer term, down to 87 million by 2060, if the rate of decline continues. That is still super crowded compared to California, which is roughly the same size as Japan, but has only 40 million people. The less people are good in one way, but with a high percentage of who is remaining elderly, it will cause a lot of problems in caring for them. Many villages and rural towns and cities will depopulate or even disappear. The government needs to put in measures to encourage families to have more children, increase immigration (without disrupting the unique culture of the country) and find opportunities for the elderly to contribute to society.