letters to Tokyo

Even though it is still very cold, the Spring Term has begun. My courses are…

Managing Financial Resources in Nonprofit Organizations (James Honan) – introductory course for financial management practices and problems for nonprofit organizations. I am considering converting a for-profit organization into a nonprofit. This course will provide guidelines for setting up the financial reporting system of the new nonprofit.

Good Work in education: where Excellence, Ethics and Engagement meet (Howard Gardner) – framework for identifying individuals and institutions that do Good Work. I will be doing research about young people and good work, a topic I have been interested in for several years.

Adult Development (Bob Kegan) – while most other courses at HGSE deal with educating the young, this course focuses on development of humans as adults. I will learn a lot on three levels: self-discovery, managing adults in an organization and understanding their development issues, understanding adolescents who are on the cusp of adulthood.

Continuation of two courses from previous term: Proseminar School Leadership and School Leadership in Nontraditional Settings.

One more to be added: either an independent project relating to the development of a Japanese language teaching website or Interdisciplinary Studies…. to be determined soon.

Some significant learning moments from the Fall Term…

Pro-seminar: School Leadership (Janice Jackson) – inspiration from Yo-Yo Ma’s commencement address at Williams College. Coming across Deal and Peterson’s Eight Roles of Symbolic Leaders, Rooke and Torbert’s 7 Transformations of Leadership.

Practicum on Leadership in Nontraditional Settings (Lee Teitel) – use of protocols, forming a network and learning to rely on feedback, becoming more reflective and meta-cogniizant. Also see Primary Source practicum placement.

Primary Source – practicum placement at a nonprofit organization that promotes global education by providing professional development for teachers. Documenting and showcasing the learning that is taking place in the classroom as a result of teacher training and professional development. Coordinating Japan Study Tour for maximum impact in the classroom.

Inquiry: Educating for the Unknown (David Perkins) – stretching my mind to think about education of the future. Re-reading Five Minds for the Future. Writing two articles: The How of Global Education: from Culture of Competition to Culture of Sharing and Networks of Schools for Global Understanding: a survey of network structures that link together global citizens of tomorrow.

Independent Secondary Schools (Tom Hassan) – studying under the incoming Principal of Phillips Exeter Academy. Using the Harkness Table and studying about practical aspects of independent secondary school management. Studying leadership style at the Loomis Chaffee School (see below).

FEP (Field Experience Program) – internship at the Loomis Chaffee School, creating recommendations for the Admissions Office and observing leadership style of new Head, Sheila Culbert. Applying Deal and Peterson’s Eight Roles of Symbolic Leaders to analyze how the Head leads through understanding culture and helping shape its course.

School visits: Academy of Pacific Rim, MATCH School, Loomis Chaffee School, Buckingham, Browne & Nichols.

I had the opportunity to visit a second grade classroom in the Arlington District in December.  This year, the study of Japan is incorporated in the social studies curriculum for all second graders in the district. I visited a class that was being taught by a teacher who had spent some time in Japan. The learning that was taking place was obvious when I stepped into the classroom. The children were very enthusiastic. They responded to directions given by the teacher in Japanese. They were self-motivated to go to activity stations and could explain to me which aspect of Japanese culture they were exploring. One child proudly showed me a picture he had drawn with the kanji characters for Japan written on it. Other children sang me the song “Teru Teru Bozu” (somewhat like a Japanese version of “Rain, Rain, Go Away” as they showed me the Teru Teru Bozu figures (looking like ghosts in the photo above) they had made to ensure good weather. The teacher was doing an amazing job making the students enthusiastic about Japan studies.

クリントン政権時代の副大統領、２００７年のノーベル平和賞受賞者アル・ゴア氏が２００８年１０月２２日にハーバードでスピーチをしました。詳しくはこちらで．．．

Following up on my earlier post about the Academy of the Pacific Rim (APR) … college awareness starts very early at APR. The 5th and 6th grade homerooms are named after colleges: Princeton, Williams, Georgetown, Tulane, Wake Forest, Brown, Stanford, BC, BU, Duke and Johns Hopkins (Harvard did not make the list…) I would worry if this was done at a fancy private school or hyper-competitive public school. However, for a charter school that is trying to plant the seed of awareness of college, this is a great way to make the concept of college as destination visible at a young age.