Nirasaki, Japan: Learning is easy, leaving is hard

 I found an amazing, almost magical, place in the shadow of Mount Fuji.  A year ago five eager and inquisitive high school students and I made our way across the Pacific to Nirasaki, Japan the sister city of Fairfield, California.  As we waited to board, I took a stroll around the San Francisco airport and took note of the many sister-city logos decoratively displayed on the terminal walkways.  The teen crew was ready for their adventure.  They were exuberant. I expected a interesting trip and maybe a few smiles and stories to pack along with peace cranes and souvenirs. I did not expect the trip to be so impactful. I had no idea of how hard it would be to leave the people and place there between the Minami Alps.

     One of my most memorable experiences of the trip was watching those five young people working with the very young students at an English Immersion School in Nirasaki.  The enthusiastic teacher there set us up for success and the connection between all of the kids was very real and heartwarming.  Watching them interacting and teaching each other was proof of how powerful that relevant, emotionally engaged learning can be. I can only assume that the excitement of preparing for our visit ratcheted up the focus and receptivity in that classroom for days before and after.  It certainly made an impression on me.  Video: English Immersion School Visit

   Where is the last place that American teenagers would like to visit in the summertime?  If you answered "school" you are now in last place.  Touring the schools in Nirasaki was inspiring and, of course, educational.  I noticed that almost every class that we visited had us working in groups, solving problems, creating, getting hands on or at least watching someone else actively learning.  We played the Koto, the 13-stringed national musical instrument of Japan. We observed Kyudo, the martial art of archery with the focused young men Nirasaki Technical High School.  I was encouraged by my new fellow classmates in a Junior High School as I tried Japanese calligraphy known as Shodo. 

  When the Nirasaki exchange students traverse around our Fairfield High campus in California they also see the best of the best in engaging lessons.  I hope that students from both cities have classes that are consistently as inspiring as the ones I have seen on both continents.  

Video: Nirasaki Schools Tour '16

   Our entire 21-day tour was a project-based learning experience of a lifetime. Math? Yen conversions. Comparing the old Shinkansen (200 mph) and soon to be released "bullet train" (375 mph) to the Boeing 777 with a 100 mph headwind to and 125 mph tailwind from Japan. Language? Everyday all day. Why did we hear more foreign languages in Hiroshima than Japanese? Because we were living a Social Science class with the world called, "Never Again." We hope.  

   
  At the 21-day mark our class was "dismissed." Our local chaperone, Miho, could not have done better. Mayor Naito and his city showed us what world-class hospitality looks like.  It felt as if the entire country had been put on notice to teach and take care of these travelers from Northern California.  Leaving our host families was the most difficult part.  Home certainly is where the heart is, and our hearts are now solidly part of Nirasaki.  Video: Farewell to Nirasaki...