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(25) The image of a school in the 21st century
With regard to post-compulsory education up till around the age of thirty and lifelong education thereafter, I think a countless number of trials will truly be made throughout Japan. And many unique styles of education will send out people of truly diverse talent into society, leading to the very creation of a society wherein difference is the source of strength.
Here, as my personal proposal, I would like to describe the image of a school in the 21st century, where a person spends half of his/her time working and the other half studying, for about ten to fifteen years after completing compulsory education. One third of the school’s funds will be financed through the support of parents, another third by donations from external sources, and the remaining third by money earned by the students themselves (this includes self-sufficiency). The central concept is as follows. The goal is to become a full-fledged professional by the age of thirty. So, providing education that enables individuals to become self-supporting professionals by then would be of utmost importance. At the same time, for those who are past the age of thirty, and are looking for a career change or are fatigued by distress, arrangements are in place so that they may return to school at any time.
There are three pillars of education: life and culture, practical training, and classroom lecture. Each of these is subdivided as follows.
- Life and culture
- Japanese culture
- The art of tea ceremony, including the diet.
- Aikido: Building up one’s body. Mental concentration. Training of Qi (energy).
- Shinto: Japanese philosophy. The unity of heaven, earth, and man.
- Japanese culture
- Practical training
- Monozukuri (i.e., the making of things; craftsmanship in manufacturing): Craftwork and industrial goods will actually be produced.
- Farm work: Will be done daily.
- Sales: Goods produced in Monozukuri and farm work will be sold.
- Classroom lecture
- Subjects related to practical training
- Monozukuri-related：Science and engineering. Quality control.
- Sales-related: Business management. Finance. Accounting.
- Farm work-related: Living organisms. Environment. (Preservation of) health.
- Liberal arts subjects
- Leadership in organizations: How to shape the future.
- Computers: Word processor. Spreadsheet. Presentation. Database. The Internet.
- Foreign languages: English. Asian languages. Esperanto, etc.
- Mathematics: Numerical logic.
- History: Japanese history. World history.
- Law: Continental law and common law. Human rights. Contracts. Ethics. Legal practice.
- Politics: The Constitution. Public administration.
- Cross-cultural exchange: Geography. Traveling. Debating.
- Subjects related to practical training
While the subjects covered by the classroom lecture may seem quite a lot, they are to be studied with a focus on how to address the questions that arise during the practical training and on how improvements can be made therein. So the classroom lecture is not for the sake of academic study; rather, the concept is to learn concisely what’s really necessary and test it in the practical training in order to “know it with your guts.”
Liberal arts [are concerned mainly with increasing one’s general knowledge and cultivating the richness of mind]. While knowledge of liberal arts may not be of particular use immediately, it will be highly beneficial somewhere down the line. Naturally, issues that are relevant to many of the subjects included in liberal arts ― in particular, leadership, computers, and foreign languages ― will specifically come up in life and culture or in practical training. So the classroom lecture is sort of a sum-up of that.
While this is just my personal proposal, I believe the momentum to create new kinds of schools throughout Japan will increase rapidly and the time will soon come when various types of education blossom all at once.
To table of contents (English)
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(Date published / 公開日： 6/13/2021)
(Date last updated / 最終改訂日: 6/13/2021)
