KnoK NEWS for 11 June 2000
Covert
* * * * KnoK NEWS * * * *
-- Views from the world of learning in Japan --
Welcome to the 11 June 2000 edition of KnoK (pronounced "knock") NEWS, an
informal and periodic bulletin concerning issues of learning in Japan. It
is brought to you by the Covert family -- Kazumi, Kenya and Brian -- a
multicultural, homelearning family in Osaka, Japan.
KnoK stands for *Kodomo no Kokoro*, meaning "Heart of a Child" in
Japanese. It is our belief that the heart of any child is indeed at the
center of true learning, wherever and however such learning may take
place.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
EDITOR'S WELCOME: Once again, greetings everybody! The humid summer heat
is already well upon us in parts of Japan, and with the approach of
summer come the usual thoughts of vacations, festivals and the getting
together of friends, old and new. It is in this spirit that we bring you
our feature this time: an introduction to Japan-based homelearning
families on the Web.
We hope you will take some time and enjoy browsing around the websites
and homepages you see here, whether they be in English or Japanese.
There's no better way to get acquainted with the homelearning community
here in Japan, a community that is small in number (2,000 to 3,000
homelearners nationwide, by unofficial estimates) but large in spirit.
You'll find sites here from various parts of Japan, and each site as
unique as the family or group that put it together.
It should be noted, however, that not all of the families included here
are "technically" homelearners. In Japan, there are thousands of
schoolchildren who, for whatever reason, have decided they will not go to
school. This is known as *fu-toko* ("school avoidance" or "school
nonattendance"). *Fu-toko* is more or less a state of "educational limbo"
in which a child stays at home to avoid school, with the idea that,
sooner or later, she/he will probably be placed back into the mainstream
school system once things are smoothed over.
This is different from homelearning in Japan, which involves a family's
formal declaration to learn at home independently of school, not just
staying at home to avoid school. In any case, since *fu-toko* sometimes
is the starting point for families in Japan to discover and embrace
homelearning, we wanted to respect that by including the voices of some
prominent *fu-toko* families here as well.
So, is homelearning a workable educational choice in Japan? Most
definitely, yes. But don't just take our word for it: Look here at what
some Japanese homelearners themselves are doing on the Web -- and with
their lives. They are proof positive (if any were needed) that
homelearning can be done in Japan, and be done well. These families and
organizations are part of a living, breathing community of home-based
learners in Japan that is slowly but steadily rising in number and, as
time goes on, learning the value of networking and uniting. These are
people who are helping to change the face of Japanese education forever
in their own humble ways.
Feel free to pass this info around and share it with others. If you come
across any Japanese or Japan-based homelearning families on the Web that
we may have missed, let us know and we promise to follow it up in a
future edition of KnoK NEWS.
In the meantime, and in the spirit of summer, enjoy!
-- Brian Covert
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
ON THE WEB WITH HOMELEARNING FAMILIES IN JAPAN
(1) HOMESCHOOLING IN JAPAN (english)
--> http://www2.gol.com/users/milkat/index.html
Your "one-stop support network" for home-based learning in Japan: This is
by far the most comprehensive resource guide and gathering place on the
Web for Japanese and foreign-resident homelearners in Japan. The
webmaster is Katherine Combs, originally from the US (Seattle,
Washington) and now doing home-based learning with her family in Tokyo.
Says Combs: "'Homeschooling in Japan' was created to bring together home
learners through monthly outings, and encourages families to get involved
in helping plan social/learning opportunities for our children." The
site's newsletter, discussion list and other resources are handled by
homelearning parent Aileen Kawagoe, originally from Singapore and now
living in Japan with her family in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture. The
"Homeschooling in Japan" website is also mentioned in the book "Japan For
Kids: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Their Children" by Diane
Wiltshire and Jeanne Huey (Kodansha International, 2000), a new edition
of which has just hit the bookstores.
(2) HOME SCHOOLING NETWORK - HIMEJI (japanese)
--> http://www2h.biglobe.ne.jp/~hsn-hime/
Website of an independent support group headed by Tomiko Kugai of Himeji,
Hyogo Prefecture. A respected homelearning advocate in Japan, Kugai has
been homelearning with her daughter for about six years now. We are proud
to have featured Kugai's two-part "Q & A on Homeschooling in Japan" in
recent editions of KnoK NEWS. Her homelearning activities have also been
covered in Japanese TV news programs, and in magazine and newspaper
articles. She puts out a printed version of her support group's
newsletter as well.
(3) HOME SCHOOLING NETWORK - MICHIKUSA (japanese)
--> http://www09.u-page.so-net.ne.jp/tj8/hsn-miti/
Website of an independent support group led by Kimiyo Matsuura, a
homelearning parent based in rural Toyono-cho, Osaka Prefecture. Matsuura
is one of several contributing authors of a Japanese book published in
1999, titled *Warau Fu-toko* (literally: "Happy Without School"), which
extolls the virtues of children not attending school in Japan. Matsuura
and her son each regularly put out printed versions of homelearning
newsletters as well. ("Michi-kusa," by the way, is a Japanese expression
meaning to take one's time and smell the roses along the way.)
(4) HOTTO RUUMU [HOT ROOM] (japanese)
--> http://www.aay.mtci.ne.jp/~shine/kimiko/
Website hosted by Kimiko Saito of Fukushima Prefecture, parent of a
*fu-toko* child who was enrolled in, and has since graduated from, the
home-based education program of Clonlara School in Ann Arbor, Michigan in
the US. Saito also is one of the contributing authors of the *Warau
Fu-toko* book mentioned above. (The Chinese kanji characters for this
website's name, "hot-to-ruu-mu," are also a play on words, roughly
meaning "a person walking carefree in a dream.")
(5) IKUTA FAMILY GA YUKU [HERE COMES THE IKUTA FAMILY] (japanese)
--> http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~iku/
Meet the Ikuta homelearning family from the city of Kobe, Hyogo
Prefecture. They've set up a colorful, creative website to introduce
themselves and some of the things they love doing together. The main page
features a simple animated cartoon, so it takes a bit of time to load.
But stick around: The rest of the site features lots of artwork and nice,
clear photos. (Don't leave without checking out the cool shots of the
frogs!)
(6) IO ["ee-oh"] (japanese)
--> http://www.itoh.org/io/
Website set up by Miyoshi Itoh of Tokyo and Yuko Inoue of Saitama
Prefecture, both parents of *fu-toko* children. Heavy emphasis in this
website on children's rights and other human rights. Itoh, who spent two
years living in Denmark with her children, has written about their
experiences there in an extended series of articles for the Tokyo
Shimbun, a major metro daily newspaper in Japan's capital city. Both Itoh
and Inoue are contributing authors of the *Warau Fu-toko* book mentioned
in listing #3 above. (And now, for those who are interested, a nonschool
quiz: The name of this website, "Io," comes from both (1) the name of a
woman loved by which mythological Greek deity? AND (2) the name of a
volcanically active moon affiliated with which planet of the solar
system?) [Answers to be found further down in this newsletter.]
(7) KODOMO ISHA [CHILDREN'S DOCTOR] (japanese)
--> http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~dw3r-isbs/ryoko.html
Website of Ryoko Ishibashi, a Tokyo-based pediatrician and parent of a
*fu-toko* child. This site includes info about Dr. Ishibashi's personal
experiences as a parent of a school avoider in Japan, backed up with lots
of other professional childcare advice to parents from her position as a
medical specialist. Dr. Ishibashi is yet another of the contributing
authors of the *Warau Fu-toko* book listed above in #3.
(8) KUBO HOMESCHOOL FAMILY (japanese)
--> http://www.seaple-n.icc.ne.jp/~yoshikok/
Website of Yoshiko Kubo, one of the veterans of the homelearning
community in Japan. She lives in Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, located
about 30 minutes from Tokyo. Kubo has been homelearning in Japan with her
two children, ages nine and 12, from the beginning. Her website includes
a report on her family's travels last summer to Canada and the United
States, where they enjoyed staying with other homelearning families. More
recently, Kubo appeared as a panelist at a symposium in Tokyo on 3 June
to help introduce homelearning as a positive alternative to conventional
schools in Japan. She also regularly puts out two printed newsletters in
Japanese -- one by the "Sweet Heart" social childcare network she heads,
and another called "LIVE" (as in "live and learn") that specifically
covers homelearning matters. And Kubo has self-published a book titled
*Kodomo wa Asobi no Tensai* ("Children are Geniuses at Playing"), which
introduces some of her and her children's homelearning adventures. Busy,
busy!
(9) MISAWA HOME EDUCATORS SUPPORT GROUP (english)
--> http://members.xoom.com/MHESG/
Website of the 35th Support Group, a Christian-oriented homelearning
support network in Japan for US military and civilian families stationed
at the Misawa Air Base in Misawa, Aomori Prefecture. This site includes
sections on homelearning resources and curriculums. (Note: You may
encounter, as we did, several errors in the loading of this particular
website.)
(10) MUKAI FAMILY TIMES (english)
--> http://members.tripod.com/mukaifamilytimes/homeschooling.html
Christian-oriented homelearning website of Katheryn Mukai and family,
currently living in Tokyo. Though Mukai says the site is in need of
updating and that her family will be leaving Japan soon for Raleigh,
North Carolina, we are nevertheless happy to include her "Mukai Family
Times" here. Katheryn Mukai is originally from the United States and has
10 years of homelearning under her belt, in both the US and Japan, with
her three children. She also helped with the launching of the
"Homeschooling in Japan" website (see listing #1 above) and has been an
active contributor to that site. We will miss having the Mukai family in
Japan, but look forward to maybe seeing a "Stateside edition" of the
Mukai Family Times in the future!
(11) THINK SMALL (japanese)
--> http://www.lain.ais.ne.jp/~iris1226/
Website of Yumi Matsushima of Tokyo, parent of a *fu-toko* child. Tons of
links to be found throughout Matsushima's site, including to her "Museum
of Rainbow" section, where she displays artwork, and her new "World of
Iris" section featuring her own poetry in Japanese. For those who like
some simple music to go with their browsing, there is a link to that too!
Matsushima is another of the contributing authors of the *Warau Fu-toko*
book mentioned above in listing #3.
(12) TORIA'S HOUSE IN USA (japanese)
--> http://www.geocities.co.jp/HeartLand-Sumire/8473/index.html
Website of a homelearning parent from Japan (she goes by the nickname of
"Mama-chanee") who is now living in Detroit, Michigan. She and her family
started homelearning last year. The site features a special section
(click on the blackboard with the apple) that provides some links to
other English- and Japanese-language sites for homelearning newcomers.
(13) YOSHII'S HOME PAGE (japanese)
--> http://www.alpha-net.ne.jp/users2/gratias/index.html
Christian-oriented homelearning website of the Yoshii family of Tokyo.
Mr. Haruto Yoshii, who has been homelearning in Japan with his three
children for the last 10 years, has lots of opinions about homelearning,
education and Christianity. He shares with us a plethora of his original
essays on these and other topics on his website. Some nice photos of the
family are featured on the site too.
[Answers to nonschool quiz in listing #6: (1) Zeus (2) Jupiter]
* * * *
WISH I'D SAID THAT (Quote of the Day):
"[E]ducation is not achieved when you have completed college. It is
happening every moment. The Western system has emphasized the
achievement, the success. And I say to students, seek not success, but
seek fulfillment."
--Holistic educator Satish Kumar, in *Kyoto Journal*, No. 43, Spring 2000
-- Views from the world of learning in Japan --
Welcome to the 11 June 2000 edition of KnoK (pronounced "knock") NEWS, an
informal and periodic bulletin concerning issues of learning in Japan. It
is brought to you by the Covert family -- Kazumi, Kenya and Brian -- a
multicultural, homelearning family in Osaka, Japan.
KnoK stands for *Kodomo no Kokoro*, meaning "Heart of a Child" in
Japanese. It is our belief that the heart of any child is indeed at the
center of true learning, wherever and however such learning may take
place.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
EDITOR'S WELCOME: Once again, greetings everybody! The humid summer heat
is already well upon us in parts of Japan, and with the approach of
summer come the usual thoughts of vacations, festivals and the getting
together of friends, old and new. It is in this spirit that we bring you
our feature this time: an introduction to Japan-based homelearning
families on the Web.
We hope you will take some time and enjoy browsing around the websites
and homepages you see here, whether they be in English or Japanese.
There's no better way to get acquainted with the homelearning community
here in Japan, a community that is small in number (2,000 to 3,000
homelearners nationwide, by unofficial estimates) but large in spirit.
You'll find sites here from various parts of Japan, and each site as
unique as the family or group that put it together.
It should be noted, however, that not all of the families included here
are "technically" homelearners. In Japan, there are thousands of
schoolchildren who, for whatever reason, have decided they will not go to
school. This is known as *fu-toko* ("school avoidance" or "school
nonattendance"). *Fu-toko* is more or less a state of "educational limbo"
in which a child stays at home to avoid school, with the idea that,
sooner or later, she/he will probably be placed back into the mainstream
school system once things are smoothed over.
This is different from homelearning in Japan, which involves a family's
formal declaration to learn at home independently of school, not just
staying at home to avoid school. In any case, since *fu-toko* sometimes
is the starting point for families in Japan to discover and embrace
homelearning, we wanted to respect that by including the voices of some
prominent *fu-toko* families here as well.
So, is homelearning a workable educational choice in Japan? Most
definitely, yes. But don't just take our word for it: Look here at what
some Japanese homelearners themselves are doing on the Web -- and with
their lives. They are proof positive (if any were needed) that
homelearning can be done in Japan, and be done well. These families and
organizations are part of a living, breathing community of home-based
learners in Japan that is slowly but steadily rising in number and, as
time goes on, learning the value of networking and uniting. These are
people who are helping to change the face of Japanese education forever
in their own humble ways.
Feel free to pass this info around and share it with others. If you come
across any Japanese or Japan-based homelearning families on the Web that
we may have missed, let us know and we promise to follow it up in a
future edition of KnoK NEWS.
In the meantime, and in the spirit of summer, enjoy!
-- Brian Covert
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
ON THE WEB WITH HOMELEARNING FAMILIES IN JAPAN
(1) HOMESCHOOLING IN JAPAN (english)
--> http://www2.gol.com/users/milkat/index.html
Your "one-stop support network" for home-based learning in Japan: This is
by far the most comprehensive resource guide and gathering place on the
Web for Japanese and foreign-resident homelearners in Japan. The
webmaster is Katherine Combs, originally from the US (Seattle,
Washington) and now doing home-based learning with her family in Tokyo.
Says Combs: "'Homeschooling in Japan' was created to bring together home
learners through monthly outings, and encourages families to get involved
in helping plan social/learning opportunities for our children." The
site's newsletter, discussion list and other resources are handled by
homelearning parent Aileen Kawagoe, originally from Singapore and now
living in Japan with her family in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture. The
"Homeschooling in Japan" website is also mentioned in the book "Japan For
Kids: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Their Children" by Diane
Wiltshire and Jeanne Huey (Kodansha International, 2000), a new edition
of which has just hit the bookstores.
(2) HOME SCHOOLING NETWORK - HIMEJI (japanese)
--> http://www2h.biglobe.ne.jp/~hsn-hime/
Website of an independent support group headed by Tomiko Kugai of Himeji,
Hyogo Prefecture. A respected homelearning advocate in Japan, Kugai has
been homelearning with her daughter for about six years now. We are proud
to have featured Kugai's two-part "Q & A on Homeschooling in Japan" in
recent editions of KnoK NEWS. Her homelearning activities have also been
covered in Japanese TV news programs, and in magazine and newspaper
articles. She puts out a printed version of her support group's
newsletter as well.
(3) HOME SCHOOLING NETWORK - MICHIKUSA (japanese)
--> http://www09.u-page.so-net.ne.jp/tj8/hsn-miti/
Website of an independent support group led by Kimiyo Matsuura, a
homelearning parent based in rural Toyono-cho, Osaka Prefecture. Matsuura
is one of several contributing authors of a Japanese book published in
1999, titled *Warau Fu-toko* (literally: "Happy Without School"), which
extolls the virtues of children not attending school in Japan. Matsuura
and her son each regularly put out printed versions of homelearning
newsletters as well. ("Michi-kusa," by the way, is a Japanese expression
meaning to take one's time and smell the roses along the way.)
(4) HOTTO RUUMU [HOT ROOM] (japanese)
--> http://www.aay.mtci.ne.jp/~shine/kimiko/
Website hosted by Kimiko Saito of Fukushima Prefecture, parent of a
*fu-toko* child who was enrolled in, and has since graduated from, the
home-based education program of Clonlara School in Ann Arbor, Michigan in
the US. Saito also is one of the contributing authors of the *Warau
Fu-toko* book mentioned above. (The Chinese kanji characters for this
website's name, "hot-to-ruu-mu," are also a play on words, roughly
meaning "a person walking carefree in a dream.")
(5) IKUTA FAMILY GA YUKU [HERE COMES THE IKUTA FAMILY] (japanese)
--> http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~iku/
Meet the Ikuta homelearning family from the city of Kobe, Hyogo
Prefecture. They've set up a colorful, creative website to introduce
themselves and some of the things they love doing together. The main page
features a simple animated cartoon, so it takes a bit of time to load.
But stick around: The rest of the site features lots of artwork and nice,
clear photos. (Don't leave without checking out the cool shots of the
frogs!)
(6) IO ["ee-oh"] (japanese)
--> http://www.itoh.org/io/
Website set up by Miyoshi Itoh of Tokyo and Yuko Inoue of Saitama
Prefecture, both parents of *fu-toko* children. Heavy emphasis in this
website on children's rights and other human rights. Itoh, who spent two
years living in Denmark with her children, has written about their
experiences there in an extended series of articles for the Tokyo
Shimbun, a major metro daily newspaper in Japan's capital city. Both Itoh
and Inoue are contributing authors of the *Warau Fu-toko* book mentioned
in listing #3 above. (And now, for those who are interested, a nonschool
quiz: The name of this website, "Io," comes from both (1) the name of a
woman loved by which mythological Greek deity? AND (2) the name of a
volcanically active moon affiliated with which planet of the solar
system?) [Answers to be found further down in this newsletter.]
(7) KODOMO ISHA [CHILDREN'S DOCTOR] (japanese)
--> http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~dw3r-isbs/ryoko.html
Website of Ryoko Ishibashi, a Tokyo-based pediatrician and parent of a
*fu-toko* child. This site includes info about Dr. Ishibashi's personal
experiences as a parent of a school avoider in Japan, backed up with lots
of other professional childcare advice to parents from her position as a
medical specialist. Dr. Ishibashi is yet another of the contributing
authors of the *Warau Fu-toko* book listed above in #3.
(8) KUBO HOMESCHOOL FAMILY (japanese)
--> http://www.seaple-n.icc.ne.jp/~yoshikok/
Website of Yoshiko Kubo, one of the veterans of the homelearning
community in Japan. She lives in Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, located
about 30 minutes from Tokyo. Kubo has been homelearning in Japan with her
two children, ages nine and 12, from the beginning. Her website includes
a report on her family's travels last summer to Canada and the United
States, where they enjoyed staying with other homelearning families. More
recently, Kubo appeared as a panelist at a symposium in Tokyo on 3 June
to help introduce homelearning as a positive alternative to conventional
schools in Japan. She also regularly puts out two printed newsletters in
Japanese -- one by the "Sweet Heart" social childcare network she heads,
and another called "LIVE" (as in "live and learn") that specifically
covers homelearning matters. And Kubo has self-published a book titled
*Kodomo wa Asobi no Tensai* ("Children are Geniuses at Playing"), which
introduces some of her and her children's homelearning adventures. Busy,
busy!
(9) MISAWA HOME EDUCATORS SUPPORT GROUP (english)
--> http://members.xoom.com/MHESG/
Website of the 35th Support Group, a Christian-oriented homelearning
support network in Japan for US military and civilian families stationed
at the Misawa Air Base in Misawa, Aomori Prefecture. This site includes
sections on homelearning resources and curriculums. (Note: You may
encounter, as we did, several errors in the loading of this particular
website.)
(10) MUKAI FAMILY TIMES (english)
--> http://members.tripod.com/mukaifamilytimes/homeschooling.html
Christian-oriented homelearning website of Katheryn Mukai and family,
currently living in Tokyo. Though Mukai says the site is in need of
updating and that her family will be leaving Japan soon for Raleigh,
North Carolina, we are nevertheless happy to include her "Mukai Family
Times" here. Katheryn Mukai is originally from the United States and has
10 years of homelearning under her belt, in both the US and Japan, with
her three children. She also helped with the launching of the
"Homeschooling in Japan" website (see listing #1 above) and has been an
active contributor to that site. We will miss having the Mukai family in
Japan, but look forward to maybe seeing a "Stateside edition" of the
Mukai Family Times in the future!
(11) THINK SMALL (japanese)
--> http://www.lain.ais.ne.jp/~iris1226/
Website of Yumi Matsushima of Tokyo, parent of a *fu-toko* child. Tons of
links to be found throughout Matsushima's site, including to her "Museum
of Rainbow" section, where she displays artwork, and her new "World of
Iris" section featuring her own poetry in Japanese. For those who like
some simple music to go with their browsing, there is a link to that too!
Matsushima is another of the contributing authors of the *Warau Fu-toko*
book mentioned above in listing #3.
(12) TORIA'S HOUSE IN USA (japanese)
--> http://www.geocities.co.jp/HeartLand-Sumire/8473/index.html
Website of a homelearning parent from Japan (she goes by the nickname of
"Mama-chanee") who is now living in Detroit, Michigan. She and her family
started homelearning last year. The site features a special section
(click on the blackboard with the apple) that provides some links to
other English- and Japanese-language sites for homelearning newcomers.
(13) YOSHII'S HOME PAGE (japanese)
--> http://www.alpha-net.ne.jp/users2/gratias/index.html
Christian-oriented homelearning website of the Yoshii family of Tokyo.
Mr. Haruto Yoshii, who has been homelearning in Japan with his three
children for the last 10 years, has lots of opinions about homelearning,
education and Christianity. He shares with us a plethora of his original
essays on these and other topics on his website. Some nice photos of the
family are featured on the site too.
[Answers to nonschool quiz in listing #6: (1) Zeus (2) Jupiter]
* * * *
> NEXT TIME: Voices of Japanese Homelearners* * * *
WISH I'D SAID THAT (Quote of the Day):
"[E]ducation is not achieved when you have completed college. It is
happening every moment. The Western system has emphasized the
achievement, the success. And I say to students, seek not success, but
seek fulfillment."
--Holistic educator Satish Kumar, in *Kyoto Journal*, No. 43, Spring 2000