Hello. I am Ito, the principal of the 3rd term of Kamiyama Monosasu Juku.
Kamiyama Monosasu Juku is a school where you can learn web technology while living in Kamiyama Town, Tokushima Prefecture.
The third class, who graduated in December of last year, are starting new lives in their own places this year.
Looking back, a lot of things happened, big and small, in the six months from July to December 2017.
This time, I, Ito, would like to report on the students' activities, including my impressions from my position as the school's principal.
July: Enrollment and the start of a new life
It is customary for Monosasu Juku to spend the first month in Kamiyama Town living at Kamiyama Ski Land. Students from Niigata, Tokyo, Aichi, and other parts of Japan live together there.
(Left) Kadowaki (black belt in karate) sends oxygen into the furnace with a beautiful posture, as if she were blowing a blowgun.
(Right) We all made our own homemade pizza using the oven at the ski resort.
A booth with a great atmosphere in the ski resort. We borrowed it for a movie screening.
Everyone rejected the horror movie the principal had chosen.
Saturdays and Sundays are home cooking days. Uchimura always takes the initiative in cooking at "Ucchi Shokudo" run by the family.
Living together in one place after graduating from the workforce is a very special experience. To be completely honest, there were many arguments between the members in the first month.
I considered simply discouraging them from arguing, but seeing each person asserting themselves without fear of confrontation made me feel that this was much healthier than "not saying what you want to say." Also, seeing the students doing things that I find difficult to do myself, I felt like I had been taught by them after just one month.
After just one month, I feel like each member's character has become more distinct(?) and we have come to understand each other more quickly.
This is probably where the catchphrase "Are they friends or not?", which symbolizes the third generation members, was born.
August: Choosing a home that fits your lifestyle
After living together at Skiland for a month, each student will decide where to live. In order to realize the lifestyle they envisioned, each student independently searched for a place to live while living together at Skiland. They decided on where to live for various reasons, such as "We want to live together!", "We want to live in a stylish room!", and "We just want a roof over our heads, so we want to decide quickly!"
These stylish girls end up living in Nishibun Sumihajime Housing.
How stylish to have Irish music played on an orchestral instrument in your home.
Stylish girls take stylish photos too
Two men taking on a stylish challenge.
The school principal takes on a stylish challenge.
The members of what would later be known as the "pseudo-family" known as Sorter House.
From the left: father, son, mother.
"Mom, is this how we do it here?"
"Mom, I don't really understand that."
It was a hectic two months, from a month at the ski resort to moving to a new home.
Of course, the curriculum for training web engineers will continue during this time, but I am impressed that everyone has managed to master the content.
By the end of the second month, you will have started to get used to your new lifestyle and will have time to think about how to have fun.
September to October: Have fun with the extra time you've got
One of the most important elements in human learning is how to play.
If you stay tense all the time, your brain will become rigid.
I got used to where I was living and learning at the cram school, and also had a lot of fun.
Someone once said, "Study, rest and play in equal measure."
Basics of fun in Kamiyama. Playing in the river.
Why does that happen in the river, Second Nagao?
A sports exchange event where participants rent a local gymnasium and enjoy basketball, volleyball, table tennis, and other sports.
After the match, the submission battle began. The energy was bursting forth.
Not only do you enjoy physical activities, but you can also enjoy the culture.
On holidays, I enjoy a beer in the middle of the day at RISE & WIN Brewing in Kamikatsu.
Just eating on the lawn at Kamaya is enjoyable.
Two lawn fairies appear at noon.
You can also enjoy the music by DJing.
A symphony of forest, babbling brook and flute.
After this, she (a black belt in karate) reportedly said, "I can hear the voices of the forest," and disappeared into the forest.
Kamiyama Town is what we call a rural area, and there are not as many things "prepared" as in urban areas.
In environments where there is scarcity, the ingenuity and wisdom surrounding "food, clothing, and shelter" is often highlighted, but there are also many ingenuity examples for "play."
Enjoy the natural environment as it is.
We try to provide ourselves with things that are available in urban areas and blend them into the rural environment.
You can see ordinary things from a different perspective and laugh with your friends.
"There's nothing in the countryside, so it's inconvenient."
It's a phrase you hear often, and it's probably true.
However, even in such an environment, the students were very healthy as they used their imaginations to come up with ways to play and have fun. They were able to think up ways to have fun without any stress, and it was completely natural.
This is purely my personal opinion, but I feel that people who are good at thinking up ways to "play" and "have fun" are always creating "fun" in both their work and their daily lives.
Yes, play is important.
November: Conflict, time given to worry
When November comes around, it is time to decide on your future path after graduating from the school.
I believe that this "time to worry" is the greatest gift we can give to our students at Kamiyama Monosasu Juku, our employment-based vocational training program.
You can mobilize all the "ways of thinking," "opinions of others," "your own will," "skills learned," and other things you have acquired at the school, and worry about them wholeheartedly. In other words, it's a set that opens the door to a new you and a new future. (Sometimes I find myself really envious of the students.)
However, I imagine that many of the students were anxious and worried about whether they would be able to proceed according to their desired career path, how they should proceed, and what kind of future would make them happy...
And during these worrying times, of course, they study hard, have fun at events, and also encounter troubles.
A scene from setting up a booth at the 4K Film Festival. Hara, the person in charge, demonstrated his excellent technique by entertaining the customers who visited the booth while barely managing to turn a profit.
Even during the difficult period of deciding on your career path, troubles in daily life can come your way.
Hara, a qualified first-class mechanic, worked hard to solve the car trouble. He dismantled the car in just a few minutes.
Meanwhile, Moroto had decided to go to Monosus Thailand at an early stage.
This was a rash move, due to my desire to quickly learn about Thai Buddhist culture.
When I asked the students about their future plans, many of them said, "I'm considering Monosus as one of my career options." I'm so grateful that they have studied hard for five months, learned about Monosus, and will then work with us in the future.
We had time to thoroughly discuss with the students who said they were interested in Monosus the various department heads and leaders at Monosus until we were both satisfied, and we successfully secured the acceptance of seven members into the company (including Monosus Thailand).
As the head of the school, I was taking the stance that "if the students are satisfied with their career path, it doesn't matter if it's outside the company or inside the company," and I was also of course thinking, "I hope that the career path that the students are satisfied with will be Monosas." It's embarrassing, but my students are pretty cute, so I thought it would be nice to work with them.
I remember that as the school principal, I was on edge as I waited for the students' career paths to be decided, with each department making love calls to the students, the students making love calls to each department, matching them up, and waiting for the students to make their decision to join the school.
Ugh, my stomach hurt.
December: Graduation ~The end is sure to come~
it was fun.
Yes, the principal thinks it was a fun school.
I'm sure the students thought it was fun too.
But the end will surely come.
I graduated from the school.
Group photo at the graduation ceremony. All the students are smiling with their diplomas in hand.
At the graduation party, the school principal received a surprise graduation certificate from the students.
"I never gave up on the stubborn students of Monosasu Juku's third term, and served as the school's principal until they safely graduated..."
Yeah, you guys were really strong (laughs).
This was the very last photo of everyone together.
Everyone has a bright smile, but the principal (second from the left in the front row) has an equally bright smile to his students.
The third Kamiyama Monosasu Juku was held over a period of six months.
An attempt at DIY human resource development in the ICT industry, where there is a shortage of human resources.
National efforts to support reemployment.
Attracting residents to mountainous areas where depopulation is a problem.
All of these are issues that are being considered problematic, and Monosasu Juku is largely intended to be an approach that answers them.
As I am in the position of person responsible for implementation, I am naturally aware of these issues and need to produce results in response to them.
Still, when I see this photo of everyone laughing, I can't help but think this inappropriately and without looking at the bigger picture:
“This is what I’m doing it for.”