Hello, I am Kurihara, the second term principal of Kamiyama Monosasu Juku.
With each passing year, it seems like the years go by faster and faster, and 2016 has flown by in the blink of an eye.
The mountains in Kamiyama, Tokushima Prefecture, where I live, are covered with white frost and the air is crisp and crisp these days. I have started 2017 with renewed spirit.
But first, I'm sorry for the late report. The "Kamiyama Monosasu Juku (employment-based vocational training) 2nd period," which was held in Kamiyama Town for six months from July to December last year, successfully graduated 10 students on December 19th.
At the same time, my duties as principal were over, and although I felt sad, I felt a sense of relief that we had finished without a single dropout, and I was able to relax and enjoy the end of the year.
In the classroom at the end of the graduation ceremony.
While living in the unfamiliar town of Kamiyama, he was confused and hit dead ends as he tried to teach others something he had never experienced before, and spent his days in a constant state of flux and hecticness, going through trial and error.
This time, I would like to look back on the past six months at Kamiyama Monosasu Juku from the perspective of the school's principal.
What does the school want to convey to its students?
This is an illustration drawn by Akko-chan, a student in the Kamiyama Juku KATAROG course . She drew this heartwarming illustration during the self-introduction time of the Kamiyama Monosasu students to help them remember their names and faces. It captures their unique characteristics.
Preparations for opening the school began in February, and there was a lot to do within the set time frame: preparing documents to submit to the prefecture, creating a concept to determine the direction of the school, arranging classrooms, preparing, creating a curriculum, assigning instructors, and holding interviews for admission. I was constantly traveling back and forth between Tokyo and Tokushima.
The most difficult part of the preparation for opening the school was coming up with a concept. We had many long meetings to decide what we wanted to do, what we should teach, who would be the best person to teach it, and what kind of condition we wanted our students to be in when they graduated.
To be honest, at this point, I was overwhelmed by the number of things I had to judge and decide, and the stress started to get to me.
However, after much deliberation, it was decided that Monosus would develop not just the type of people it wants "now," but the type of people it wants "for the future," by equipping its employees with the " ability to create " and " the ability to communicate ," and by developing them into people who could become "insiders."
( Click here for more information about the person behind the account.)
Although the direction had been decided, we were also racking our brains over how to put together the curriculum to achieve that goal.
However, no matter how carefully you prepare, things rarely go as planned, and something unexpected will happen. Of course, it is not good to neglect preparation, and I believe that only by making careful preparations can you respond effectively to the situation at hand.
The same goes for building a curriculum; we carefully consider it beforehand, but we also decided to build a cram school by making flexible adjustments as the curriculum progresses and students' level of proficiency increases.
The one thing I always tried to keep in mind was "how to move in the best direction for the students participating in the school."
Principal = The liaison between students and ◎◎◎
During an interview in the summer, the school requested that photos be taken in nature, and had a student take the photos, but they were rejected.
First of all, what is a "principal"?
Ever since I started preparing for the cram school, the word that always made me feel uneasy was "principal."
"What is a school principal?" "What is the role of a school principal?"
It's different from being an elementary school principal and it's a different role to have in a school with dozens of staff members.
Head of a cram school? It's a title that doesn't really give a clear picture of what you do.
Perhaps it was because I was there feeling that I was not worthy of the title "school principal."
However, as the person in charge of the Kamiyama Monosasu School,
I thought that I had to achieve the minimum of "All 10 students who participate in the seminar will acquire web skills and graduate (and it would be even better if they enjoyed it)." That is also the role of the principal, but somehow I didn't feel comfortable with it.
It was in this vague atmosphere that Kamiyama Monosasu Juku began, welcoming 10 students from all over the country.
During the opening ceremony, when the president gave his speech, I was nervous, wondering if I had to say something incredibly wonderful.
Just adding the word "principal" seems to make the bar much higher.
Furthermore, many of the students had left their jobs and made the big decision to come to Kamiyama, so I felt the pressure of wanting to live up to their expectations and determination and make them say, "I'm glad I participated," and "It's beneficial for me in the future."
The image of "school principal" just kept growing, and it felt like it was taking on a life of its own inside me.
During this time, we had the opportunity to participate in cleaning activities in the local area, such as tunnels and roads, as part of an adoption activity that was part of a joint curriculum with Kamiyama Juku's KATALOG course.
As someone who has always enjoyed physical activity, I took the initiative to use the lawnmower and other tools, learning and having fun while also devoting myself to the cleaning activities, and before I knew it, I was taking part in the activity as just another participant.
A scene from the adoption activity. Kamiyama Monosasu Juku student Akamine-san gets a large piece of trash.
At one point, I suddenly calmed down and thought about it.
Even though the class was part of the curriculum, he was taking the initiative and enjoying it without worrying about the other students.
There were many students who had never used a lawnmower or anything like that before, and although the aim was for them to have a variety of experiences like that, they ended up doing what they wanted to do.
In my current position, I thought, shouldn't I gently reach out to those who can't say that they want to do it themselves and help them gain experience? Shouldn't I give all my students the opportunity to gain experience?
This embarrassing realization made me feel like the role of principal at Kamiyama Monosasu Juku finally fell into my mind.
That role was to act as a conduit between all matters related to Kamiyama Monosasu Juku and its students.
It's difficult to put into words, but connecting the dots was my role and I did coordinate with the instructors, but I only did this as one task in running the course.
When I look back at what I have done and what I have done, I realize that I have been involved in many small and large coordination projects to connect students. In fact, I might say that that is all I have been doing.
In other words, I came to understand that the "principal" is the "director" in my own way. And I realized once again that this is the most important role I play.
Since then, the main players at Kamiyama Monosasu Juku have been the students. He has devoted himself to his role as "principal" to ensure that the school is the best possible place for the students and that they have the best experience possible.
Then, the heavy weight on my shoulders was lifted, and I was able to interact with each student as my true self, without having to play the role of the "principal" I had in my mind (although the students said I was wearing pants made of steel).
I no longer feel strange being called "Principal," and have even come to think of it as a kind of nickname.
I was involved as the second principal of Kamiyama Monosasu Juku for six months.
I was able to experience many things that I had never experienced before.
I think I was able to get this far by thinking a lot, stopping, then moving forward, and repeating trial and error in my own way.
Kamiyama Monosasu Juku was an opportunity for me to meet so many people, including other students.
I feel that these six months here were a valuable experience that allowed me to grow significantly as a person.
I wonder if I was doing a good job as the principal of Kamiyama Monosasu Juku, or if there were things the students would have liked me to do more of.
However, I believe that I was able to tackle the Kamiyama Monosasu Juku in my own way and give it my all over the six months.
I would like to end this first part by expressing my gratitude for having been involved with Kamiyama Monosasu Juku in the town of Kamiyama.
thank you.
(Continued in the second part: scheduled to be posted next month in February)
KURIHARA Tsutomu