Official Day of Conversation

Today our group of 20 American teachers was officially welcomed, in a City Hall ceremony, by Mayor Kaoru Kurata and Superintendent Kiyoshi Murata from the Board of Education of Ikeda-city. Each gentleman delivered a heartfelt speech in carefully-prepared English and we each introduced ourselves in equally carefully-prepared Japanese::*Watashi wa Massachusetts no Elizabeth Browder desu!* Our spokesperson for the day extended our greetings and received a gift on behalf of our group. Then, with the help of an interpreter, we exchanged questions and observations -- about the nature of the national curriculum and local goals in education, about our roles as teachers in modern fast-changing cultures, about similarities and differences in Japanese and American schools. The earnest sincerity of our mutual desire to understand and then create an international conversational bridge was remarkable and very touching. Japan and the United States have major similarities as developed nations, and also differences in traditions and customs and historical experience.
In the afternoon we traveled to a beautiful hilly area of Osaka prefecture (prefectures are similar to our states) to Osaka Kyoiku University. We were greeted by the President, received gifts to each of us (including a university t-shirt, of course!) and heard extensive and interestng presentations from four professors and a panel of a dozen students. The subjects ranged from goals and curricula of teacher training programs in Japan to special challenges of programs such as special needs. Questions and answers were fielded by an able interpreter who was masterful in catching and conveying the substance and subtleties of our exchange. The day was topped off by a dinner of okonomoyaki -- a Kansai speciality of heavenly grilled foods which you have to experience to believe -- with Matt and Olivia *Mrs. Bernow's son and his friend, both teachers of conversational English in Osaka. No pictures today due to nature of Internet connection. Maybe tomorrow!