SAD 22 superintendent details visit to Japan

HAMPDEN – After spending 18 days in Japan as part of a Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program, SAD 22 Superintendent Rick Lyons said he wants to engage more students in after-school activities and to create more diversity within the district.

Lyons told the board of directors Wednesday that “one of the most positive things” he witnessed during his visit to Japan last month was that every student participates in some form of recreation after school – whether line dancing, pingpong, martial arts or cooking.

“It was non-negotiable. You’d do it every day,” said Lyons, who is concerned that children often are excluded from clubs and programs.

Lyons said he aims to encourage diversity possibly by developing partnerships with schools outside the state; creating a foreign exchange program for students; and bringing in University of Maine student teachers from other countries. He also will encourage faculty to apply to the Fulbright program.

Lyons said that after visiting schools in Japan he came away with “a sincere appreciation for what we have.”

The classes he saw had as many as 42 children with only one teacher. There were no educational technicians and instead of individual laptops children used computer labs.

The school day lasted from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and all students were expected to complete an hour of homework.

Students were obedient, respectful and “exhibited compassion for others,” Lyons said. Before and after school, they did chores like sweeping and preparing food.

At around 11 a.m. the first-graders, who all wore bright yellow hats, would put on bibs and eat lunch while listening to soft music that would be piped in over the intercom.

When teachers left the room, students would mill around quietly. “It was just so marvelous,” Lyons said. “That’s what their home life was like. That’s how they were brought up. That’s the expectation.”

In Japan there are no discipline problems and no need for an attendance officer because truancy is not an issue, he said.

Japan has a national curriculum and a national pay scale for teachers who are hired for life.

When it comes to education, the United States and Japan are “like ships passing in the night,” Lyons said.

While the United States is focusing on accountability and testing, Japan wants to get away from that and encourage children to have “a greater appreciation for learning and a zest for life.”

American students don’t perform as well on math and science tests as those in Japan do, but more youngsters here indicate that they like those subjects, said Lyons. So Japan is “trying to strike that balance between doing well and loving what you’re doing.”

Japan also is focusing on increasing students’ technical abilities to provide a skilled labor force for industries and manufacturing companies.

Similar to the United States, Japan is thinking about “how to make sure that students can both attain and apply their knowledge,” he said.