As the title to my slide show shown at
Community Meeting attested, my trip to Japan was awesome. To do it justice would take pages of
text, so I will highlight some of the wonderful things I got to experience
while there. Whether it was seeing famous cultural sites, visiting schools,
touring museums and a zoo, eating delicious food, attending a baseball game, or
reconnecting with old friends, every moment of my trip was spectacular. None of
this would have been possible were it not for the support (financial and
otherwise) of SET-J and the Lawrence School PTO, to whom I am forever grateful.
Visiting shrines and temples of both the
Buddhist and Shinto religions, and learning how to worship at each, gave me
insight to the ancient cultures still present in Japan. Walking through Kyoto, I was
transported back in time as I saw women dressed in traditional kimonos. Some of the places I visited in Kyoto
were sites my late father had visited decades ago. Being able to stand in some of the same places that he had
made the trip extra special.
A site visited by every Lawrence School teacher
each year is the Peace Park and Museum in Hiroshima. There are no words to describe what it is like to stand at
ground zero there, and to see the beautiful and haunting memorials that have
been erected around the park. I
was honored to be able to present the 1,000 paper cranes made by Lawrence
students, with a former Lawrence student there to help me. I also laid flowers at the Cenotaph, on
behalf of our school. Having a
private audience with a survivor of the atom bomb was both enlightening and
humbling.
While seeing famous sites is certainly an
important part of the trip to Japan, equally important is visiting schools and
learning about education in Japan.
I was fortunate to visit elementary schools in Kyoto, Osaka and
Tokyo. My focus was how young
children acquire reading and writing skills in Japanese. I noticed many similarities in the way
that early literacy is taught in Japan with how we teach it in the United
States, as well as how it is supported and strengthened in later grades. At the schools in Kyoto and Tokyo, I
spent the day with former Lawrence students, who served as very able
interpreters!
Reuniting with former students was definitely a
highlight above highlights for me.
So many of them were able to attend the reunion dinner, held in Tokyo,
with their parents. Lawrence has
quite a contingent in Japan. As a
huge baseball fan, I like to compare it to Red Sox Nation, which we know has
members everywhere. “Lawrence
Nation,” with its Lawrence Loyalty, is now spread wide. Again, I thank the PTO and the members
of SET-J here and in Japan, and their relatives in Japan, for the
experience of a lifetime.
Terry Jewell
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