Minnesota Japanese School: Education

I was going through files the other day on my computer and I discovered that I had a link to the Minnesota Japanese School. I went to go check out the web address and see if it was still working because I had no idea what it was. When I clicked back on the link the first thing that caught my eye was how the front page provides a link for English speakers who want to learn Japanese to go elsewhere. This school seems to want to be clear that people who speak Japanese are able to attain an education in their native tongue and to save others the hassle of mistaken identity. The other school for English learners to learn Japanese is Mori no Ike in the Concordia Languages Villages.

The majority of the pages are in Japanese which is completely understandable. They're marketing to a specific language group, though they clearly state that the school is open to all. After clicking on classes, any visitor to the site can see that all of the teachers are very friendly women, divided up by the grade and class they teach.

Clicking on "Gallery" takes the visitor to a long page of photos showing what the school teaches and shows students participating in calligraphy. The teachers are also shown teaching the children stroke order and everyone appears happy and friendly while learning. Having this school in Minnesota is really cool because it doesn't mean that the students are conforming to a specific nationalist view, but allowed to learn without English. The school seems to parallel school in Japan even, based on class schedules and subject matter.

Overall I was thrilled to rediscover my discovery of this school because it presents great opportunities for children to learn in Japanese without having to return to Japan or one of the coastal American states. This is just one of multiple examples that exemplify Minnesota's, and the Midwest's, love for Japan.