Name: Should We Stay in Japanese Public School? | Life in Japan Episode 161
Uploaded: 2022-04-02T17:41:44.000Z
Duration: 10 min 1 s

to 不定詞

When we moved to Japan over 8 years ago, we knew we wanted our kids to grow up bilingual,

feeling as much at ease in English as they do in Japanese.

我が家の子供は 日本語と文化を学ぶ為 地元の公立校に通っています

過去形

So we put them into the Japanese school system from the start.

しかし 小学校卒業は 大きな分岐点でもありました

However, this year as elementary school graduation approached, so did a big choice.

将来的に母国の大学に行く為に 英語主体の教育に切り替えるか

Do we change over to an International or English-speaking school to prepare them for college in the States,

or let them continue in Japanese middle school?

日本の教育制度は のんびりとした幼稚園から始まり

中高に進学するにつれ 勉強も難しくなります

If you know about Japanese school culture, you know that it begins super laid back in kindergarten

教育制度を通して 社会人になる為の教養を身に付けます

and then gets more and more intense as students move towards Junior High and High School.

多文化の背景を持つ家庭では どんな課題があるでしょうか？

The goal of the system is to produce students who will become shyakaidin,

But how does that work for international families, who have feet in multiple worlds?

この夏 海外に行くかもしれないから

旅に出ると 部活と被るのが課題だったね

We won't tell you where just yet, you'll have to wait and see.

But if we did the big trip then we couldn't do bukatsu, so we let you guys choose, huh?

- トロフィーをもらった！ - すごい！

So did you have an awesome time at the school sports day?

And you did too Anna. I got four. She got four like papers.

We've had this for a while and have done nothing with it.

It's the little Reutter kids. It's our turn to go to school, right?

Here they come! Say bye Momma-chan, love you.

Alright. And wait I want to show everybody. Oh yes!

Ok, let's keep going. We don't want to be late for school.

Oh my goodness dude. What is going on there?

How about you Joshua? Did you start undoukai practice? Yep.

ジョシュアも運動会の練習してる？

Japanese schools have been great for our kids,

and even though we all work hard to bridge the language and cultural barrier,

it helps us be more connected to our local community.

日本の公教育は素晴らしいです

But not all of it is perfect for International families,

言葉の壁は大きなチャレンジでしたが 地域の皆さんと繋がる上で重要です

especially when your lifestyle requires more flexibility than is typically offered in the school system.

柔軟性が必要な 国際的な家庭においては 様々な課題に向き合ってきた事も事実です

We're living here in Japan, our kids go to school,

日本の学校では "部活" が大きな位置を占めています

Bukatsu is a big part of school life. It's not required,

放課後や週末 休暇の多くで 部活があります

But, it fills up their after school time, it fills up their weekends,

長期休暇は 母国に帰国したり プライベートでやるべき事が多くあります

And that for us just didn't work well because,

そこで娘達は 部活には入らない事にしました

As an international family, there's lot of trips we need to take, there's lot of things we need to do,

So the girls decided not to do bukatsu because they want to go with us on these trips.

A bit of sorrow now for a lifetime of joy.

Oh Joshua, 'sa'. That was was your hiragana of the day?

That looks fantastic. We finally did something.

Now there is still space for the gold plaque.

It's like the clouds are blue. Then the bottom of the clouds is yellow.

We got some good pictures though. Ok, let's go.

Choosing the right learning environment for your children is an important decision,

and at this point we are glad we have our kids in the local Japanese schools.

その意味で 日本の公教育に感謝しています

But our older kids in Junior High are now at a stage where they may need to switch over to an English-based education

中学に進学した娘達にとっては 英語主体の教育に切り替えるか 悩ましい時期でもあります

in order to prepare them for their future, but the choice is not an easy one.

Honestly we've been surprised by how good the local schools have been for them

何故なら 日本の中学校も素晴らしく 多くの利点もあるからです