SPICE Collaboration with Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School

On November 13, 2023, I had the very emotional and rewarding experience of visiting Natori City and Sendai City in Miyagi Prefecture for the first time. Before visiting Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School, Jun Ogata, Director of the school’s Ikuei International Center, thoughtfully took me to an area in Natori City called Yuriage that was severely affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. The resulting tsunami took 966 lives in Yuriage. The disasters of that day are collectively known as “3/11.”

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In the article “Natori: Perpetuating the Memory of 3/11,” the following is stated about the cenotaph that is the centerpiece of the city’s Remembrance Zone; photo above. It is a “a figurative representation of the souls of the victims ascending to heaven and of residents’ determination to rebuild their hometown. Standing 8.4 meters tall, it is the exact height of the tsunami that ravaged the area. The memorial plaque carries the names of many of the dead and speaks of the terror of the disaster and the importance of disaster management.”

The Remembrance Zone was fresh on my mind when I arrived at Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School in Sendai City. I had the privilege of giving a lecture titled “What Does It Mean to Be a Global Citizen?” to former students of Stanford e-Sendai Ikuei, an online course taught by SPICE Instructor Alison Harsch. Other interested students also attended. I decided to focus my talk on being a global citizen in large part because of Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School’s emphasis on cultivating international mindedness and perspectives to navigate an increasingly globalizing world. 

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Harsch has noted “Stanford e-Sendai Ikuei was designed to challenge students to examine the world from new perspectives as they consider their own role on the global stage.” Prior to my visit to Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School, I didn’t realize that I would have the chance to visit Natori, and the emotions from my visit to the Remembrance Zone and the surrounding community made me feel that the topic, “What Does It Mean to Be a Global Citizen?,” was even more relevant. Photo above: Alison Harsch at Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School, courtesy Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School.

During and after my talk, I had the chance to speak with students about my visit to Natori. Many spoke about the support that their community had received from the United States and other countries after 3/11. I could sense in them a heightened international mindedness and understanding of perspectives to navigate an increasingly globalizing world. I admire the emphasis that is placed upon this by Principal Takehiko Katoh, Director Jun Ogata, Instructor Alison Harsch, and teachers at the school. As I departed Sendai City and reflected upon my short stay there and in Natori City, I was reminded of the Japanese proverb, “After rain comes fair weather.” 

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Alison Harsch and I would like to extend our gratitude to Takehiko Katoh (Principal), Jun Ogata (Director, Ikuei International Center; photo above, far right), Kaori Ishiyama (Vice Principal, Sendai Ikuei Foreign Language Course; photo above, second from right), Rentaro Mereu (Stanford e-Sendai Ikuei main contact; photo above, far left), and the Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School staff for their endless support and assistance to make the Stanford e-Sendai Ikuei course possible.

Launched in summer 2022, Stanford e-Sendai Ikuei is a collaborative course between SPICE and Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School. The program offers Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School students the opportunity to develop their English and critical thinking skills while examining their roles on a global scale. Stanford e-Sendai Ikuei is one of SPICE’s local student programs in Japan.