616 Jane Stanford Way
Encina Hall, E005
Stanford, CA 94305-6060
0
mbacha@stanford.edu
maiko_tamagawa_bacha.jpg
MA
Maiko Tamagawa Bacha is the instructor for the Stanford e-Kawasaki Program and Stanford e-KyuSan U (Kyushu Sangyo University, Fukuoka Prefecture) for the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE).
Prior to joining SPICE, she worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan for 14 years and served in Tokyo, Japan; Bangkok, Thailand; Vientiane, Laos; and San Francisco, United States. She has experience working in different areas of international relations, including disarmament of conventional weapons, United Nations affairs, Japan–Laos bilateral relations, and public diplomacy. In her most recent role as Advisor for Educational Affairs at the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, she had an opportunity to work closely with SPICE to support its Reischauer Scholars Program, an online course on Japan and U.S.–Japan relations for U.S. high school students.
Maiko received a BA in American Area Studies from University of Tokyo, and an MA in International Policy Studies from Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. She was born in Fukuoka, Japan, and grew up in Chiba, Japan.
With communities across the United States now reflecting even greater diversity and complexity, our classrooms are also rapidly changing, and schools are faced with both opportunities and challenges in providing instruction that is rich and meaningful. Diverse student populations offer valuable opportunities for classroom and community enrichment.
Like many other communities, Asian and Asian American students come from many different parts of Asia and represent a wide spectrum of ethnicities, languages, histories, generations, cultures, and religions. Providing culturally and experientially responsive instruction to these students can be daunting.
In this webinar, SPICE welcomes Dr. Khatharya Um to discuss the diversity of our Asian and Asian American students, and share some pedagogical tools and approaches to support more effective teaching in culturally diverse classroom environments.
Join us via Zoom video webinar for a one-hour presentation, followed by 30 minutes of Q&A with Dr. Um.
Featured Speaker:
Dr. Khatharya Um
Professor Khatharya Um is Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, and Program Coordinator of Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies. She is also affiliated faculty of Global Studies, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, the Center for Race and Gender, and the Berkeley Human Rights Center, and serves on the UC system-wide Faculty Advisory Board on Southeast Asia. She was a Chancellor Public Scholar.
Professor Um’s research and teaching center on Southeast Asian politics and societies, Southeast Asian diaspora, refugee communities, educational access, genocide, and the politics of memory. Her publications include recent books From the Land of Shadows: War, Revolution and the Making of the Cambodian Diaspora (NYU Press, 2015) and Southeast Asian Migration: People on the Move in Search of Work, Refuge and Belonging (Sussex Academic Press, 2015).
Professor Um is also actively involved in community advocacy, principally on issues of refugees and educational equity. She has served on numerous boards of directors, including as Board Chair of the leading Washington DC-based Southeast Asian Resource Action Center, and as President of the National Association for the Education and Advancement of Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese Americans. She has received numerous awards and congressional recognitions for her community leadership and service.
On August 9, 2019, six students from SPICE’s Stanford e-Japan online course and three students from the Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP) were recognized during the 13th annual Japan Day at Stanford University. The nine honorees had the chance to share presentations of their research papers with an audience that included Consul General Tomohiko Uyama (Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco), Ambassador Michael Armacost (former U.S. ambassador to Japan), SPICE supporter Amanda Minami Chao, and Stanford Professor and SPICE advisor Indra Levy.
The program began with opening remarks by Consul General Uyama and his words resonated in me as I grappled with the fact that the celebratory Japan Day was being held on a solemn occasion, the 74th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. Consul General Uyama stated:
The Japan–U.S. alliance is the cornerstone of security, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. As we look at the global challenges we face today, I believe that we must strive to ensure that our special relationship remains strong and vital. One way to accomplish this is by preparing the best and brightest of our young people with the kind of learning opportunities that will deepen mutual understanding. The RSP and the Stanford e-Japan are admirably working toward this goal by providing the knowledge and expertise our young people will need as future leaders in Japan–U.S. relations.
After hearing Consul General Uyama’s comments, I came to the realization that honoring young future leaders from both countries on the 74th anniversary can symbolize the ray of hope for global peace that I feel with programs like the RSP and Stanford e-Japan. The presentations that the nine students made confirmed this feeling. Though the topics of their presentations were varied—ranging from historical topics like post-World War II art in Japan to contemporary social issues in Japan—a common thread among all was the significance of the U.S.–Japan relationship to the security of the world. Their presentations were followed by the awarding of plaques and lunch. During the program and a tour of campus, one could witness the budding relationships between the Japanese and American students.
SPICE student honorees and instructors at Stanford Japan Day 2019
Stanford e-Japan is an online course, which focuses on U.S. society and culture and U.S.–Japan relations, that SPICE has offered to high school students in Japan for five years. The current supporter of the course is Mr. Tadashi Yanai, President of the Yanai Tadashi Foundation, Tokyo. “Carving a brighter future” is at the core of the Foundation’s mission and I hope that all RSP and Stanford e-Japan alumni keep this mission close to their hearts. One of the key programs of the Foundation is the Yanai Tadashi Scholarship Program, which awards scholarships to Japanese students who enroll at select universities in the United States. Several Stanford e-Japan alumni and Stanford students are recipients of the Scholarship.
The 2018 spring and fall Stanford e-Japan course instructors were Elin Matsumae and Waka Takahashi Brown, respectively. Key themes like interdependence, multiple perspectives, and diversity were emphasized in their online courses. Naoya Chonan, Waseda University Senior High School, Tokyo, reflected, “The Stanford e-Japan program was different from any classes at my school in terms of diversity. It prepared an opportunity to compare diverse ideas from all over Japan and the U.S. Collaborative coursework with excellent students taught me the importance of realizing and embracing differences of viewpoints and opinions among people.”
This comment resonated in Brown who noted that the annual Japan Day celebration is so rewarding not only for the students, but also for the instructors. “The students always amaze me with their extraordinary scholarship and poise during their presentations. Perhaps what is most gratifying, however, is the campus tour that we end our day with in which the students are relaxed and happy. It’s during this time they talk with each other about their dreams and future plans. I have no doubt these are the future leaders of the next generation.”
The RSP is an online course that SPICE has offered to high school students in the United States for 16 years. The course introduces Japanese society and culture and U.S.–Japan relations and has enrolled students from most states. Since the inception of Stanford e-Japan, RSP Instructor Naomi Funahashi and Brown have facilitated joint online classes with RSP and Stanford e-Japan students. Funahashi reflected, “It is so rewarding to see the RSP and e-Japan honorees be recognized for their tremendous efforts in their respective courses. Japan Day is a unique opportunity to bring these remarkable students physically together, and it really gives them a chance to learn from one another and deepen the meaningful ways in which these courses connect young leaders across the U.S. and Japan.”
Japan Day was clearly meaningful to the students as well. Sandi Khine, Arcadia High School, Arcadia, California, commented in a follow-up note to Funahashi, “Thank you so much! I’m still kind of in shock that today happened, it feels like such a dream! I had so much fun today meeting Jaimie and Mei and all the other Stanford e-Japan students. I’ll definitely look back on this with lots of love.”
Lantern with the word “heiwa” (peace) in Nagasaki, 74th anniversary of the atomic bombing
Following the Japan Day ceremony, I read about the 74th anniversary ceremonial events that took place in Nagasaki. One of the traditional ceremonial events on the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been the lighting of lanterns. While watching the American and Japanese students receive plaques from their instructors, one could definitely see a glow in each one of them and also in their instructors. I felt a surge of pride in the students, of course, but also in their teachers—Funahashi, Brown, and Matsumae—for empowering their students with such incredible learning experiences and recognition that most certainly brightened their students’ futures.
(Image at right: Lantern with the word “heiwa” (peace) in Nagasaki, 74th anniversary of the atomic bombing; photo credit: Jiji Press.)
SPICE is proud to announce a new partnership with Oita Prefecture in Japan to develop an online course for high school students in Oita Prefecture. The new program, called Stanford e-Oita, will launch in the fall of 2019 and will introduce Japanese high school students to U.S. culture and society. The students will also have an opportunity to improve their English language skills, as the course will be conducted entirely in English.
To commemorate the new online course and partnership between Stanford University and Oita Prefecture, SPICE hosted a ceremony on Stanford campus last week with Oita Governor Katsusada Hirose and a large contingent of Japanese businessmen and government workers from Oita Prefecture, including representatives from the Development Bank of Japan and Japan Semiconductor. Also in attendance was Dr. Michael Armacost, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and an old friend of Governor Hirose.
“I am so honored to be here at the ceremony with my old schoolmate Ambassador Armacost,” commented Governor Hirose during his formal remarks. “I also extend my sincere gratitude to SPICE Director Dr. Mukai for your generous and continued support on this. It is a dream for our students to be able to take classes from Stanford University even in Oita, a regional city in Japan. I hope the agreement this time will be a great opportunity for students of both countries to learn from each other.”
Planning for the Stanford e-Oita online course is still at an early stage, but the main course topics are now being decided. Dr. Mukai moderated a discussion on possible topics for the new course, and several of those in attendance enthusiastically contributed suggestions for consideration. The SPICE staff shared their experiences teaching other online courses such as Stanford e-Japan, Stanford e-Tottori, Stanford e-Hiroshima, and the Reischauer Scholars Program (a course on Japan for U.S. high school students). Oita Prefectural Board of Education’s Keisuke Toyoda, who oversees the Stanford e-Oita online course, also offered his high-priority topics for the program, which includes entrepreneurship, Japan–U.S. relations, region-to-region partnerships, and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Several others offered their suggestions, as well.
Ambassador Armacost also made formal remarks, commenting especially on the strong and natural modern partnership between the United States and Japan, but also how U.S.–Japan relations at the governmental level have evolved over time to become a more balanced relationship.
“Back in my days—in the late ‘80s, early ‘90s—the United States used to approach U.S.–Japan relations with a kind of instructional mindset. ‘How can we teach Japan to be more like us?’ I always disagreed with that approach,” shared Ambassador Armacost. “Nowadays, it seems to be much better—a more reciprocal mindset. ‘What can we learn from each other to build a better future?’”
Fittingly, it is in that same spirit of mutual respect, reciprocity, and hope for the future that SPICE and Oita Prefecture launch our new Stanford–Oita partnership and online course.
“I have a lot of expectations for the future,” commented Governor Hirose. “Thank you so much.”
Stanford e-Oita is one of several regional online courses that SPICE offers to high school students in other countries. In addition, SPICE offers national online courses to high school students in Japan (Stanford e-Japan) and China (Stanford e-China).
Hero Image
Visitors from Oita Prefecture visit Stanford for the opening ceremony of the Stanford e-Oita online course for high school students. Governor Katsusada Hirose (center with beige jacket) with Mrs. Hirose and Ambassador Michael Armacost to her right.
The stars have finally aligned to enable SPICE to launch its first online course in China, Stanford e-China—an interactive, virtual class for Chinese high school students. Many factors now make this venture possible: access to China’s education system via partners on the ground in country; capable virtual technology; compelling student interest among Chinese high school students to study abroad at universities like Stanford; and the identification of a highly qualified instructor.
The inaugural Stanford e-China online course, Technologies Changing the World: Design Thinking into Action, will start in Winter 2020, open to enrollment of high school students throughout China. Students will explore cutting-edge technologies that are defining the future and providing exciting areas for academic study, professional opportunities, and entrepreneurial innovation. Focusing on the fields of green tech, finance tech, health tech, and artificial intelligence, students will engage in live discussion sessions (“virtual classes”) and real-time conversations with Stanford University scholars, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, as well as American high school students.
Carey Moncaster, Stanford University, and Julia Gooding, BE Education, at the International Association for College Admissions Counseling (ACAC) Conference 2019, London, Canada
While collaborating with Study Abroad Director Emma Vanbergen and China Director of International Education Julia Gooding at BE Education, it became clear that Chinese students seek hands-on projects with real-world impact. As China leads the way in many technological fields from green tech to artificial intelligence, a key challenge in developing this online course has been finding a framework that encourages students to analyze challenges facing each of the technologies highlighted in the course and then brainstorm innovative solutions. To showcase the dynamic research and teachings at Stanford University, SPICE honed in on Design Thinking, a creative-thinking and problem-solving framework very active throughout campus and Silicon Valley.
As a final project, Stanford e-China students will delve into an area of personal interest in one of the technology fields, applying aspects of the Design Thinking framework, to develop a prototype pitch. The top three students from each course will be invited to Stanford University to present their pitches and sharpen Design Thinking skills with Stanford practitioners in person. Design Thinking is a very hands-on, interactive, team-based experience that is dependent on critical feedback from other people. Translating the Design Thinking concepts online, with students, scholars, and practitioners virtually scattered across the world presents an exciting opportunity to create curriculum that effectively introduces the skills and mindset.
SPICE is drawing on the expertise of Mariko Yoshihara Yang and Rie Kijima, co-founders of SKY Labo and long-time collaborators with SPICE and the Stanford Graduate School of Education. The technologies explored in this course—green tech, finance tech, health tech, and artificial intelligence—have timely, global impact. The contributors to the Stanford e-China’s development span the world as well—from Stanford to Britain, China, and other countries of Asia. The Stanford e-China course is informed by over 16 years of SPICE online course offerings for high school students in other countries in Asia as well as throughout the United States. Stanford University scholars will also play pivotal roles as lecturers and guest speakers on the course’s leading technological fields and related pressing issues.
SPICE Director Gary Mukai recently noted, “The roots of SPICE date back to the establishment of the Bay Area China Education Project (BAYCEP) at Stanford University in 1973. Since then, SPICE has produced curriculum materials on China and hosted teacher professional development seminars on China for teachers in the United States, and more recently has offered an online course on China for high school students in the United States—all with the goal of helping Americans better understand China. I am delighted that 46 years since the establishment of BAYCEP, Stanford e-China has become a reality and for the first time in its history, SPICE will be working formally with students in China. SPICE is grateful to be collaborating with BE Education in this initiative.”
The inaugural 10-week course will be offered in Winter 2020. Shorter 4- to 6-week courses will be offered in Summer 2020. Course details and application deadlines are available at http://stanfordechina.org. The online course is offered in English. Stanford e-China students should expect to allot 3–4 hours per week to complete the lectures, virtual classes, discussions, readings, and assignments. Although participation in virtual classes (held on Saturday mornings) is mandatory, students will be able to structure the other work around their individual schedules.
Carey Moncaster is developing the course as the Stanford e-China instructor. After graduation from U.C. Berkeley, Carey lived and worked in China throughout the 1990s as the country embarked on monumental economic changes. This experience was followed by graduate studies in East Asian Studies at Stanford University and her initial work with SPICE. She has launched educational programs for U.S. high school students throughout Asia, and most recently returns to SPICE from Seattle’s high-tech world of start-up ventures.
For more information, please contact Carey Moncaster, Stanford e-China instructor, at cmoncaster@stanford.edu.
Last week, 23 educators from across North America gathered at Stanford University for the 2019 East Asia Summer Institute for High School Teachers, a teacher professional development seminar offered by SPICE in partnership with the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. Over three days of rich content lectures, discussion, and experiential learning, institute participants deepened their background knowledge on Asia and began to rethink and revamp their curriculum plans for the coming school year.
This year’s participants came from as far away as Concord, New Hampshire and Vancouver, Canada, although most attendees were high school teachers in the San Francisco Bay Area. They represented a wide range of teaching subjects, from history and language arts to statistics and genocide studies, but all sought to strengthen their teaching through a clearer, more nuanced understanding of Asia, U.S.–Asia relations, and the Asian American experience—the three main areas explored in this year’s summer institute.
Participant Hellie Mateo poses with a book she made by hand using traditional Japanese book-binding methods.
The institute’s guest speakers came from similarly diverse backgrounds, being scholars, artists, authors, and Stanford University professors with expertise on a specific aspect of Asia, U.S.–Asia relations, or the Asian American experience. Interwoven between their captivating content lectures were classroom-focused lesson demonstrations, hands-on activities, and pedagogy discussions facilitated by SPICE curriculum designers. “We make sure we balance subject-matter content with practical application in all of our teacher professional development seminars,” notes SPICE Director Dr. Gary Mukai. “That’s why we focus so much time and energy on pedagogy and lesson demonstrations. We want to help high school teachers translate their newfound knowledge directly into the classroom.”
To that end, summer institute participants each receive several free books, films, and SPICE lesson plans to help them bring Asia alive for their students. They also receive a stipend and become eligible for three optional units of credit from Stanford Continuing Studies.
“Being in the Bay Area—and particularly at Stanford University—we have access to such incredible experts on these subjects,” says institute coordinator and facilitator Naomi Funahashi. “Our job is to connect those experts with teachers in a way that supports teacher needs. That’s our goal for this summer institute.”
Although the high school teachers have now returned home from Stanford campus, their work is not done. They will now use the content they learned at the summer institute to create original lesson plans to incorporate into their own practice. When they reconvene for a final online session in late July / early August, they will share their lesson plans with each other, and each teacher will walk away with 22 brand new lesson plans designed by their colleagues. “We can’t wait to see what kinds of innovative lessons our teachers will come up with!” says Funahashi. “And we can’t wait to see how they incorporate these new lessons into their plans for the next school year.”
To view photos from the summer institute and read a more comprehensive recap what happened, please see the SPICE Facebook page.
We are thrilled to welcome Dr. HyoJung Jang back to the SPICE team! Jang holds a Ph.D. in Educational Theory and Policy as well as in Comparative and International Education from Penn State University, and an M.A. in East Asian Studies from Stanford University. She has returned to SPICE as an instructor for the Sejong Korean Scholars Program, an intensive online course on Korea for high school students across the United States.
“It’s so wonderful to be back at SPICE, where my passion for education issues was sparked,” reflects Jang. “And it’s always inspiring to work with our young Sejong Scholars. Their sharp, inquisitive minds and sincere interest in Korea make me feel optimistic about the future of U.S.–Korean relations.”
Stanford e-Japan Instructor Waka Brown and I recently met in Tokyo with Mr. Tadashi Yanai, President of the Yanai Tadashi Foundation. The Yanai Tadashi Foundation is the current supporter of Stanford e-Japan, an online course about U.S. society and culture and U.S.–Japan relations that SPICE offers in English to high school students from throughout Japan. Stanford e-Japan is now in its fourth year, and one of its objectives is to encourage students in Japan to consider applying to U.S. universities after graduating high school.
This objective aligns with one of the goals of the Yanai Tadashi Foundation—that is, to provide scholarships to students in Japan seeking to study as undergraduates in the United States at select universities, including Stanford. Its website notes the following:
Yanai Tadashi Foundation Scholarship aims to provide promising young people with leadership potential the opportunity to study at world-class universities in the United States. The scholarship enables recipients to mix with an internationally diverse student body to cultivate their entrepreneurial skills and enhance their global perspective, encouraging their development as future drivers of a better society.
Stanford freshman Daisuke Masuda with SPICE Director Gary Mukai
Brown has been encouraging some of her Stanford e-Japan students to consider applying to U.S. universities and the Yanai Tadashi Foundation Scholarship program. I recently spoke with Stanford University freshman Daisuke Masuda who is a Yanai Tadashi Foundation Scholarship recipient and asked him to share his thoughts on studying at Stanford. “I really wanted to study computer science and medical technology, and given that Stanford has strengths in both areas and is also at the center of Silicon Valley, I felt that Stanford was ideal for me. My current future goal is to use medical technology to solve social issues caused by aging societies.” He continued, “That said, I would not be here without Mr. Yanai’s generosity. I am also grateful to the other Yanai Tadashi Foundation Scholarship recipients across the country for being such a great community of learners. I highly recommend that high school students in Japan consider studying in the United States as undergraduates and applying for a Yanai Tadashi Foundation Scholarship. It is challenging but rewarding to study with brilliant students from all over the world.”
Also, while in Tokyo, Brown, Junichiro Hirata (Stanford e-Japan advisor), and I had the chance to meet with three Stanford e-Japan alumni. The Stanford e-Japan Program recognized Hikaru Suzuki and Haruki Kitagawa as two of the top students in the first Stanford e-Japan cohort in 2015. They are now attending the University of Tokyo and Keio University, respectively. Both remain engaged in U.S.–Japan relations and aspire to graduate studies at Stanford or another U.S. university. Jun Yamasaki, who was one of the top students of the fall 2017 Stanford e-Japan session, is currently a student at Shibuya Kyoiku Gakuen Senior High School in Tokyo and plans to enroll at a U.S. university this fall.
Lunch with Stanford e-Japan alumni
Brown remarked, “It was very rewarding to witness the growth of the leadership skills of my former students and to listen to what they are doing and aspire to do in terms of promoting international mutual understanding. During my meeting with Mr. Yanai and his staff, I discovered that these are not only hallmarks of SPICE since its inception in 1976 but also of the Yanai Tadashi Foundation as well.”
Brown and I hope to see Suzuki, Kitagawa, Yamasaki, and many more Stanford e-Japan alumni as students at Stanford—like Masuda—someday. Mr. Yanai hopes that with the increasing numbers of Japanese students studying in the United States, the numbers of Japanese who enter fields like international business between the United States and Japan will also grow.
Hero Image
Gary Mukai, Mr. Tadashi Yanai, Waka Brown
Sachiko Honda
All News button
1
Subtitle
The Yanai Tadashi Foundation is the current supporter of Stanford e-Japan, an online course about U.S. society and culture and U.S.–Japan relations.
Stanford e-Tottori is a distance-learning course sponsored by the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education and the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. Tottori Governor Shinji Hirai and Superintendent Hitoshi Yamamoto of the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education were instrumental in its establishment. Offered for the first time in 2016, Stanford e-Tottori presents a creative and innovative approach to teaching Japanese high school students about U.S. society and culture.
Hana Hirosaka of Tottori Higashi High School with SPICE Director Gary Mukai
Stanford e-Tottori instructor Jonas Edman recently recognized three of his top performing students for their exceptional coursework. They are James Banville (Tottori Keiai High School; Principal Shigeo Nikaido), Hana Hirosaka (Tottori Higashi High School; Principal Masato Omuro), and Kosei Kamada (Tottori Nishi High School; Principal Eiju Yamamoto). Since the launching of Stanford e-Tottori, Edman has encouraged his students to think in an internationally minded manner—that is, to consider different points of view and to realize the importance of diversity and cross-cultural communication. Reflecting upon his former students over the first two years of Stanford e-Tottori, Edman noted that “James, Hana, and Kosei were always open-minded to various points of view and demonstrated strong critical thinking skills… and I was also impressed with their regular attendance in class despite their extremely busy schedules. I am so proud of all of the Tottori students’ accomplishments, but those of James, Hana, and Kosei especially stood out.”
James Banville with Principal Shigeo Nikaido of Tottori Keiai High School
Each of the honorees received a plaque from SPICE/Stanford University, and Edman expressed his hope that this honor would help them with university admissions as well as inspire them to someday study in the United States. As part of the admissions process to Waseda University, Banville spoke about what he learned in Stanford e-Tottori during an interview. He was admitted to Waseda and will begin his freshman year this spring. Hirosaki and Kamada are now in the midst of the university application process and they, too, plan to showcase their participation in Stanford e-Tottori.
Takuya Fukushima, Office Director of the English Education Advancement Office of the High School Division at the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education, expressed his profound gratitude to Edman and feels that these honors have made Stanford e-Tottori more visible in Tottori Prefecture. “With wonderful guidance and skilled facilitation, Edman-sensei has done a great job to foster the students’ interest and participation in discussions… the students’ positive attitude and willingness to participate in lessons was something that I had been long waiting for. It was the moment when I could feel, ‘Oh, Stanford e-Tottori rose one step higher.’”
Comedian Conan O’Brien recently announced that he will visit Hokuei City (aka “Conan Town”) in Tottori Prefecture, Japan, which is well known for its sand dunes and the manga character, Detective Conan. Detective Conan was created by artist Gosho Aoyama, who was born in Hokuei. In fact, Tottori’s main airport is called the Tottori Sand Dunes Conan Airport. Tourists from the United States and other countries are drawn to the sand dunes and the “Manga Kingdom,” a nickname for Tottori because it is the home prefecture of many famous manga artists like Aoyama.
Governor Shinji Hirai of Tottori, who leads these efforts to make Tottori a more notable tourist destination, recently met with Governor Phil Scott of Vermont to formalize a sister state relationship. Both governors hope to give their students more opportunities for exchange. These are just two examples of the increasing synergy between the United States and Tottori, the least populous prefecture in Japan. Thanks to the vision of Governor Hirai, SPICE launched a distance-learning course, Stanford e-Tottori, for high school students in Tottori Prefecture in 2016. The course instructor, Jonas Edman, hopes that the course will help to build even more bridges at the grassroots level between Tottori and the United States.
Now in its third year, Stanford e-Tottori enrolls students from public and private schools in Tottori Prefecture and is a cornerstone of Tottori Prefecture’s Global Leaders’ Campus, an initiative by the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education to internationalize the curriculum in all schools in Tottori. Governor Hirai’s vision has provided many Tottori high school students with the opportunity to study with Edman, who engages students in English with Stanford scholars and experts on topics ranging from U.S. high schools to cultural diversity in the United States.
On August 1, 2018, Edman participated in the opening ceremony for the third year of Stanford e-Tottori. He met Superintendent Hitoshi Yamamoto, Office Director Takuya Fukushima (High School Division), several others of the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education, and the new cohort of students. Edman also visited Tottori Nishi High School and gave a special lecture to students. “Though the technology that I use to teach Stanford e-Tottori has improved over the years, I have to say that it was enormously rewarding to meet my students in person,” reflected Edman. “Seeing them in their picturesque home prefecture—and some of them in their school [Tottori Nishi High School]—provided a context that cannot be replicated virtually. My online interaction with the students from now will feel different.”
I also had the chance to visit Tottori Prefecture on August 26, 2018 to give the opening lecture for the third-year offering of Stanford e-Tottori. In attendance were not only the current cohort students but also three students from last year’s cohort. Before class began, I could feel the nervousness among the students as they anxiously waited outside the presentation room. Once class commenced, however, I could sense that their nerves started to settle down. The students gave their best during class, and I was so impressed with their efforts in particular because it was the first lecture of the course. I have no doubt that their English skills and understanding of U.S. society and culture will improve under the mentorship of Edman.
High school students from Tottori Prefecture with SPICE Director Gary Mukai and Stanford Visiting Scholar Junichiro Hirata
Following the class, Fukushima took Stanford Visiting Scholar Junichiro Hirata and me to Mitaki-en, a village nestled in the mountain town of Chizu in Tottori Prefecture. While strolling around Mitaki-en, I was reminded of a different era and was pleasantly overwhelmed by my senses—most notably the sound of a babbling brook, the smell of an earthen floor of a home from the early 20th century, the taste of powdered green tea, the feel of a tatami mat, and the sight of a faint waterfall. The preservation of this village struck me as symbolic of the people of Tottori—people who seem to have a gift for successfully integrating innovation with tradition.
The Tottori Prefectural Board of Education encourages its students to appreciate Tottori’s historic ties to agriculture and fisheries and its natural beauty. Tottori is also said to be Japan’s best place for stargazing. Simultaneously, the Board of Education instills in its students a need to see the world in a grain of sand through courses like Stanford e-Tottori. To me, helping students appreciate the delicate balance of innovation and tradition lies at the heart of Tottori Prefecture’s Global Leaders’ Campus, and SPICE is honored to be a part of this initiative.
SPICE student honorees and instructors at Stanford Japan Day 2019
Lantern with the word “heiwa” (peace) in Nagasaki, 74th anniversary of the atomic bombing
Carey Moncaster, Stanford University, and Julia Gooding, BE Education, at the International Association for College Admissions Counseling (ACAC) Conference 2019, London, Canada
Participant Hellie Mateo poses with a book she made by hand using traditional Japanese book-binding methods.
Stanford freshman Daisuke Masuda with SPICE Director Gary Mukai
Lunch with Stanford e-Japan alumni
Hana Hirosaka of Tottori Higashi High School with SPICE Director Gary Mukai
James Banville with Principal Shigeo Nikaido of Tottori Keiai High School
High school students from Tottori Prefecture with SPICE Director Gary Mukai and Stanford Visiting Scholar Junichiro Hirata
