Interview with the Homeroom Teachers of the Kurashiki Central Hospital Hospital School
We spoke with Mayumi Suwa, a teacher at Kurashiki-Higashi Elementary School, and Yumiko Yamaguchi, a teacher at Higashi Junior High School, who are serving as homeroom teachers at the Kurashiki Central Hospital hospital school in the 2025 academic year.
What is the purpose of establishing the hospital school?
Suwa (no honorifics)
The purpose is to ensure learning so that children’s education does not stop.
When children are hospitalized, they spend a lot of time in their rooms, right?
Even so, during school hours, they come to the hospital school to study together, play games during breaks, and sometimes engage in cooking practice or events, enjoying their time together.
Yamaguchi (no honorifics)
In middle school, we also conduct regular tests. We request test questions from each student’s school and conduct them. Since the test periods differ by school, we flexibly conduct regular tests according to each student’s test schedule.
What might be difficult alone can be overcome when friends are also trying hard. This applies to studying as well.
Although the learning content and grades vary among students, the presence of friends seems to provide a positive motivation to engage in various activities.
How long do children typically stay enrolled?
Suwa
Since the hospitalization period varies for each child, it is hard to say exactly how long, but most children return to their original schools in less than a month.
Even while hospitalized, depending on the treatment, some children may not be able to attend the hospital school for several days, so we sometimes visit them at their bedside after school.
In the 2025 academic year, there has never been a time when the number of enrolled students at the Kurashiki Central Hospital hospital school has dropped to zero. However, when there are temporarily no children in either class, we operate flexibly so that teachers can join classes with a higher number of students.
Are the children in the classroom for the entire four hours of class?
Suwa
Since the children are hospitalized for treatment, the schedule is treatment-first. Therefore, it is common for them to leave class for treatment, examinations, rehabilitation, or shower time.
We receive the schedule for the day in the morning from the ward, and it is our daily routine to create individual schedules based on that. However, there are events like “farewell parties” where we want as many students as possible to participate, so we consult with the hospital to secure the schedule for those times.
Kurashiki Central Hospital hosts many events organized by the pediatric department, which the children also enjoy. However, some events in the hospital school are initiated by the children themselves. During such times, they can return to being children of their age, and we value those moments, as do the hospital staff.
Yamaguchi
The time available for learning is shorter compared to regular schools. Even so, I am always impressed by how focused the children are on their studies and play.
Even with difficult treatments, they look forward to their time at the hospital school.
For children who usually attend regular schools, long breaks like summer or winter vacations are eagerly awaited periods. However, for children in the hospital school, it is said to be a “boring time without school.”
We strive to ensure that they can spend time here where they can return to being children in between treatments.
There are unique educational activities at the hospital school, right?
Suwa
The children undergo very challenging treatments daily. They also carry various anxieties about being unable to attend their enrolled schools and about their treatments.
The time spent at the hospital school is seen as a time when they can be a student, not just a patient, a time to forget the hardships, even if just a little.
To ensure that their memories of hospitalization are not solely filled with pain and anxiety, we incorporate many activities that can only be experienced at the hospital school, hoping that the children can take home happy memories.
Especially in the pediatric ward, where it is difficult for the general public to enter, we actively incorporate activities that allow interaction with adults from outside the hospital, such as museum staff, university professors, and volunteers.
Yamaguchi
Some of the volunteers are graduates of the hospital school.
For both the children and their parents, opportunities to meet adults who have gone through long-term hospitalization are rare. Graduates who come back as volunteers serve as valuable role models for them.
It is a great hope for them to see that they can become healthy high school students or adults after long-term hospitalization, and we are truly grateful for their presence.
Including volunteers, various staff from the ward and public relations are involved in the hospital school. They regularly display the children’s works within the hospital, and at the end of the year, they hold a special exhibition at the Central Parlor, and share the children’s activities on YouTube and social media, for which we are grateful.
While there are limitations on the children’s activities, the supportive environment from the entire hospital for the children’s efforts is also a unique experience of the hospital school.
Are there any challenges in being in charge of the hospital school?
Yamaguchi
The grades of the enrolled children differ, as do the textbooks and materials they use, and the timing of regular tests also varies. It is challenging to respond flexibly to these differences.
Additionally, the hospital school requires information exchange with hospital staff such as nurses and coordination with the children’s enrolled schools, so the number of meetings is generally higher compared to regular schools.
All of this is essential support for the children to learn alongside their treatment and to smoothly return to their original schools, so we value it.
Suwa
Since treatment schedules and conditions vary daily, the schedule for the day is not confirmed until the morning of that day, which feels different from the education experienced in regular schools.
Moreover, since the learning content and progress differ for each child, learning tends to be self-directed. We try to create opportunities for each child to have a time where they can be the “main character,” saying, “I was able to study thoroughly with the teacher” or “I was praised by the teacher and friends,” while accommodating their individual paces.
This may be a necessary time even outside the hospital school, but many of the children here feel anxious about whether they can keep up when they return to their enrolled schools, so we are also conscious of providing mental support.
Do you have any memorable episodes while being in charge of the hospital school?
Yamaguchi
Every morning, when the children come to the hospital school from the ward, I am reminded of the significance of the presence of friends when I see them visiting each other’s rooms and encouraging one another to come to school, or when I observe children inspired by their friends’ efforts to engage in their studies.
While the learning itself is mainly self-directed, having friends sitting next to them who are working hard, or being able to share their true feelings like “I want to eat sushi” during breaks, is undoubtedly a source of encouragement for them.
Suwa
There was a child who started an activity to encourage patients and staff around the hospital. Everyone in the hospital received energy from his enthusiasm.
He was particularly close to his enrolled school and frequently progressed with his classmates online, even having classmates wear bandanas to participate in school events like overnight study trips on his behalf.
That is why he had a very strong desire to “get better and be discharged,” and he understood the strength of being supported, which allowed him to create an atmosphere where everyone could feel energized together.
When he is present, both the children in the hospital school and the hospital staff feel uplifted.
Hospital life can be tough and filled with anxiety, but even amidst that, their determination to enjoy their daily lives gives us strength and courage.
What kind of place do you hope the hospital school will become in the future?
Yamaguchi
To enroll in the hospital school, transfer procedures from the enrolled school are required.
However, due to the policies of some schools, children may not be able to transfer and may end up being withdrawn, or they may have their attendance number placed at the end upon returning, making it difficult for some children who want to transfer to the hospital school.
While the use of ICT in education has become widespread, ensuring online learning is well-established, I believe the greatest benefit of the hospital school is the opportunity to spend time with friends, forgetting that they are patients and returning to being children.
It is still necessary to improve the system so that all children who need a hospital school can learn with their friends at the right time.
Suwa
I want many people to know that there are children working hard at the hospital school.
Since illness and injury can happen to anyone, I hope that as more people learn about the existence of the “hospital school” system, children in need can receive support.
Conclusion
The initiatives of hospital schools are often featured in TV dramas and documentary programs, but the fact that there are many people supporting hospital schools in Kurashiki City and that children are living positively is still not widely known.
In the interviews, both Teacher Suwa and Teacher Yamaguchi repeatedly mentioned the significant role of the friends that children have while spending time together at the hospital school.
Even while hospitalized, the hospital school allows children to engage in play and learning as individuals. I hope it continues to be a place that reaches as many children as possible who need it.
Volunteers for the hospital school can also include general individuals who are not graduates. If you are interested, please reach out to the volunteer coordinator at Kurashiki Central Hospital.
倉敷中央病院に関する記事
Kurashiki Central Hospital In-Hospital Classのデータ
| 名前 | Kurashiki Central Hospital In-Hospital Class |
|---|---|
| 住所 | 1-1 Miwa 1-chome, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| 連絡先 | 086-422-0210 |
| ホームページ | Kurashiki Central Hospital In-Hospital Class |
