Interview with the Teachers in Charge of the Kurashiki Central Hospital Hospital Classroom
We spoke with Suwa Mayumi, a teacher at Kurashiki City Kurashiki-Higashi Elementary School, and Yamaguchi Yumiko, a teacher at Kurashiki City Higashi Junior High School, who are serving as teachers in charge of the Kurashiki Central Hospital hospital classroom in the 2025 school year.
Could you tell us the purpose of establishing a hospital classroom?
Suwa (surname only)
Our purpose is to ensure that children can continue learning.
When children are hospitalized, they spend a lot of time in their rooms, right?
During school hours, these children can also come to the hospital classroom to study with everyone, play games during breaks, and sometimes take part in cooking classes or events, enjoying their time together.
Yamaguchi (surname only)
At the junior high school level, we also hold regular exams. We obtain the exam papers from each student's school and administer them here. Since exam periods differ from school to school, we arrange the exams flexibly to match each student's exam period.
Even when something is difficult to manage alone, seeing your friends around you working hard can help you get through it. The same is true of studying.
The students vary not only in what they are studying but also in their grade levels, yet having friends around seems to encourage them to approach everything with a positive attitude.
How long do children stay enrolled in the hospital classroom?
Suwa
The length of hospitalization varies from child to child, so it's hard to give a single answer, but many children return to their regular school in less than a month.
Even when hospitalized, some children cannot attend the hospital classroom for several days, depending on their treatment. In such cases, we sometimes visit them at their bedsides after school.
In the 2025 school year, there has not been a time when the Kurashiki Central Hospital hospital classroom had no enrolled students. However, if one of the two classes temporarily has no children, we operate flexibly so that teachers can join lessons in the class with more students.
Do the children stay in the classroom for all four hours of lessons?
Suwa
The children are hospitalized for treatment, so their schedules prioritize treatment. As a result, they often have to leave class for treatment, tests, rehabilitation, showers, and other activities.
Every morning, we receive a handover document from the ward with that day's schedule, and planning each child's schedule based on it is part of our daily routine. However, there are events, such as farewell parties, that we want as many students as possible to attend, so we consult with the hospital to make sure time is set aside for them.
Kurashiki Central Hospital also holds many events organized by the pediatrics department, which the children enjoy. Some hospital classroom events, however, are proposed by the children. These are times when they can stop being patients and be children their own age again, so we value them, and everyone at the hospital does too.
Yamaguchi
The children have less time to study than they would at a regular school. Even so, I am always impressed by how well they focus on their studies and activities.
Even when they have difficult treatments, they look forward to spending time in the hospital classroom.
At a regular school, children look forward to long breaks such as summer and winter vacation. For children in the hospital classroom, apparently, they are “boring periods when there is no school.”
We teach every day so that they can spend time here being children again between treatments.
So there are also educational activities unique to the hospital classroom.
Suwa
The children undergo difficult treatments every day. They also have various worries, such as falling behind in their studies because they can no longer attend their regular school, as well as concerns about their treatment.
We see the time they spend in the hospital classroom as a chance to be there not as patients, but as students, and as a time when they can forget their hardships, even if only for a little while.
We include many activities that children can experience precisely because they come to the hospital classroom, so that their hospital stay will not be remembered only for hardship and anxiety, and because we want them to take home happy memories.
It is especially difficult for members of the public to enter the pediatric ward, so we actively include activities that let the children interact with adults from outside the hospital, such as museum and university staff and volunteers.
Yamaguchi
Some of the volunteers are graduates of the hospital classroom.
Neither children nor their parents often get the chance to meet adults who have experienced a long hospital stay. The graduates who come as volunteers are valuable role models for them.
They show through their own lives that it is possible to recover after a long hospital stay and become a healthy high school student or adult. They are truly an invaluable source of hope.
Many people are involved with the hospital classroom, including volunteers, ward staff, and the public relations team. We are grateful that children's artwork is displayed throughout the hospital, that a special exhibition is held at the end of the school year at the Central Parlor, and that the children's activities are shared on YouTube and social media.
Although the children's activities are limited, experiencing an environment where the entire hospital supports their efforts is another experience unique to the hospital classroom.
Are there any challenges in being in charge of the hospital classroom?
Yamaguchi
The children are in different grades, use different textbooks and materials, and have exams at different times. It is challenging to respond flexibly to all of that.
Also, the hospital classroom requires us to exchange information with hospital staff such as nurses and coordinate with the children's regular schools, so we have more meetings than at a regular school.
We consider all of this important because it is support children need to study alongside their treatment and return smoothly to their regular schools.
Suwa
Treatment schedules and children's health vary from day to day, so the day's schedule is not finalized until the morning itself. I feel this is different from the school education I have experienced before.
Also, since the content and pace of learning differ from child to child, studying is generally self-directed. While adapting to each child's pace, we try to create opportunities for each child to take center stage, such as “I was able to study closely with the teacher during this time” or “The teacher or my friends praised me.”
This may be important even outside the hospital classroom, but many of the children here worry that they will not be able to keep up academically when they return to their regular schools, so we also focus on emotional support.
Could you share any memorable experiences from your time as a teacher in charge of the hospital classroom?
Yamaguchi
Every morning, when the children come from the ward to the hospital classroom, I see them visiting each other's rooms and inviting one another to come to class. I also see children inspired by their friends studying and making progress themselves. It reminds me just how important having friends is.
Most of the studying is self-directed, but having friends beside them who are working hard, and people to play with during breaks or share honest thoughts with, such as “I want to eat sushi,” must be an enormous source of encouragement.
Suwa
One student once started going around the hospital to encourage patients and staff. The energy he brought lifted everyone's spirits throughout the hospital.
He had a particularly strong bond with his regular school. For school events such as overnight trips, his classmates would wear bandanas in his place, and he often studied online together with his classmates at school.
That is why he was so determined to “get better and leave the hospital.” Because he knew how reassuring it was to have others cheering him on, I think he was able to bring people together and create an atmosphere where everyone could feel better.
When he was there, both the children in the hospital classroom and the hospital staff felt brighter.
Hospital life is difficult and full of anxiety, but even so, seeing the children find ways to enjoy each day gives us energy and courage.
What would you like the hospital classroom to become in the future?
Yamaguchi
To enroll in the hospital classroom, students must transfer from their regular school.
However, some schools do not allow transfers, which can result in students being withdrawn, or their attendance numbers being placed at the end of the class list when they return. As a result, some children find it difficult under the current system to transfer to the hospital classroom, even when they want to.
ICT has become widespread in education, and online learning support has improved, but I believe the greatest strength of the hospital classroom is that children can spend time with friends, forget that they are patients, and be children again.
More needs to be done to improve the system so that every child who needs a hospital classroom can learn alongside friends when they need it.
Suwa
I want many people to know that there are children working hard in hospital classrooms.
Illness and injury can happen to anyone. I hope that as more people learn that a system called the “hospital classroom” exists, children who need it will be able to receive support.
From the Writer
Hospital classroom programs are often featured in television dramas and documentaries, but many people still do not know that there are many people supporting hospital classrooms in Kurashiki City or that children are going about their days with a positive attitude.
During the interview, both Teacher Suwa and Teacher Yamaguchi repeatedly emphasized how important it is for children to have friends to spend time with in the hospital classroom.
Even while hospitalized, children can take part in play and learning as children in the hospital classroom. We hope it will continue to be a place that reaches as many children as possible who need it.
People who are not graduates can also register as volunteers for the hospital classroom. If you are interested, please contact the volunteer coordinator at Kurashiki Central Hospital.
Articles about Kurashiki Central Hospital
Kurashiki Central Hospital In-Hospital Classroom Information
| Name | Kurashiki Central Hospital In-Hospital Classroom |
|---|---|
| Address | 1-1-1 Miwa, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-422-0210 |
| Website | Kurashiki Central Hospital In-Hospital Classroom |
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