The 14th Kurashiki Mirai K-juku / The 1st Takahashi River Basin Future Career Education Seminar ～ Creating a Sustainable Model of Education Through Schools and the Community

“Ohara House Katalyzer,” a nationally designated Important Cultural Property in the Bikan Historical Area.

As “a place to talk about the present and the future,” it also puts a strong emphasis on educational programs.

One of the programs hosted by Ohara House Katalyzer is Kurashiki Mirai K-juku.

The 14th session was held as part of a Kurashiki City-commissioned project called the “Takahashi River Basin Future Career Education Seminar.”

The theme was “A Guide to Making High Schools More Attractive Through Regional Collaboration 1.”

It was a gathering where participants from a wide range of industries and age groups spoke passionately with one another about the future of education.

Here is a report on the seminar “14th Kurashiki Mirai K-juku: A Guide to Making High Schools More Attractive Through Regional Collaboration 1,” held on Saturday, June 27, 2020.

What is the “Takahashi River Basin Future Career Education Seminar”?

Kurashiki Mirai K-juku had been held at Ohara House Katalyzer for about two years.

In fiscal 2020, it was also held as the “Takahashi River Basin Future Career Education Seminar.”

The “Takahashi River Basin Future Career Education Seminar” is a monthly seminar that builds and supports connections among teachers, businesses, and local communities, in partnership with a Kurashiki City project.

This was held as the first of a series of five seminars.

The schedule for the following sessions is as follows.

Each session is limited to the first 20 participants. Sessions through July were scheduled to be held online. (Information current as of July 2020)

Overview of the 14th Kurashiki Mirai K-juku: A Guide to Making High Schools More Attractive Through Regional Collaboration 1

The theme of the 14th Kurashiki Mirai K-juku was “A Guide to Making High Schools More Attractive Through Regional Collaboration 1.”

The seminar proceeded as follows.

To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, participants were recruited primarily for an online seminar.

About 20 people took part, including people involved in education and community development, company employees, and university students.

There was a lot of communications equipment at the venue, and participants seemed a little nervous, wondering, “What kind of event is this going to be?”　　　　　　　　

Once the seminar began, participants sent comments and questions and discussed topics with one another online, making it a seminar where people felt much more closely connected.

Talk by Mayako Emori

In her talk, Mayako Emori discussed her background and the “making high schools more attractive” initiative, explaining why schools need to connect with their communities.

Mayako Emori’s background

Mayako Emori has worked in school education, including editing specialist education magazines.

She moved to Okayama in 2015 and worked to make Okayama Prefectural Wake Shiotani High School more attractive as a Wake Town Community Revitalization Cooperator.
She runs a “learning program in collaboration with the local community” and serves as a coordinator connecting schools and communities.

In 2019, she established “Manabito General Incorporated Association.” As of July 2020, she was active in writing, speaking, and workshops, and also worked as an advisor.

Imagine schools in 2040

At the beginning of the seminar, Emori mentioned a document titled “Schools of the Future.” Its contents were very interesting, so here is a brief introduction to part of it.

This is a story about a school in 2040.

Students do more than sit in classrooms; they go out into the local community to learn.
They understand “how what they learned at school connects to society.”

The staff room, once occupied only by teachers,

has now become a place where a diverse range of people—including local residents, university professors, specialists, and government employees—are involved on a daily basis.

They work as a team to support students’ learning so they can study with confidence.

For students, “finding ways to improve their learning, the community where they live, and the future” is simply a matter of course.

“I wrote this after letting my imagination run wild about what it would be like if schools were like this in the future!” Emori explained.

The schools Emori envisions are open to their local communities.

Did you know that things are changing right now toward this kind of future?

What does “making high schools more attractive” mean? Learning that can only be gained here

“Making high schools more attractive” means making schools more appealing through community-wide efforts.

The initiative began in 1990 at Shimane Prefectural Oki Dozen High School.

It began when Oki Dozen High School, the only high school on the island, faced the threat of closure due to depopulation.

Fearing that “people would continue to leave and the island would disappear,” the island took up the “making high schools more attractive” initiative to ensure its survival.

One part of the initiative, a “learning program in collaboration with the local community,” involved classes in which students identified and solved challenges unique to the island.

It was the moment when learning that can only be gained on this island came into being.

As a result, it became a popular school that students from across Japan wanted to attend.

The island’s population grew, and it became livelier than before.

The success of Oki Dozen High School also revealed something.

It showed that learning within the local community helps students grow and thrive.

Following this success, the “making high schools more attractive” initiative spread to schools across Japan.

Why is it necessary to work on “making high schools more attractive” now?

Emori says it is because this initiative creates a virtuous cycle between schools and communities.

She says that “practical learning that is useful in society,” gained within the local community, boosts students’ motivation and abilities and, ultimately, their vitality.

She also says that when the community works together to raise students, more people grow up wanting, of their own accord, to “make the community even better!”

It is a cycle in which the strengths of schools and communities continue into the future.

Apparently, Okayama Prefecture is also one of the prefectures where collaboration between schools and communities is progressing.

Examples known for community-wide efforts to make high schools more attractive include the “Maniwa High School Appeal Project” at Okayama Prefectural Maniwa High School and the “Machishu Project” at Okayama Prefectural Kurashiki Minami High School.

The seminar’s coordinator, Yoko Yamashita, director of Ohara House Katalyzer, had previously been the principal of these high schools.

At Maniwa High School, she saw students learning the importance of life through hands-on livestock farming, and realized that experiential learning teaches us what matters as human beings.

Connecting schools and communities

Collaboration between schools and communities is essential to making high schools more attractive.

That is because “learning programs in collaboration with the local community” are at the heart of the initiative.

However, based on her experience as a coordinator connecting schools and communities, Emori says that collaboration is not easy.

Emori spoke about the importance of schools and communities, including students, talking regularly.

She said it is important for schools and communities to work together with a shared purpose, without being caught up in their own immediate interests.

Breakout session

For the breakout session, participants were divided into six groups of several people each for discussion.

There was no set topic; participants suggested topics they wanted to discuss based on the earlier talk.

Those attending at the venue also spoke with online participants through their smartphone screens during the session.

After about 40 minutes of discussion in their respective groups, everyone shared the opinions that had come up.

What surprised the writer was how specific the opinions of younger participants, such as university students, were.

Some participants were graduates of schools working to make high schools more attractive.

Perhaps because of this, they seemed to have a clear vision for making high schools more attractive in collaboration with local communities, and to understand the challenges ahead.

For example, one opinion was that “exchanges between high schools should be made more active, so they can share what they have learned and experienced through engaging with local communities.”

Another observation was that “the number of people who can learn within local communities is currently limited. A matching system should be introduced to ensure equal opportunities.”

The adults taking part could only marvel at the thoughtful comments.

People of different ages and backgrounds seriously considered what they could do and exchanged opinions.

From the Writer

At the 14th Kurashiki Mirai K-juku, participants learned why schools need to connect with their communities.

I believe that making high schools more attractive is an initiative that supports the society of the future.

• The entire local community helps raise students
• As adults, students give back to the communities where they live

It is the starting point of a positive cycle that continues without interruption.

The seminar also brought the happy surprise of realizing that “so many people are thinking of the future of education as something that concerns them personally.”

The future of education is surely bright.

I felt this more strongly than before attending the seminar.

At Kurashiki Mirai K-juku, seminars on education will continue to be held. This is exactly the kind of place for conversation where schools and the community connect that Emori-san stressed was needed.

There’s no need to feel apprehensive and think, “Maybe I won’t be able to keep up…”

It’s an open event that anyone can easily attend, even “ordinary people who aren’t experts in anything,” like the writer.

For information about upcoming sessions, check the website for the “Takahashi River Basin Future Education Seminar.”

Articles about Ohara House Katalyzer

14th Kurashiki Mirai K-juku / 1st Takahashi River Basin Future Career Education Seminar Information

Name	14th Kurashiki Mirai K-juku / 1st Takahashi River Basin Future Career Education Seminar
Date	June 27, 2020 (Sat.), 1:00–3:00 p.m.
Location	1-2-1 Chuo, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture
Admission (tax included)	Free
Website	Takahashi River Basin Future Career Education Seminar

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