1 ..... Introduction of PURPOSE and what we try to ACCOMPLISH
2 ..... Introduction of our TOPICS
3 ..... Saturday BEST
4 ..... Other Projects
5 ..... What we DON’T do
6 ..... Documents and files
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Introduction of our PURPOSE and What we are trying to ACCOMPLISH
Sophia Alpha is a circle that emphasizes activeness in one’s community, and a shared camaraderie between all peoples, of all nations, and of all ages and backgrounds. As a circle, we try to work on some of the problems that plague society, and although we know we are few, we make a big difference in those we come in contact with. One of the works that we do that we are most proud of happens to be our Elementary School Projects.
The Japanese Educational System focuses on the cognitive brain, placing a huge weight on entrance examinations and rote learning as a method of a achieving the best students. All of this is good for putting as much information into a child’s brain as is it possible to do so, but it does neglect their emotional brain. Recently the Japanese government has tried to put in place a series of changes, but these changes have not been entirely successful and things such as bullying and young suicide have been on the rise. Kids learn that there is one answer to every question, but for most questions we don’t have any answers at all. Most things are very ambiguous and especially children have the ability to come up with creative solutions that can just blow you away, if they are given the chance to speak up for themselves.
Japanese, especially, are stereotyped for this particular way when it comes to education. The teachers stand in front of the children and teach, with little input from the children themselves. 95-98% of these children, although English is part of the curriculum, speaks only Japanese and almost never come in contact with anyone who is outside of their little box. We want them to think outside of their box, not just to come in contact with non Japanese or to come in contact with ideas they have never thought about before, but to become friendly with this and realize that it is not a scary thing to not have an answer. It is not frightening to be different or to have to react to something completely out of the range of experience. The topics of our sessions and the presence of the Non-Japanese students are designed to stimulate their thinking, but also to stimulate the emotions, to give them a reason to speak their mind, and about things that they can talk about. The topics are not difficult to talk about, not rocket science, but for Japanese elementary students, it is perfect practice to work on speaking one’s mind, thinking outside of the usual, and feeling, as well as thinking, about the topics and the non native Japanese speakers present.
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