Fulbright Memorial Fund Visit to Japan
This web page was created as one of several projects that I did as a participant in the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program. This program allows primary and secondary school educators to travel to Japan for three weeks in an effort to promote greater intercultural understanding between the two nations.
The program is sponsored by the government of Japan and was launched in 1997 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the U. S. government Fulbright Program. Each year, 600 educators from all 50 states visit Japan. To date, more than 4000 primary and secondary educators have visited Japan through the FMF Teacher Program.
The organizers of the trip took great care to give us as many experiences as possible in just a few weeks. The trip included seminars, sightseeing, school visits, and opportunities to interact with Japanese parents and educators I do not claim expertise in any aspect of Japanese history, culture or society. This presentation is simply a record of my experiences as a participant in the program.
A Little About Me
I live in Los Angeles, California and teach instrumental music in two large elementary schools. I have become very interested in learning about the countries and cultures of my diverse students. I have participated in study tours of Mexico and visited Korea twice. I am happy to have had the opportunity to visit Japan and to get some insight into Japanese society and culture.
During my school visits, I was able to observe several music classes and after school musical activities. I was impressed with the fact that in Japan, all of the children learn the basics of music as part of their school curriculum.
I was also fortunate that my homestay family was very musical and had many traditional instruments that I had the opportunity to play. (At least I tried!) My favorite part of the trip was the stay with this family, who lived in a large traditional Japanese house.
I am grateful for the warmth, hospitality and graciousness of the Japanese government and all the people who helped make this trip so memorable. We were treated with kindness, respect and generosity. It was very moving to be a part of this grass roots effort to promote peace, understanding and good will between our two nations.
Follow-on Projects
My plan for follow-on projects grew out of the specific experiences that I had while in Japan . During my visit to Inuyama Junior High School, I met Issei, the president of the Parent Council. His wife is an American from Burbank, California, a city just 15 minutes from where I live! Even more astounding is that he attended the University of Buffalo in New York, the same university that I attended. Because of these connections, we decided to start a pen pal program between students at Inuyama Junior High School and my school, Cahuenga Elementary School. So far, as of April, 2005, we have exchanged two large packages of letters. Who knows what may grow out of this exchange!
I also created a PowerPoint presentation and showed it many times to friends, colleagues and community groups. I have been invited to share my experiences with the Wilshire Rotary Club. In order to prepare for these presentations, I studied more about Japanese music and collected some Japanese children's songs.
Another unexpected result is that a fellow teacher from my school applied to the program, was accepted and will be a participant in October, 2005.
Please enjoy my pictures and I hope you will be inspired to apply as a participant in this wonderful program!
Powerpoint Presentation of my trip to Japan. This will open in a new window. To come back here, just close the presentation.
