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2015 J-LEAP REPORT: KASUMI TAGODECEMBER, 2015: BREEZE ISSUE #98
A FREE MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDS OF JAPAN & TEACHERS OFJAPANESE

2015 J-LEAP REPORTBY KASUMI TAGO
Edina High School
Edina, MN
Hello, my name is Kasumi Tago. I am anassistant teacher of Japanese at both Edina
and Southwest High Schools and I would liketo introduce some things about Minnesota, thehigh schools I work at, some events I took partin, and my future goals in the teachingdepartment.
First of all, let me tell you about Minnesota. It is located in the Midwestern part of the UnitedStates and shares a border with Canada to the north. Recently, most of the leaves have fallen,and I can feel the winter coming. It has gotten cold and I have to wear my coat more often.
Although I dislike the cold, I like the fact that Minnesota is said to have 10,000 lakes, including
many beautiful scenic areas. In regards to both its natural beauty, and its people, Minnesota isa nice place to live. In Japan, we try to avoid eye contact in the streets, but here in Minnesota,people freely talk with each other, regardless of whether or not they know each other.
Everyone is smiling and bursting with kindness, and I believe that is Minnesota.
Continuing on, I would like to introduce Edina and Southwest High Schools, which are very
interesting places to work. I remember the first time I went to Southwest. The principal andassistant principals were all dressed up as characters from “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate
Factory” and gave me a very warm welcome. At Edina High School, there are about 2000
students. Edina High School is very academically oriented and it also has a lot of
extracurricular activities such as hockey, tennis, basketball, badminton, and many others.
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At Southwest High School, there are about 1700 students. Southwest works closely with theUniversity of Minnesota and is the only school in Minnesota that offers a high level Japanese
course as a part of the IB diploma program. The Japanese program at Southwest is the only
program in the state to offer the opportunity for students to take the Advanced Placement (AP)test in addition to the IB test. The school also offers Japanese as a part of the University of
Minnesota’s College in the Schools (CIS) program. Students in CIS are able to study in theirclassrooms using the same curriculum as undergraduate students at the University. Students
who successfully complete the year-long CIS course receive 5 undergraduate credits at theUniversity of Minnesota in addition to 3 high school credits.
While the Japanese programs at both schools are great, teachers at both schools are also kindand sometimes greet each other in Japanese. At Southwest High School, teachers havedifferent “daily uniforms,” for example: Monday is “Plaid Day,” so we teachers all wear plaid.
With this “uniform,” I feel more included in the group.
I normally help teach Japanese 1&2 combined
and also Japanese 3 with Tomita-sensei at
Edina High School and I also help teachJapanese 2&3 combined with French-sensei atSouthwest. For Japanese 1, I make most of thematerials, quizzes, and unit tests. This makesme think about what I can do to make it easierfor students to learn every day. At Americanhigh schools, students take the same classes
every day for the whole year, so students get
exposure to Japanese every day, which helps them learn more quickly.
Next, I would like to tell you about my experiences teaching at two high schools. I am able tosee two different environments, compare different teaching methods, and take part in events at
both schools. I took part in many different events during the three months I have beenteaching, such as visits from the Japanese consulate, high school students from Japan, and a
cooking class. When the Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago came to Southwest HighSchool, students in Japanese class performed the soranbushi dance and taiko drums, madepresentations about their trips to Japan, and so on. In addition, the principal suggested that I
demonstrate tea ceremony at the auditorium so I could show the teachers, staff, parents, andstudents what it looked like. That was a great opportunity for me to communicate with them.
There were also Japanese university students and high school students visiting. I think it was agood way for Japanese and American students to communicate with each other. A while after
the Japanese students visited us, we cooked takoyaki and okonomiyaki in class. We did things
we normally would not do and cooperated with each other. It worked to strengthen our bonds
and helped us to communicate more easily. Additionally, I participated in a field day at anothermiddle school and joined a Japanese language camp called “ mori no ike, ” hosted by Concordia
Language Villages located in Northern Minnesota, as a staff member.
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In the Edina Japanese class, I was pleasantly surprised by the motivation of every student.
They asked me to make a Japanese club and to take time after school to teach Japanese for JQuiz (an Upper Midwest High School Japanese Language Competition). In preparation for JQuiz, students come in after school for help. They practice writing coherent sentences inJapanese, speaking Japanese, and learning kanji . We are also planning a trip to Japan nextyear. Because Japanese high school students visited our school, the students want toexperience visiting a Japanese school. As the trip planning continues, the students grow more
and more excited every day.
The reason I believe the Japanese program is special here is because there are no specialclasses for children who have attention deficit disorder, ADD. They are all mainstreamed into
regular education classes, so teachers have to take measures to engage all students soeveryone has a chance to participate in class. My students with ADD tell me things like, “I amcomfortable going to Japanese class, because you give me the attention I need” and“Japanese is super fun.” I try my hardest to ensure that every student feels comfortable.
Although the current Japanese classes lack a substantial amount of students, next year I hope
the Japanese programs will have increasing gains in popularity and student numbers.
I really appreciate that I was given the opportunity to teach Japanese in America. I have met alot of people and have fun every day. I will continue to help with the many events at school,and I wish to help the Japanese exchange students who I rarely get to see. There are so manythings that I can do, so I will take advantage of every chance I get.

Breeze #98

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