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Japan Today - News and discussion

Monday, November 19, 2007

Students learn reality of business at Shinagawa
girls' school
Taro Fujimoto
TOKYO —Japan’s education system has long been criticized forcramming and mass production of students destined for thesame career paths. The mentality was that if students
attended a high-ranked university, they would get the best
jobs at major corporations. Preparing students for thecompetition of university entrance exams has been one ofStudents hold products they planned. PHOTO the main tasks of high school education. Public, private and
BY TARO FUJIMOTO
commercial cram schools are thought of as places to provide
students with knowledge applicable to university entrance exams.
However, such outdated ideas are changing as more people realize that cram school education is lesspractical and unproductive in society. Students are now being encouraged to think of their future
careers after higher education. Today, “career education” is the catchphrase for education in Japan.
Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin, a private school for girls, emphasizes the career development of students inits curriculum. Established in 1925, the school has recently been getting some attention for its“28project.” Launched three years ago, the 28project is a partnership with beverage, pharmaceuticaland other corporations. Students are involved in product planning as part of their career education.
They are encouraged to take over projects from year to year.
Headmaster Shihoko Urushi says: “The 28project aims to help our girls plan their future careers andhelp them realize their goals up to the age of 28. We picked 28 because for many Japanese women,that is a turning point in their lives, such as the end of postgraduate study for professionals and theaverage marriage age.” Urushi says that the project does not hinder students’ study for university
entrance exams and that there have been no complaints from parents or students.
Process more important than results
Since the school started the 28project with corporations and released some products on the market,
the news media have taken notice. But Urushi always emphasizes that producing something
profitable is not the purpose of the project. Learning the process of it is more important, she says.
“Traditionally, Japanese people hesitate to teach children about business and money. So those whoread the news coverage of the 28project often focus more on the commercial aspects of the projects.”
In fact, the school refuses large-scale promotions by partner corporations. All the joint projects arevoluntary by the school and corporations.
Some partner corporations are not eager to publicize the joint project with the school. Urushi says
they don’t profit from the project although their product development and marketing sections join in
as well. In one case, the president of a company directly gave his OK to support the project without

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2007/11/19

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consulting his colleagues, because he was personally impressed by the students’ passion.
Despite the positive news coverage nationwide, other schools have not shown any interest in
following Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin. “Some teachers at other schools seem indifferent to this sort ofproject,” says Urushi. “They often say the project is great, but don’t seem motivated to try it at theirschools. “Maybe they think the project has nothing to do with education and consumes too muchtime and energy. Some schools do work on ‘career education’ just because it’s a trend. But there arefewer schools seriously working on it.”Any profits from the project are donated to charity by students. Urushi says, “Students learn what
capitalism is like, but I’d like them to understand that the career path they choose shouldn’t
necessarily be just about money but rather something that is worthwhile for society.”
Students learn reality of society and business
The 28project often helps teachers discover a new side to their students not evident in the classroom.
“Since the project is run by groups of students, the diversified skills of each student, such as creative
design, brainstorming and presentation ability, are important, even though such qualities are notalways highly valued at school. Some students gain greater self-confidence after their skills arevalued by corporations,” Urushi explains.
Yuko Fuchida, 15, recalls difficult aspects of the project. “Sometimes, the decisions we reach abouta product are not necessarily accepted by our partner corporations.” But she adds that she was happyto find female role models in the partner corporations. “I was able to imagine what I should do tobecome a woman like them.”
If nothing else, the 28project has given students a more realistic view of society. Ayaka Tsuchiya,
15, says she experienced the harsh reality of business. “I learned that while we think our ideas are
good, that doesn’t mean the product will be profitable. We must consider costs and other things.”
Students involved in the project are not passive consumers anymore. They say they now care about
how the product is planned, who made it, and who the target consumers are, when they go shopping.

The project has taught teachers a thing or two. Urushi admits that she and other teachers at theschool have learned that they don’t know anything about business etiquette. “We are learning about
the management style of successful businesspeople. I was amazed to receive emails from them atmidnight.”
Looking ahead, Urushi says she has been pressured by her students to offer better programs withcorporations every year. To do that, she says, schools and teachers need to know more about societyand business. Thus, one of the purposes of the project — “building a bridge between education andsociety” – is being accomplished at the moment not only for students but for teachers as well.
While Urushi is happy to see her students enjoying the project, she is very interested in what they doafter leaving school. Whether or not they go to high-ranked universities is less important, she says,
than how successful their lives are.
November 19, 2007
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http://www.japantoday.com/news/jp/e/tools/print.asp?content=feature&id=1307

2007/11/19