Afternoons are set aside for individual projects. Again, it's up to the kids. They can plump for photography, creative writing, organic gardening. Or more dance. All are valid choices.
Staff just help set goals and provide guidance on methods and schedules.
The mood may be casual, but the students, aged between six and 18, are focused and motivated. At one of the daily school meetings, three teenagers present everyone with sets of English phrase cards they created. Such initiative seldom survives in grade-obsessed mainstream institutions. Here, I acquire what I learn. Her fellow students, who come from all over Japan, are just happy to have made the switch.