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Ruth: |
Yukio, where do you see the value of Playshop in Japanese society? |
Yukio: |
Benesse first thought of Playshop as a program for adults, and second, as potential content for a new class called integrative studies in public schools that will be added to the elementary and junior high school curriculum. The content of this class time will not be dictated by the Ministry of Education, but will be left to the discretion of each school. We feel that Playshop could be conducted during this class time. Is anything like this taking place in the United States? |
Ruth: |
Milton mentioned the idea of project-based learning from preschool to high school in the arts and sciences, but parental involvement is unusual after elementary school. |
Jogi: |
There is an impulse to reinvent the community, to take ownership back, to improve values and reclaim the community. |
Yukio: |
Our efforts would focus on teachers and children and how to integrate schools, parents, teachers, and children, bringing them together to make a better educational system. |
Ruth: |
This integrative idea is already in evidence in the workplace in the United States because schools can be very isolated in the community. An example of this is "Bring your Daughter to Work Day." |
Yukio: |
Could Playshops be held in the U.S.? |
Ruth: |
It could easily travel. It would require a visual artist, someone like Takeo, and a nice van to go from town to town, school to school. |
Takeo: |
A mobile Playshop could be viable. |
Yukio: |
The Ministry of Education would like to bring schools and the community together and introduce outside professionals, like Takeo, and also work with corporations to revitalize the community and educational system. |
Ruth: |
This idea of integrative studies is used in arts education in the United States. |
Jogi: |
It is important to remember that art schools tend to have interesting educational ideas, but often these ideas are only meant for art students and rarely affect other subjects, but everybody needs to be reawakened, not just art students. Students in the arts department are often allowed to do what they want while other students have to study under the conventional curriculum. But, Playshop should be for everyone. |
Hillel: |
How can we make the visual artist central but not central in a dominating way? |
Ruth: |
In the United States, some schools have an Artist-in-Residence program. This person is a poet, visual or movement artist who is on the school staff. |
Yukio: |
There are three possibilities for continuing such workshops in the future. Workshops could be handled by (1) schools, (2) educational committees and the local board of education in the community, or (3) private companies like Benesse that would charge a fee. |
Takeo: |
Prep schools might be another possibility as well as camps. |
Ruth: |
Why does Benesse want to spend money on Playshops? |
Yukio: |
For research and development. Playshop is an investment for Benesse and playful learning is part of Benesse's corporate mission because Japanese education is so unplayful. |
Ruth: |
Playshop could grow out of a collective of the three organizations mentioned above. If the facilitators (university students) have access to the Internet, one possibility is posting a monthly menu of Playshop ideas on the Internet. A group of ten to fifteen parents might be necessary. The question is how to keep the parents interested? There could be an inspiration page on the Internet. |
Yukio: |
Actually, we were thinking of McDonald's as a kind of model. In other words, would it be possible to start up Playshops all over Japan? |
Ruth: |
I think it is possible. |
Hillel: |
Starbucks was another model. |
Jogi: |
You could build up CRN as a brand. |
Ruth: |
I liked the fact that Playshop was free of popular culture. I'd like to know the purpose of popularizing Playshop. |
Yukio: |
There were about 100 participants at this Playshop. The ultimate goal is to change the educational system of Japan and so it would be necessary to influence more people. |
Ruth: |
The Internet would be a valuable tool. |
Yukio: |
Do you think the Playshop idea can be universal? Could it be transplanted in China, the U.S., and India? |
Ruth: |
Museums in the United States offer similar one-day workshops. |
Yukio: |
Are they commercially successful? |
Ruth: |
Yes, and spiritually successful, too, but museums are not trying to change the educational system. Yukio seems to have a larger goal in mind. |
Hillel: |
Yukio, are you referring to changing Japanese culture on a deep level or just changing it superficially? |
Yukio: |
I'm not really sure about that. |
Ruth: |
What is the integrative studies class? |
Yukio: |
It is a class that is scheduled to begin as part of the public school curriculum in 2002. Now students have every other Saturday off, but in the future, students will have all Saturdays off. Some people think this will lead to a decline in scholastic ability. |
Ruth: |
Are teachers trained to do integrative studies? |
Yukio: |
Some are and some aren't. |
Hillel: |
Teachers are hungry to be told what to do and it is important to follow the interest of the children. In integrative studies, the classes should cater to the interest of children and the theme or content of the class will be flexible and open to suggestion. |
Ruth: |
Then this could provide Benesse with a clear window into the system. |
Jogi: |
To me, it would be possible to teach anything as long as it is done playfully, in other words, the class is defined by the method rather than the content. The content is theme-based and the school can choose the actual content; it is not dictated by the Ministry. |
Yukio: |
But, teachers are not accustomed to teaching in this manner, that is, choosing their own content. |
Ruth: |
Then it would be good to do a Playshop with the teachers. |
Hillel: |
Initially, teachers were the target audience, but they did not seem to understand the importance of Playshop. Also, teachers are not paid to take part in workshops on their day off. |
Yukio: |
This might change in the future. |
Jogi: |
Rather than a single approach, it would be good to rely on communication between people or facilitators. |
Yukio: |
There would be variations of Playshop as it expands, but I would like to come up with something like an operating system for it since the basic system is important, but this should be based on a playful approach. Do you think Playshop II should have a different activity or offer pantomime as a constant feature? |
Takeo: |
There are different types of mime. The Kanjiyama troupe talks a lot, but most mimes are not good at dealing with audiences. |
Ruth: |
There would be many resources in art education. |
Jogi: |
I would be interested in Mudpie's input. |
Ruth: |
It would also be good to consider a permanent space or design, like a discovery museum or museum that could be an act in progress. |
Jogi: |
Teachers could be facilitators and distribute Playshop ideas in school. Several people said they would go home and play with their friends. This reminds me that IBM has a counting museum with artifacts and items related to counting. Companies like IBM use these museums to enhance their own value. Benesse could use playful learning to position itself as a brand name. |
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