THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 25, 1994 TAG: 9408250602
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
They didn't speak a common language, but educators from Kitakyushu, Japan, and Norfolk public schools found common ground Wednesday during an exchange of ideas about education.
Each is interested in something the other has: U.S. educators are looking to Japan as a model for rigorous classroom instruction. Japan hopes to emulate American teaching techniques to encourage individuality and creativity.
``If we could replicate their educational system, it would be fantastic,'' said Thomas Lockamy, assistant superintendent for school governance in Norfolk public schools.
``It's a no-nonsense business over there. Teachers are among the most highly respected people in the country and the parents are very committed - when you have all those ingredients you can't help but be successful.''
The weeklong visit by the eight-member Japanese delegation marks the seventh year that officials of Norfolk public schools and Norfolk's sister city Kitakyushu have taken turns traveling to the other's country to share ideas about education.
The officials still need the help of translators because neither the Americans nor the Japanese could speak the others' language.
But with business and industry rapidly expanding onto a global scale, the international educational exchange is more important than ever, participants said.
``International understanding is probably the key,'' said Norfolk schools Superintendent Roy D. Nichols Jr. ``Our economies are so intertwined that I think it's important we understand and appreciate people from other parts of the world and that we increase their understanding of us.''
The exchanges have benefited Norfolk schools in a variety of ways, Lockamy said.
For the upcoming school year, for instance, the Kitakyushu Board of Education will provide two teachers to teach Japanese to students at Larchmont Elementary, Blair Middle and Maury High schools. The exchanges also have inspired changes in the way math and science are taught and how technology is used in the classroom.
Japanese students consistently outpace American youngsters in a range of subjects, including math and science, both critical in the information age. One reason: They spend more time in school - 240 days-plus each year compared with the 180-day calendar in most U.S. schools.
Japan is undergoing an ``educational revolution,'' largely in response to the ``internationalization'' of the economy, said Seiichi Umemoto, director of instruction of the Kitakyushu Board of Education.
A key new teaching concept introduced during the past two years in Kitakyushu elementary and middle schools is ``team teaching,'' in which two or more teachers work with students in the same classroom.
Norfolk schools discovered team teaching two decades ago. It is used routinely now to teach low-income underachievers, special education students and other students who need individual attention.
In Japan, team teaching is designed to help students develop as individuals, a radical departure from past practices that stressed uniformity within a rigid structure.
With the aid of a translator and an overhead projector, Mituru Yoshino, an elementary teacher, explained Japan's concept of team teaching to about 40 Norfolk educators.
Japanese teachers now try to individualize instruction, gearing it to each student's learning style, interests and personality, Yoshino said. Students also ``peer study'' in small groups, helping each other with problems.
Some teachers and parents have resisted the change, Yoshino said, but surveys of students show that 69 percent enjoy going to class more and 75 percent understand school subjects better.
The Japanese delegation came to Norfolk with an interest in learning more about middle school education.
William Delk, the new principal of Norfolk's award-winning Northside Middle, and several teachers explained how they had achieved success by giving teachers and staff members more control over running the school, creating teacher and course clusters that incorporate several subjects and offering individualized instruction to slower learners.
The symposium was held in the auditorium at Ruffner Middle School. The delegation also observed a new-teacher orientation at Ghent Elementary and will attend today's School Board meeting before leaving for a tour of Williamsburg and Washington. by CNB