Free Inquiry Blog #7

Japanese Curriculum!

In Japan grade 7 marks the first year of junior high school. Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Technology (MEXT) regulates the Japanese curriculum and is responsible for implementing the “National Curriculum Standards” across the country.

The national curriculum standards are similar to the BC curriculum as they work to improve students critical thinking and collaborative learning. Their motto is “creating a society in which people of all ages, from children to adults, can learn and apply their newfound skills anywhere, anytime.” I believe this aligns with BC’s Ministry of Education’s goal to grow student’s critical thinking skills in an ever growing world in which endless knowledge is at our fingertips. (https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/overview).

I will be teaching at Bunka Suginami Canadian International School. The school is a double diploma school meaning that all students enrolled in the Canadian program will complete all of the BC high school curriculum and the MEXT Japanese high school curriculum. This is a huge task for the students. They attend the Japanese school 6 days a week and the Canadian school 5 days a week. From Monday to Friday the students spend half the day at each school. When I plan out my lessons I have to be mindful of the full days that the students have.

Below is a sample of what my weekly schedule might look like:

I am beyond excited to learn more about how the Japanese and BC curriculum connect and how to best support the academic needs of my students!