Shibu Maku, Shibu Shibu, Gakushuuin

Congratulations to all of our students on their great success at the Shibuya schools and Gakushuuin.

14 KA students successfully passed Shibu Maku, and 12 students passed Shibu Shibu. These results are simply fantastic. You all worked very hard and deserve your success.

I also want to offer congratulations to the students who did not manage to pass--all of you have learned so much and deserve praise for your hard work. Your reading and writing skills have improved tremendously this year. No matter which school you attend, those skills will help you ace your classes as well as enrich your learning experience. Be proud of what you've accomplished!

Finally, I want to give a special congratulations to our student who won the scholarship at Shibu Shibu. This is the second year in a row that a KA student was selected for that special honor. Excellent work!

Selecting a School

As many of our students have already passed more than one exam, we have been hearing a lot from parents and students seeking advice about which school to choose. The following are a few considerations that might help when making this very important decision. 

1. The Commute

A lot of families don't realize how important this is until after their child has become physically and mentally worn out from spending four hours on a crowded train each day. I strongly recommend trying out the commute to the school once or twice before making a commitment. 

2. Support for Japanese and Mathematics

Does the school have any kind of support system for returnees who are behind in math and Japanese? Schools that do offer such help deserve special consideration (and praise).

3. The English Program 

    All schools have a great English program on paper, but are they really successful at improving the English levels of their students? The only way to know is to look at the older returnee students in the school.  If you visit the school, don't just observe the classes with J1 students. Take a look at the graduating seniors if you can. If they are making progress in their English after attending the school for all those years, then the school is probably doing a good job. 

When looking at a newer programs that don't have returnee upperclassmen,  consider the following: 

A. Are the teachers passionate about their teaching? 

B. Does the school believe that returnees are already good at English and therefore don't require much English support ? If you hear an administrator of a school say something to that effect, then there's probably not much hope for their English program. 

C. Does the school hold their returnee students to a high standard? Or do all returnees automatically get great grades on their report cards because their English is better than that of the other students? If the latter is true, you can expect a steady decline in your child's level of English.

D. Does the English program emphasize reading?   Programs that encourage reading are generally more successful than ones that do not.  My top students every year are avid readers. My students who struggle with English refuse to read. There's definitely a connection there.

   

4. The School Ranking

     I do understand that the school ranking is important to a lot of parents because the ranking reflects how successful the school is at getting their students into top universities. Keep in mind, however, that most ranking systems do not separate returnees and non-returnees when making their decisions. This is important because returnees share common challenges; for example, they often have to play catch-up in their Japanese and math classes. If we want to find out how well our returnee children will do in six year's time, then we should take a closer look at the success of their graduating returnees. 

Another consideration is that there is a six-year gap the between the outgoing and incoming students. For new programs, this obvious point is worth looking at. It is likely that the rankings of schools will go up by the time this year's students graduate. Remember, even the top-ranked returnee schools had low rankings for the first six years that their returnee programs were in place. When their first class of returnees finally graduated, their rankings shot up. 

One more thing about rankings--no matter how high the ranking of a school may be, if your child is not happy or motivated at that school, it is unlikely that your child will succeed. This brings me to the most important factor in selecting a school: 

5. Happiness

Depressed, frustrated, unhappy students do not do well academically. Over the years, I have encountered a lot of students who stopped attending school because the school simply did not suit them. Some schools are too competitive. Some aren't competitive enough. Some schools give returnees special treatment and make some of their students happy. The very same treatment in the same school makes other students miserable. The point is, ranking systems don't take into account the unique needs of your child. If you know your child doesn't react well to competition, then you might want to think twice before sending your child to a highly competitive school. If soccer is deeply important to your child, then you might do well to send your child to a school with a soccer club. I realize this is not a popular idea, but I've seen too many families make the mistake of factoring out happiness in the decision-making process. Again, I repeat: depressed, frustrated, unhappy students do not do well academically. 

I hope this has been helpful. If I think of anything else, I'll post again. 

Senzoku, Kogyokushya, Toin, Keimei, Hiroo, Takanawa, Shirayuri

Congratulations to all twenty KA students who passed Senzoku this year. This year's Senzoku exam was particularly difficult, so your success makes us especially proud. 

Boys, you have also done a great job. Kogyokushya always puts together a tricky exam with a lot of traps for the careless examinee. We're so glad you took the exam with care. 

I'd also like to offer congratulations to the students who passed Toin, Keimei, Hiroo, and Takanawa--all schools with somewhat new returnee programs. These programs are the wave of the future, and they already have a lot to offer. I hope all of you will be happy in your new schools.