The Japan-America Society of the State of Washington (JASSW) received a grant from the United States-Japan Foundation in July to fund a new educational program in Japanese elementary schools entitled “America in the Schools.” The program will introduce American elementary school culture to approximately 7 million Japanese K-12 students through the collaborative efforts of English speakers and local Japanese educators.
“Through this grassroots presentation of their American counterparts, we hope Japanese students will gain an understanding of American culture that goes beyond the headlines and blockbuster movies and leads to increase educational, political, economic, and community ties,” JASSW said in a statement. “Even more importantly, through this program we hope to increase and encourage student interest in learning English at an earlier age.”
JASSW will be conducting the first JIS pilot presentations in the following schools: Moriai Elementary School (Fukushima), Fukushima Minami High School (Fukushima), Meisen Academy (Sendai), and Shioiri Higashi Elementary School (Tokyo.) These pilot presentations will be conducted in coordination with local high school students participating in the TOMODACHI exchange program.