Record of Our Activities

On October 23rd, Yuta Ando, a graduate student of Kyoto University, was invited to give a special lecture on SDGs. “In what field are no SGDs set?” he asked, and the students answered, ”Religion.”  In such a casual exchange, they got a deeper understanding of SDGs.  After the session, they asked a lot of questions about SDGs and studies in universities individually.

(Voices from the Participants)

・I enjoyed a totally new approach to the understanding of SDGs.  Usually, in class, we started with the question of what we can do to achieve SDGs.  I expected that this lesson would go in the same way, but it was very different.  We thought of a new SDG or welcomed the criticism of what we usually praised.

・I have been thinking about becoming a researcher just because I like science.  I have never considered the relation between a job as a researcher and global perspectives such as SDGs. But after listening to this lecture, I can connect the two easily. I think the procedure of increasing knowledge to understand what is happening in the world by thinking logically is applicable in learning in science.  Finding something in common between different fields is truly important.

The students in Class 24 visited the U.S. for eight days. They left for America on September 30th and made presentations about their research projects at Princeton High School, Princeton University and Eco-village in Ithaca. While enjoying the discussions, they learned new things from a lot of people they met during the visit. It was a fruitful tour for them.
(Voices from the Students)
・I thought Japanese students should join in the class as actively as American students. I should be more active and more involved in classes I take.
・I was nervous about the homestay.  I knew I should not hesitate to ask a lot of questions, but I was not confident enough. However, I gathered my courage to talk, and I was able to communicate. If we become more confident and try to speak with a smile, our spirits will be brighter and we can be positive. I learned this from the experience.  I felt as if I had new family members and the homestay became a memorable experience.
・Seeing a lot of neon signs in Times Square, I enjoyed a flashy side of America, but when we visited the eco village in Ithaca, I noticed some people were environmentally aware. After helping villagers with their farming, many of our classmates said that they became hungry for the first time in the trip because they were overwhelmed by the large portions of food given at meals. We appreciated food more seriously through this experience than just by collecting information about wasted food in our research.
・If we get stuck in our research, we want to use the experience we had during this overseas trip.  I want to think of what I can do to solve problems in the world and work hard so that I can play a leading part in settling world issues.
・It was a good experience because I was able to improve my communication skills and capability to tackle problems.

On September 20th and October 21st, students who went overseas this summer reported their trips in their attractive presentations for 1st year students who are thinking about going abroad next year. Most of them used the programs such as Tobitate JAPAN Program (Public-Private Partnership Student Study Abroad Program), Aeon 1% Asia Youth Leaders Program, and AIG High School Diplomats. Some talked about the experience of living abroad for a year.
(Voices from the Listeners)
・I thought the difference between short stays and long ones was just the length of the period.  However, I learned how attractive studying for a year or longer was because I could have more free time to spend with friends and build a stronger friendship. I also learned tips in choosing programs, which will be very helpful.
・I heard of the Tobitate Program before from my friend who participated in it.  But from the report, I was surprised at how fruitful, as well as demanding, the program was. I learned if I choose it, I need to be independent.  This has made me more interested in it.  Tobitate students have many opportunities to make a presentation and talk with students from other countries about Japanese culture in English. I am respectful of them because they had courage to try something new and have achieved it. It is my turn to give it a try.

Four students in Class 24 participated in the exchange program above from August 18th to 23rd.  High school students from nine Asian countries gathered in Hanoi, Vietnam and worked together on the topic: Diet in Vietnam and how to improve it. This was our third time to join in the program. Once they were in a group of people from different cultural backgrounds, the four participants from our school were overwhelmed and somewhat disappointed to learn how incapable they were compared with other Asian students, even though they had expected it. They matured mentally during the week; they acted voluntarily, listened carefully to others, and never gave up. They learned many important things which are helpful in their school and social lives.
【Voices from the Participants】
At first, our group had a lot of disagreements and a hard time. We had no meeting at night just because our leader said that he was tired. The four Japanese members were worried and worked until midnight.  I suggested that we should meet to talk at breakfast time, but nobody came. I was sometimes annoyed and other times, I felt frustrated that we were not able to communicate with each other because of our poor English and cultural differences. However, we won the first place in the final presentation on the last day. Why? It is because we never gave up despite the barrier in language and culture.  In discussion, conflicts arise between people who have different opinions. Those who are shy and are not assertive like me tend to give in to people who have strong opinions.  Other Japanese members had their own strong opinions and tried to make themselves understood in English to other Asian students, who spoke English more fluently.  On some occasions, they clearly said no, which led to severe arguments, but the members from other countries gradually respected our opinion, which resulted in a better group discussion. That is why we succeeded in making a good presentation.

Four students in the SG course participated in SR Summit Focus hosted by Ritsumeikan Uji High School. Eighteen schools from all over Japan gathered in Ritsumeikan University in Kusatsu, Shiga, and joined in the three-day workshop that started on July 30th.  In the workshop, the participants learned new problem-solving skills such as how to brainstorm and map ideas, and they actually tried out the new methods to work out solutions with the help of the mentors.
(Voices from the Participants)
・Before the program started, I was worried about whether I could make it for the three days, because I did not know who would be in the project team. Now the program is over, and I found that I was able to enjoy the program two or three times more than I had expected.  One reason for this is that I was able to meet people who had the same ambition. I was inspired by how actively they worked, so I decided to try without worrying about mistakes. I also thought that the well-organized slides and presentations were breathtaking. I asked them about their secrets of such wonderful performances. They said gaining a lot of experience was important. I decided I should be more active and participate in this kind of event more often.
・It was an exciting three-day program.  We talked about one topic for more than twelve hours during the two days of the seminar, which was my first time to think for such a long time. I cannot deny that I was tired, but I was never sick of it, nor did anybody suggest giving up.  I think it was not because they had concern for others but because they were passionate and hardworking. Although we were not in the same group because we had anything in common, we became really good friends in a short time. It seems to me how long we stay together doesn’t matter if we have one goal in common.

On July 12th, the 3rd-year students of the SGH course made a final presentation for an audience of exchange students from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and Kanazawa University.  Many teachers in or outside of Ishikawa as well as the students’ parents came to watch the presentations in English.  Question & answer sessions were also conducted in English and the students did their best to overcome the challenging parts.  The audience said, “I was impressed with their presentation skills, especially with their facial expressions,” or “I was surprised at how well the students answered questions in English.” Some said, “The research was logical and I was able to understand that they approached their topic from various perspectives.”  Others pointed out that students were actively involved in the event not only as presenters but also as the MCs or the supporters for organizing the event. The students enjoyed the praise from the audience.
【Voices from the Students】
・Different people have different ideas. We were not able to reach an agreement easily. We sometimes thought it might be easier to work individually but we highly valued working as a group and specifying the roles of group members in most of our activities.  We hope we can do some more projects related to the topic that we are working on.
・We sometimes got stuck in deciding how we should develop our research. Now we can say that we were right in that we did not stop our research even though we were not sure that what we were doing was right.  We realized that the quickest way to the solution is, actually, to keep working, even if you are not sure.
・We thought how difficult and how interesting it was to work on the issues that had no clear answer.  At first, we felt less confident in what we were doing since we were not sure of whether we were doing in the right way, but we were able to be more confident as we thought more about what we were trying to achieve and for whom we were working.  We were happy to be in the SG course and involved in the problem-solving process even though we contributed very little to it.

  On June 15th, SG course students visited Shishukan, Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability, of Kyoto University and joined in the workshop conducted by its graduate students. The purpose of this tour is that the students get advice on their research from graduate students who represent what leading researchers should be like. Students in Class 24 visit there every year, and this was our fourth visit.
  Each of the eight research groups had one graduate student as an advisor, and they discussed how they should set a research question and a hypothesis, and learned a better way to conduct further research.  This was a great opportunity for them to get a new point of view for their research, and was a motivating experience.
  Some college students who graduated from the SG course planned a campus tour in Kyoto University. Nine students from Tokyo or Kyoto University met our students at Kyoto Station and escorted them to Kyoto University and gave a tour around the campus.  They also joined in the workshop and shared their experiences in high school.

Our school took part in the event, which started 4 years ago, three times in a row.  Two of the groups joined in the presentation sessions held at Kansei Gakuin University.  One team talked about the food label designing using well-organized slides, and the other about the danger of alien species invasion and the importance of biodiversity, with the use of their elaborate poster.  They both talked passionately about what they had been working on in the past year.

On March 15th and 16th, students from Hokushin’etsu district gathered at Ishikawa Youth Center (Ishikawa Seishonen Seminar House) for the 1st SGH Hokushin’etsu Forum, which is hosted by Kanazawa University. Eight students from Class 24 (SG course) participated in the event and worked with students from other prefectures in Hokushin’etsu area. Participants were divided into groups where they worked on the topic given by facilitators and got ready for the presentation on the second day.  They did a great job in working out the solutions of the social issue as a group. Our students were greatly moved by the outstanding creativity and ability to communicate.  Poster sessions were held on 16th and all of the eight research groups in Class 24 enjoyed exchanging the ideas with the audience.

On February 6th, in the i-studio, many students were impressed by the special talk by Osamu Katsuyama, who works at Komatsu Ltd.  He worked abroad and through his experience, felt how difficult it was to work in a different culture.  In the talk, the participants learned tips for working together with those who have different values and culture, as well as how difficult and important that was.