No.4 What I think about “dialogue”

(Published in the January 15 issue of Lifelong Learning Newsletter “Hiroba”)

On November 22, 2020, a research presentation was held at Inagi City Inagi Daishi Elementary School as a school promoted by the Inagi City Board of Education. For two years since 2020, our school has been engaged in research aimed at realizing "classes that deepen thinking through dialogue" with the research theme of "nurturing children who can have and express their own ideas." Ta. The research presentation where the results were presented was attended by as many people as before the coronavirus pandemic.
　
On the day of the event, all classes opened their classes to the public, and a variety of language activities were carried out, including interviews between students, group activities to classify words using cards, and group activities to create stories. There were also activities where individual ideas were instantly shared and evaluated with the whole group using ``one tablet per person.'' Children refine their ideas through the manipulation of language, empathize with others while listening to their language, deepen their thoughts from the other person's perspective, and carefully convey their thoughts to others. I was engaged in a dialogue with. Seeing these children, I once again realized the significance of "dialogue" and the power of "dialogue," and I was particularly impressed by the attitude of the children in trying to convey information to others in an easy-to-understand manner based on evidence. , I was deeply impressed.
　
Following the open class, there was a research report from our school's faculty and staff in the gymnasium, and they talked about the process that led to these results, saying, ``We have been working on ``visualizing dialogue'' using whiteboards and ICT.'' It was reported that ``we have placed emphasis on clarifying the basis and examining validity.'' As I listened to these reports, I realized that this kind of practical process was at the root of the children at our school engaging in dialogue in ways that were easy to understand for listeners. I was reminded of the ingenuity and efforts of the children, and I felt that this research was of great value in terms of nurturing children who will play an active role in an era where collaboration with diverse others is even more necessary. At the same time, my own experience from several years ago came back to me.
　
In the summer of 2019, I participated in fieldwork to inspect educational facilities in the United States, and based at a university in Nashville, Tennessee, I exchanged information and had discussions with educators, and worked with kindergartens.・We visited elementary schools, teacher training facilities, etc. On the first day, at a meeting, each of us was given the task of introducing ourselves and talking about what we particularly wanted to learn. So, without hesitation, I said, ``I would like to know about ESD in the United States,'' but the person on the other end asked me, ``ESD? What is it?'' and I answered, ``Well, it's called sustainable development education.'' ,...to develop people who will form a sustainable society...'' I ended up giving a half-hearted explanation. After everyone introduced themselves, the professor who led the visiting group said to us, ``This is not Japan.Educational terminology that is commonly used in Japan may be communicated differently in other countries.In particular, we should talk about the education that we want to convey.'' When it comes to assignments, you need to convey the ``concept'' in an easy-to-understand way.'' From that day on, during my week in the United States, I repeatedly told myself, ``I have to talk about 'concepts.''' Especially when I used terms related to education, I kept trying to understand the underlying meaning, significance, and system of the term. I tried to verbalize the ideas I received. Not everything went well, but from this experience, I learned that in order to have a dialogue with a diverse range of people, by talking about concepts with evidence, background, and definitions, you can put yourself and the other person on the same field. I was able to get the idea that this is the case. In the era of "globalization," being able to engage in reliable dialogue with a diverse range of people is an essential quality. To achieve this, it is important to have the ability to convey the essence of things in an easy-to-understand manner using solid language skills. I would like to once again express my gratitude for the efforts of Inagi Daishi Elementary School, which has taken on the challenge of implementing practices that enhance these qualities.
　
For the past 10 years, not only our school, but all schools in the city have been continuously striving to ``enhance language activities.'' Words that express the seasons are posted throughout the campus, and students can often be seen actively expressing their ideas in class. While I hope that each school will continue to improve their language skills and enhance various opportunities for dialogue, I would like to ask Inagi to continue improving their language skills and enriching various opportunities for dialogue. We would like to increase opportunities for children to meet even more diverse people. Interactions with local people who have been supporting us for a long time, children and adults from sister cities, guidance from specialist external instructors, and collaboration between children and students from other schools in the city. By engaging in dialogue with a more diverse range of people, including through social learning and communication activities with foreigners such as international students and ALTs, the children of Inagi will develop the ability to express their thoughts appropriately while being considerate of others. I hope that it will continue to improve.
　
Makiko Sugimoto, Superintendent of Inagi City Board of Education