Sanford School history teacher Donna Sherpa was selected to be one of 160 teachers who studied the Japanese education system through the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund.
Sherpa and 15 other members of the group were sent to Shimotsuke City, 50 minutes northeast of Tokyo. There they toured the historical sights and then spent a day each in a college, elementary school, junior high school, and high school.
Each teacher also spent a day-and-a-half with a local Japanese family.
Sherpa observed that while the Japanese education system is a very good one for bright students, there is little personalized instruction in the classroom.
Students never asked questions of teachers, and teachers did not circulate among the 30–40 members of each class to make sure that students understood the lesson. However, Japanese students go to cram schools to learn what they did not understand during the regular school day.
Sherpa added that the Japanese people were very gracious and kind during the entire visit, and the JFMF group was treated royally everywhere it went.
