91³Ô¹Ï

Last year, the Iranian Revolution of 1979 marked its 40th anniversary. In 91³Ô¹Ï¡¯s newest Scholars Corner video offering, ¡°The Iranian Revolution,¡± discusses Iran and the Iranian Revolution, noting the influence of Iran regionally and in the United States, the significance and impact of the Iranian Revolution, and the Iranian Revolution¡¯s causes and effects. He also emphasizes the fight for democracy throughout Iran¡¯s history of revolutions and today.

In his lecture, Dr. Milani addresses several questions, including why Americans should be interested in Iran and the Iranian Revolution in the first place. Dr. Milani reflects, ¡°I think we should learn about Iran, and we should teach about Iran because Iran is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. It was one of the earliest empires¡­ If that¡¯s not enough, Iran has been an absolutely essential part of the Middle East for the last century. Virtually everything that has happened in Iran has prefigured the developments in the region.¡± He continues by noting that ¡°In the Cold War period, Iran was one of the staunchest allies of the United States. And since 1979, Iran has been one of the staunchest foes of the United States. So historically we need to understand Iran, and essentially we need to understand Iran if we are to understand what is happening in the Middle East and what has happened in the Middle East in the last 40 years.¡±

This video lecture was designed for high school and community college levels and is recommended for courses in world history, political science, and world affairs. An accompanying teacher¡¯s guide includes activities that draw upon the content and perspectives from Dr. Milani¡¯s lecture. The organizing questions that students are encouraged to consider are:

• What is a revolution?
• What were the successes and failures of the Iranian Revolution?
• How did the Iranian Revolution impact or contribute to events in the Middle East, the United States, and the world?
• How is the Iranian Revolution similar and different from other revolutions?
• What are some of the challenges of writing about a historical event like the Iranian Revolution?

Lastly, 91³Ô¹Ï recommends that teachers and students examine the resources available at the , which is directed by Dr. Milani. Also, 91³Ô¹Ï encourages teachers and student to visit 91³Ô¹Ï¡¯s Scholars Corner webpage, which features many other videos of scholars affiliated with the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) discussing contemporary issues and research in their fields of expertise.

Since 2016, 91³Ô¹Ï has offered regional online courses to top high school students in Japan. The first regional course was offered to high school students in Tottori Prefecture. Since then, 91³Ô¹Ï has increased its regional online course offerings to high school students in Hiroshima Prefecture, Kawasaki City, and Oita Prefecture. These courses present creative and innovative approaches to teaching Japanese high school students about U.S. society and culture and global themes. 

All four courses recently finished their 2019¨C20 term. The course instructors were most pleased with the achievement of their students and thus had an exceedingly difficult time choosing only two honorees for each course. This article provides a brief overview of each course and the naming of the student honorees.

Stanford e-Hiroshima
Given Hiroshima Prefecture¡¯s historical ties with the United States, Stanford e-Hiroshima had special significance to the students and its Instructor Rylan Sekiguchi. Some of the course topics included Japanese immigration from Hiroshima to the United States, World War II, and the Honolulu-Hiroshima sister city relationship. Sekiguchi announced the honorees as follows:

Student Honoree: Ryoya Matsuyama
School: Hiroshima Prefectural Sera High School
Project Title: Ocean Acidification in Japan and the U.S.

Student Honoree: Karin Umeshita
School: Hiroshima Prefectural Hiroshima High School
Project Title: Survey of the Stanford Research Park as Industry-Academia Collaboration System

Stanford e-Kawasaki
Kawasaki City is a large industrial city in the greater Tokyo area with a population of approximately 1.5 million, making it Japan¡¯s sixth most populous city. It is one of Japan¡¯s most ethnically diverse cities. Many Japanese multinational companies are based in Kawasaki. Thus, Stanford e-Kawasaki¡¯s main themes of entrepreneurship and diversity were familiar to students in concept, yet unfamiliar to their academic experience. Instructor Maiko Tamagawa Bacha announced the student honorees as follows:

Student Honoree: Shiori Makino
School: Tachibana High School
Project Title: Mindsets of Failure in American Comic Superheroes and Japanese Comic Superheroes 

Student Honoree: Yuki Nakata
School: Kawasaki High School
Project Title: The Role of Languages in a Diverse Society: The Case of Having an Official Language in a Company

Stanford e-Oita
Oita Prefecture, known for its hot springs, is located in the mountainous island of Kyushu. Having lived and taught on Kyushu for three years, Stanford e-Oita Instructor Kasumi Yamashita felt at home with her students. The focus of the course was the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Yamashita announced the honorees as follows:

Student Honoree: Hozuki Mori
School: Hita High School
Project Title: Education for Students Who Can¡¯t Go to School

Student Honoree: Ken White
School: Oita Uenogaoka High School
Project Title: Immigration in Oita

Stanford e-Tottori
Tottori Prefecture is the least populous prefecture in Japan and is known for its seafood and nature, including its iconic sand dunes. The first kanji character of Tottori means ¡°bird,¡± and Stanford e-Tottori Instructor Jonas Edman has helped his students gain a bird¡¯s-eye view of U.S. society and culture with a focus on U.S.¨CJapan relations. Edman announced the honorees as follows:

Student Honoree: Mai Kageyama
School: Yonago Higashi High School
Project Title: Differences of Body Image Between Japan and the U.S.

Student Honoree: Yumeka Mizuno
School: Yonago Higashi High School
Project Title: Japanese Educational Issues and Their Solutions

The 91³Ô¹Ï staff is looking forward to honoring these eight students at a ceremony at 91³Ô¹Ï on March 29, 2021. Each student will be given the opportunity to make a formal presentation in front of members of the Stanford community and the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco.

91³Ô¹Ï also offers online courses to U.S. high school students on Japan (Reischauer Scholars Program), China (), and Korea (), and online courses to Chinese high school students on the United States () and to Japanese high school students on the United States and U.S.¨CJapan relations (Stanford e-Japan).

To stay informed of 91³Ô¹Ï news, and follow us on , , and .

Related articles:

• Stanford e-Oita: Distance Learning Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic
• Stanford e-Kawasaki: Arches and Pillars of Support During an Unstable Time
• Stanford e-Tottori: Reflections
• Stanford e-Hiroshima, 91³Ô¹Ï¡¯s Newest Online Course for High School Students: Sharing Cranes Across the Pacific

The following is Part 2 of a two-article series on Stanford e-Oita. For Part 1, please go here. 

Stanford e-Oita is an online course for high school students in Oita Prefecture in the southwestern island of Kyushu, Japan, that is sponsored by the Oita Prefectural Government. Launched in fall 2019, it is offered by the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (91³Ô¹Ï) in collaboration with the Oita Prefectural Board of Education. 91³Ô¹Ï is grateful to Oita Prefectural Governor Katsusada Hirose whose vision made this course possible.

Note: The content of this publication has not been approved by the United Nations and does not reflect the views of the United Nations or its officials or Member States. 

Stanford e-Oita was launched in October 2019, soon after the Climate Action Summit at the United Nations. Over six million people marched in protest all over the world. It was another wake-up call to global warming. Swedish activist, Greta Thunberg¡¯s UN speech on the environmental crisis addressed the world, but resonated with the youth in particular, who made up many of the 5000 protesters at rallies throughout Japan. A high school student herself, ¡°Greta-san¡¯s¡± UN address also spoke to high school students throughout Japan including those in the smallest of towns in Oita Prefecture.

With a population of a little over a million, Oita Prefecture is located in the lush and mountainous island of Kyushu. It¡¯s known for its onsen (hot springs) which bubble with organic minerals from the rich, volcanic deposits below. Steam rises from onsen towns like Beppu City as well as neighboring Yufuin in Yufu City at the foothill of Mt. Yufu. Stanford e-Oita students are from 15 high schools in Oita Prefecture. They are from the southern towns of Tsukumi and Usuki, known for their stone Buddhas. They are from Nakatsu and Usa, home to the head Hachiman Shrine, along the northern coast. They also come from the historic cities of Hita and Taketa further inland.

My reflections on the course follow, interspersed with comments made by students in their online discussions, in their final presentations, or in evaluations that were used for assessment, collected by Mr. Keisuke Toyoda and Mr. Hironori Sano of the Oita Prefectural Board of Education. Both teachers attended my class as well as the four days of final student presentations.

This year¡¯s inaugural cohort focused on U.S.¨CJapan relations, the (UNSDGs), and entrepreneurship. The six-month course ended in April 2020, just as the world began to lock down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To first- and second-year high school students, the 17 UNSDGs can seem broad and a bit intimidating, but my 30 Stanford e-Oita students reframed unfamiliar concepts like ¡°Sustainable Cities¡± and ¡°Responsible Consumption and Production¡± to more familiar terms such as ¡°tourism¡± and ¡°recycling,¡± and even ¡°up-cycling.¡± They soon realized that not only do these issues reflect so much of the immediate world around them, these agendas are also interconnected with one another. It grew increasingly clear that each student has an impact on our environment. They also have the responsibility to sustain it whether they¡¯re from Stockholm or Oita.

Oita¡¯s selection to host the Rugby World Cup in October 2019, and its invitation of athletes from New Zealand, presented an opportunity to learn about UNSDGs in an unexpected way. While the international teams were warmly welcomed by Oita¡¯s residents, their arrival may have stirred controversy had the local tourist association not loosened its age-old refusal of bathers with tattoos. While body-art is part of Maori cultural heritage and a source of pride and identity, in Japan, it is often affiliated with the underworld. Stanford e-Oita students used these current events to shift lines of sight and inquiry to have discussions on equity, inclusivity, and human rights.

Students identified one or more UNSDGs that resonated with their concerns and personal experiences whether it was the flooding of their neighborhood due to climate change, the rising aging population of their hometown, or the arrival of foreign residents in their communities. For their final presentations, students pitched their ideas on how they would tackle particular social or environmental challenges. They had five minutes to present 10 PowerPoint slides, in English.

Sustainable Cities and Communities
¡°Sustainable Cities and Communities¡± must have been the most popular UNSDG among students. This was not surprising considering Oita¡¯s recognition as a major travel destination for onsen. When exploring ¡°Sustainable Cities,¡± students wondered how onsen culture and tourism could be re-imagined to appeal to, and be accessible to more diverse audiences including teens, young professionals, international visitors, and the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community.

Stanford e-Oita student Koyomi envisioned a multilingual travel app linking travel agencies, inns, transportation, and tourist destinations, allowing visitors to explore sites and accessibility in real time. Nao looked at ways to address issues common in many regional towns such as population stagnation, vacant housing, and school closings. She suggested launching an interactive website to revitalize interest in historical sites and make regional festivals appealing to youth. Moe thought that historical sites could even be refreshed using ¡°retro¡± designs and images.

Affordable and Clean Energy
Yuri approached onsen from a different, environmental angle. In her final presentation, she showed us how the onsen steam can harness renewable geo-thermal energy. Unlike nuclear plants, geo-thermal power plants harness energy from turbines, powered by steam, produced by water, and heated by seismic activity.

Nao described the ¡°Heat Island¡± phenomenon in Japan: cities in urban areas are warmer than nearby rural areas, having the potential to raise the temperature of urban areas by several degrees, enough to affect weather patterns. One way to counter this effect would be to develop innovative and environmental ¡°green roof¡± buildings.

Airi commented, ¡°Before, I thought that onsen were just a source of tourism but onsen can also be thought of as renewable energy. It¡¯s amazing that onsen can have many uses. We need to preserve this wonderful culture in Oita!¡± Students recognized that their neighborhoods, whether they lived in the city or in remote towns, were rich in resources and stories. 

Quality Education
Next, Stanford e-Oita students approached the UNSDG, ¡°Quality Education.¡± Rather than focusing on the social and educational services for students already enrolled in schools, students looked at the potential educational needs of working, foreign students and their families, as well as foreigners who want to permanently relocate to Oita to work. Ken hoped to see laws enacted to provide these permanent immigrants with voting rights so they can become more empowered and contribute to Japanese society.

Kohaku proposed a cultural school for foreigners that would allow them to attend night classes, online. This would offer those working during the day with a chance to build up their language skills while simultaneously learn about Japanese culture and history. Proposals like this touch on education, gender, and economic growth, showing the inter-connectedness of UNSDGs. 

Hozuki supported online classes for non-traditional students who need flexible learning options. She also welcomed this option for youth who resist attending school due to bullying, domestic abuse, or a family¡¯s financial insecurity. Hozuki added, ¡°It would create a ¡®safe space¡¯ for them.¡±

Gender Equality
¡°International Coming Out Day¡± on October 11th is another ¡°safe space¡± for individuals wanting to reach out to their communities for support and self-empowerment. Manaka pointed to specific ¡°gender free¡± and ¡°barrier-free¡± spaces that provide daredemo toire (the ¡°anyone toilet¡±). Acknowledgment of ¡°safe spaces¡± like these reduces the harassment and violence that many LGBT communities face.

Zero Hunger/Clean Water and Sanitation
Ayami pointed to the importance of promoting local foods and labeling it for transparency and accountability. Amiko suggested the creation of ¡°Oita Care Packages¡± that would simultaneously promote local food to other regions of Japan and minimize food waste.

Asako made sure to add that the production of food also involved aquaculture. Honoka and Yuri noted that the management of these marine resources should begin with measures countering pollution.

Amika, who gave a presentation on tackling food waste using an app, commented, ¡°I realized that there was something that even young people can do.¡± When asked how she would finance the development of her app, she replied with confidence, ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll just crowdfund!¡± Technology and social media have made it easier for students to collaborate and share ideas. This is certainly the case for tech-savvy high school students.

Conclusion
Big social change can come from individuals in small and remote towns. Stanford e-Oita students have shown that their hometowns in Oita offer fascinating contexts to begin conversations on sustainability. Students have gained a deeper appreciation of local natural resources, cultural traditions, and historical sites. They also gained a sense that they, too, can contribute to social change right from their own backyards. Yuzu noted, ¡°What I enjoyed most about the final presentations was that I was able to get to know ¡®Oita¡¯ from different perspectives.¡±

Now, better equipped with the confidence to discuss their ideas and speak up about their local and global concerns, e-Oita students may feel a step closer to even internationally recognized activists like fellow teen Greta Thunberg. If the UNSDGs represent our world¡¯s commitment to building a better world for people by 2030, then Stanford e-Oita students would be the perfect Gen Zers to stand alongside Greta to do just that. 

Acknowledgements
91³Ô¹Ï provided me with an opportunity to invite artists, activists, researchers, and entrepreneurs (including several Stanford alumni) to share their personal and professional stories with students over Zoom. Their openness to address questions put Stanford e-Oita students at ease, allowing them to take a bold step out of their comfort zones and engage. I¡¯d like to thank the following individuals for their collaborative spirit and generosity:

Gary Mukai
Director, Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (91³Ô¹Ï)

Michelle Kumata
Artist and Former Exhibition Director, Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience

Jan Johnson
Owner, Panama Hotel [National Historic Landmark] in Seattle's Nihonmachi (Japantown)

Glenda Pearson
President, Friends of Mukai Farm & Garden [National Register of Historic Places]

The Honorable Norman Mineta
Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Transportation

Xiao Wang
CEO, Co-Founder, Boundless Immigration

Sara Daniels
CEO, Co-Founder, Blue Canoe Learning

Jonathan Poli
Product Design Engineer, Seattle Children's Hospital

91³Ô¹Ï also offers online courses to U.S. high school students on Japan (Reischauer Scholars Program), China (), and Korea (), and online courses to Chinese high school students on the United States () and to Japanese high school students on the United States and U.S.¨CJapan relations (Stanford e-Japan Program). 

To stay informed of 91³Ô¹Ï news, and follow us on , , and .

Related articles:

• Stanford e-Oita: Distance Learning Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic
• 91³Ô¹Ï/FSI Serves as 91³Ô¹Ï Host of the California-Japan Governors¡¯ Symposium
• Announcing Stanford e-Oita, a New Online Course for High School Students in Oita Prefecture, Japan

Applications are open for the , an intensive, college-level online course on contemporary China for U.S. high school students. The China Scholars Program is offered by the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (91³Ô¹Ï), 91³Ô¹Ï, and is open to rising 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. The Fall 2020 online course will run from late August through December. Applications are due June 15, 2020.

91³Ô¹Ï China Scholars Program for high school students
Fall 2020 session (late August through December)
Application period: April 25 to June 15, 2020
 

Accepted applicants will engage in a rigorous academic exploration of key issues in China, spanning politics, economics, social issues, culture, and the arts, with an emphasis on the relationship between the United States and China. In real-time conversations with leading scholars, experts, and diplomats from 91³Ô¹Ï and other institutions, participants will be exposed to the cutting edge of U.S.¨CChina relations and scholarship. Students who complete the online course will be equipped with a rare degree of expertise about China and international relations that may have a significant impact on their choice of study and future career.

As in previous sessions of the China Scholars Program, the Fall 2020 cohort will comprise high school students from across the United States. Participants in the current cohort represent states across the nation, including California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, and Washington.

The immense diversity of student backgrounds and experiences within each online course allows for an especially rich exchange of ideas and perspectives among the young scholars¡ªa crucial and invaluable component of the learning experience.

¡°Learning from Stanford¡¯s knowledgeable East Asian studies experts remains one of my most formative educational experiences,¡± noted Rebecca Qiu, an alum of the program now at Tufts University. She continued, ¡°Synchronous live lectures and lively discussion boards allowed me to learn from our professors and students alike, facilitating tremendous academic growth.¡±

More information on the China Scholars Program is available at . Interested high school students can apply now at . The deadline to apply is June 15, 2020.

To be notified when the next China Scholars Program application period opens, or follow us on , , and .

The China Scholars Program is one of several online courses for high school students offered by 91³Ô¹Ï, 91³Ô¹Ï, including the , the Sejong Korea Scholars Program, the , and the Stanford e-China Program (on technologies changing the world to high school students in China).

Related article:

• The China Scholars Program: Continuing a 45-year tradition of bridging Stanford and schools

The following is Part 2 of a two-article series on facilitating cross-cultural online learning. For Part 1, please go here.

Last month, I shared my reflections on a March 20, 2020 virtual class (VC) session that 91³Ô¹Ï facilitated for high school students in Japan and the United States to engage in a cross-cultural online exchange. This online discussion engaged my U.S.-based students of the 2020 and Waka Brown¡¯s Japan-based students of the Spring 2020 in a Zoom session, during which they talked and learned with and from one another on a range of topics, including the impact of COVID-19 within their respective communities.

During the main portion of the session, the 45 students were divided into six small breakout rooms to engage in 40 minutes of discussion. Each group had a designated volunteer student moderator and a notetaker/reporter; the latter was asked to share the key points of discussion from his or her small group when we reconvened towards the end of the 90-minute VC. All discussions were conducted in English, with the exception of one group, which was designated as a bilingual space for students who felt comfortable conversing in both English and Japanese.

Since this was the 2020 students¡¯ first opportunity to meet (another joint VC on comparative education took place on April 10), we felt it important to preface the session by setting a few ground rules for discussion. Communication styles and norms¡ªparticularly in group settings¡ªtend to be quite different in Japan and the United States. We have found it helpful, for example, to address these differences up-front to alleviate potential cross-cultural misunderstandings.

For assessment purposes, we also asked students to send feedback on their experiences in the session. Some of their comments are included below as we turn to the student perspectives on what they experienced in this joint online discussion. More specific points from our observations and students¡¯ feedback fall into five areas.

First, the session provided a platform for students to talk openly about the COVID-19 pandemic and also to learn about perspectives from another country. Risako of Stanford e-Japan reflected, ¡°I could ¡­ learn about the way American students perceive political issues and coronavirus through an absorbing discussion and was surprised to discover that their perspectives were much more similar to Japanese students than I had expected.¡± Alika of the RSP noted, ¡°It was really interesting to me to see how different countries are coping with the virus. I was pretty surprised to hear that many Japanese people still use public transport/eat out at restaurants and go on with their daily lives in the face of the global pandemic.¡± She continued, ¡°I think some of the e-Japan students were also surprised to hear that California has a ¡®6 feet apart¡¯ rule and that many restaurants have closed as a precaution.¡± Yasuyuki from Japan added, ¡°It¡¯s not difficult to look up the news to find out about what¡¯s going on in America, but living in Japan, you hardly ever get the chance to talk with people in America and hear from the horse¡¯s mouth.¡±

Second, the session underscored the importance of empathy at times like this. Kristie from the RSP commented, ¡°I always enjoy finding commonalities between me and others, and I think our shared experiences with the coronavirus really allowed us to connect and understand one another. I think the most important thing I will take away from this experience is that youth in Japan and America are really no different¡ªdespite our varied experiences and interests we were able to communicate about issues facing our countries and relate to one another on a deeper level.¡± Similarly, Yuna of Stanford e-Japan noted, ¡°Since I have had only [a] few opportunities to interact with American high schoolers, it was a precious time for me. It was wonderful especially because we both were interested in each other. Talking ... with them made me realize how [thin] the border between our minds actually are. We were, after all, just friends.¡±

Third, the session prompted students to reexamine their own culture. For example, Hiromu of Stanford e-Japan noted, ¡°I feel very pleased to have such a wonderful opportunity to teach them [the RSP students about Japanese language] and, simultaneously, however, recognized how I lack information about Japanese culture. I think this integrated meeting is vital in that it provides us opportunities for looking back on our culture and broaden[ing] our narrow-minded thoughts.¡± Jin of the RSP added, ¡°What¡¯s more, they [the Stanford e-Japan students] all spoke fluent English. This made me reflect on the world languages education in the U.S. I think the U.S. should incorporate more global studies (both language and culture) in the education system. America-centric curriculum will cause the younger generation to lose a global vision, and become unaware of Japan as a major political and economic ally in East Asia.¡±

Fourth, the session shed light upon how diverse both countries are. Jin of the RSP noted, ¡°I¡¯ve always thought that Japan has a rather homogeneous population, but talking to e-Japan students has given me a new perspective on Japanese society. I encountered a student from Myanmar who is living in Japan currently, a Japanese student who used to live in NYC for four years, and a student from Singapore who has been studying abroad in Europe for a couple years.¡± Rinako of Stanford e-Japan reflected, ¡°Up until now, even when I had the chance to communicate with people outside of Japan, it was usually done in English. However, this time, all three of the Reischauer Scholar students [in her small group] spoke fluent Japanese which made me very happy as we were able to use both English and Japanese.¡±

Fifth, we came to realize how invaluable international and cross-cultural dialog¡ªespecially during times of crisis¡ªcan be for students. Having a session during such an unprecedented time seemed to add special significance to the experience. Brandon of the RSP noted, ¡°Overall, it was an extremely memorable discussion, and I hope that we can continue this kind of online cross-cultural connection throughout the rest of the program.¡± Many Stanford e-Japan students like Fuka also reflected upon the opportunity to discuss critical topics like the coronavirus at this time. She noted, ¡°It gave me a chance to think about familiar issues not just with people of my own country but with people from all kinds of backgrounds.¡±

Students are among those most acutely experiencing the direct impact of this global pandemic. As they look into the future with confusion and uncertainty about their educational prospects and options, our students seemed to find comfort in this opportunity to connect with their like-minded peers across the Pacific. As they reflected upon their differences, they deepened their understanding of one another and forged what I hope become lasting friendships.

For more information about the Reischauer Scholars Program or the Stanford e-Japan Program, please visit our programs¡¯ webpages at and . 91³Ô¹Ï also offers other online courses to U.S. high school students on China () and Korea (), and an online course to Chinese high school students on the United States ().

To stay informed of 91³Ô¹Ï news, and follow us on , , and .

Related articles:

• Bridging ¡°Social Distancing¡± Across the Pacific: 6 Tips for Facilitating Cross-Cultural Online Learning
• 91³Ô¹Ï¡¯s Stanford e-Japan Instructor Waka Takahashi Brown Honored with the Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award
• Stanford e-Japan: My Window to the Wider World
• Honoring High School Students from Japan and the United States: A Glow for Global Peace
• The RSP: A Stepping Stone in My Journey with Japan
• Yanai Tadashi Foundation and 91³Ô¹Ï/91³Ô¹Ï

The following is Part 1 of a two-article series. For Part 2, please go here.

Stanford e-Oita is an online course for high school students throughout Oita Prefecture in the southwestern island of Kyushu, Japan, that is sponsored by the Oita Prefectural Government. Launched in fall 2019, it is offered by the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (91³Ô¹Ï) in collaboration with the Oita Prefectural Board of Education. 91³Ô¹Ï is grateful to Oita Prefectural Governor Katsusada Hirose whose vision made this course possible. 

Social media posts, video-conference invites, and webinar notifications flood our inboxes ever since COVID-19 drove traditional classroom instruction online. Distance learning has gone mainstream.

While distance learning may never replace traditional classroom instruction, it¡¯s certainly transforming how we teach, learn, and behave. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, 30 Stanford e-Oita students in Japan¡ªon the other end of my virtual classroom¡ªshowed me what distance learning can offer: a greater appreciation of where we live, renewed cross-cultural perspectives, and a chance to enhance one¡¯s communication skills in a foreign language without a textbook, classroom, or a trip overseas.

Students from 15 high schools throughout Oita Prefecture¡ªfrom the capital city of Oita to the tiny island of Hotojima¡ªlogged onto their laptops, tablets, and smart phones on Saturday mornings for my bi-weekly distance learning class. It¡¯s a course offered to highly motivated students with a certain proficiency in English. They could attend a class as if they were in Palo Alto without ever having to leave their tatami-mat living rooms.

Stanford e-Oita focuses on three areas: U.S.¨CJapan relations, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), and entrepreneurship. These are the collective objectives of 91³Ô¹Ï, the Oita Prefectural Board of Education, and Oita¡¯s Governor Hirose. For six months, I explored their intersections with my students.

I designed a course curriculum that engages students to think critically about global issues, empowers them to take pride in their hometowns, and encourages them to give back to their communities. We took what¡¯s happening in the world and made it relevant to their daily lives in Oita. Students took this a step further by exploring issues that were personally meaningful.

Students worked individually and collaboratively through guided group discussions, submitted written assignments, developed research projects, watched documentary films, and prepared multi-media slideshows as part of their final presentations¡ªall in English. I also created virtual experiential learning opportunities for students by introducing them to guest speakers via Zoom. In the pre-COVID-19 days, I took students along with me on fieldtrips to National Historic Sites in Seattle¡¯s International District and visited social activists on Vashon Island, Washington.

Stanford e-Oita is taught in English, but it is not an English language course. I offer my students a chance to become confident in English, competent in critical thinking, and fluent in accessing the technologies of a digital classroom. We use online platforms like Zoom and Canvas and take advantage of discussion boards, breakout sessions, and other digital tools which are not often used in Japanese schools.

In order to ensure access and equity, students who did not have access to a computer or Wifi were able to return to their schools on Saturday mornings to take the class in the computer labs. Most students worked on tablets (some used smartphones) and grew accustomed to the online format within a few weeks. For the most part, e-Oita students were excited and open to technology enabled learning. One student noted, ¡°For me, using Zoom in this new style of class is really refreshing. Students are scattered all over Oita and you¡¯re in America but we¡¯re all communicating through my tablet. It¡¯s so cool!¡±

Getting Japanese students on board Stanford¡¯s rigorous distance learning program, in a foreign language, was a challenge at first. In fact, the learning curve was steep for all of us. I taught my students the word ¡°troubleshoot¡± early on and walked them through online setting changes to video presentation uploads.
 

Here are some lessons learned:

Distance learning provides learning opportunities for students in less accessible communities¡ªin rural towns or islands¡ªwhere traditional classrooms are unable to serve.

Distance learning allows students to re-invent themselves with a new audience, with people you have never met.

Distance learning can create an informality that breaks down the wall between teachers and students and makes their relationship less hierarchical. This is a new experience for students from Japan.

Distance learning allows instructors to invite speakers whose participation is not limited by geography, departmental budgets, disabilities, or availability of a considerable amount of time. All they need is a quiet corner, a laptop with Wifi, and a time commitment of 30 minutes to an hour.   

Section Manager Hironori Sano and Teachers¡¯ Consultant Keisuke Toyoda of the Global Education Acceleration Project Team (High School Education Division) of the Oita Prefectural Board of Education, reflected, ¡°The most amazing thing is seeing how our students developed through the program. They have acquired five important skills: (1) the ability to cooperate with people around them; (2) the ability to state their ideas; (3) knowledge of Japan and Oita; (4) the confidence to communicate in English; and (5) the confidence to make a contribution in the world.¡±

Kasumi Yamashita

In part two of this series, I will focus on Stanford e-Oita¡¯s priorities (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals), guest speakers, final student presentations, and assessment.

91³Ô¹Ï also offers online courses to U.S. high school students on Japan (Reischauer Scholars Program), China (), and Korea (), and online courses to Chinese high school students on the United States () and to Japanese high school students on the United States and U.S.¨CJapan relations (Stanford e-Japan). 

To stay informed of 91³Ô¹Ï news, and follow us on , , and .

Related articles:

• Announcing Stanford e-Oita, a New Online Course for High School Students in Oita Prefecture, Japan
• 91³Ô¹Ï/FSI Serves as 91³Ô¹Ï Host of the California-Japan Governors¡¯ Symposium

During this time of intense public debate on immigration, 91³Ô¹Ï has partnered with PBS and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) to encourage teachers to share the American Experience film, , with students. Teachers should be advised that the film contains language that some viewers may find objectionable, so we advise that they preview the film before deciding whether or not to use it with their students. The Chinese Exclusion Act was directed by Ric Burns and Li-Shin Yu and a description of the film from PBS follows:

Examine the origin, history, and impact of the 1882 law that made it illegal for Chinese workers to come to America and for Chinese nationals already here ever to become U.S. citizens. The first in a long line of acts targeting the Chinese for exclusion, it remained in force for more than 60 years.

Despite its passage 138 years ago and its repeal in 1943, the Chinese Exclusion Act has been referenced in numerous recent articles that have focused on rising anti-Asian sentiment¡ªincluding violence against Asian Americans¡ªduring the coronavirus pandemic. The Chinese Exclusion Act as well as the internment of Japanese Americans have been referenced as examples of federal acts directed at Asian immigrants and Asian Americans in U.S. history. Given these recent references, the film can provide students with an overview of the Chinese Exclusion Act as they try to better understand the news. CAAM Executive Director Stephen Gong feels that many of the lessons from the film are relevant to the United States today. He stated, ¡°We are thrilled to have partnered with Curriculum Specialist Waka Brown and the 91³Ô¹Ï program at Stanford on the Teacher¡¯s Guide to The Chinese Exclusion Act. This standards-compliant and comprehensive guide will help ensure that the important lessons of the Exclusion Act will become a regular part of secondary curriculum for generations to come.¡±

In order to help teachers use the film in their classrooms, 91³Ô¹Ï partnered with CAAM to develop a teacher¡¯s guide for the film. PBS LearningMedia recently posted the for teacher use. Both the film and teacher¡¯s guide are offered at no charge.

91³Ô¹Ï Curriculum Specialist Waka Brown, who wrote the teacher¡¯s guide, noted that the guide is designed to meet certain national history, social studies, geography, and common core standards for high school. Brown also feels that the film is ideal for courses at the collegiate level in areas like ethnic studies, U.S. history, Asian studies, law, and political science. Brown decided to focus the activities in the guide around the following essential questions.

• What factors led to increased immigration from China to the United States?
• How did the Chinese adapt to life in the United States that sometimes included hostility directed at them?
• How did Chinese immigration to the United States intensify ethnic and cultural conflict and complicate the forging of a national identity?
• What role did new laws and the federal judiciary play in instituting racial inequality and in disfranchising various racial groups such as the Chinese?
• What factors led to immigration restrictions of the Chinese and ultimately exclusion?
• What arguments and methods did Chinese in the United States use to acquire equal rights and opportunities guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution?
• How have ideals and institutions of freedom, equality, justice, and citizenship in the United States changed over time and from one community to another?

This may be an opportune time to have students consider these questions not only in the context of the Chinese American experience in the 19th century and today, but also to have students discuss the relevance of the questions to other groups who have immigrated to the United States and continue to do so today.

91³Ô¹Ï would like to express its appreciation to Adrian Arima and Monica Yeung Arima for funding the development of the teacher¡¯s guide.

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In Summer 2020, three of the top students of the Fall 2019 Stanford e-Japan distance-learning course will be honored at an event at 91³Ô¹Ï. The three Stanford e-Japan Day honorees¡ªAyano Hirose (Okayama Sozan High School), Chisaki Sano (Gunma Kokusai Academy), and Natsumi Shindo (Keio Girls Senior High School)¡ªwill be recognized by Stanford e-Japan Instructor Meiko Kotani for their coursework and exceptional research essays that focused respectively on ¡°Three Basic Ways to Promote Cross-Cultural Understanding in Japanese Education,¡± ¡°U.S.¨CJapan Relations: Economic Interdependence Seen in 7-Eleven Operations,¡± and ¡°The U.S.¨CJapan Security Alliance: Its Preservation and the Responsibilities of Both Countries.¡±

Yuta Myojo (Rikkyo Ikebukuro High School) received an Honorable Mention for his coursework and research paper on ¡°How Could Japanese Society Achieve Increased Biculturalism: From the Aspects of Education Reform and Self-Awareness.¡±

In the Fall 2019 session of Stanford e-Japan, students from the following schools successfully completed the course: Aiko Gakuen (Ehime), Gunma Kokusai Academy (Gunma), Hiroshima High School (Hiroshima), Hiroshima Prefectural Hiroshima Junior/Senior High School (Hiroshima), Hitachi First Senior High School (Ibaraki), Ichikawa Junior and Senior High School (Chiba), Keio Girls Senior High School (Tokyo), Keio Senior High School (Kanagawa), Mita International High School (Tokyo), Nishiyamato Gakuen High School (Nara), Okayama Prefecture Asahi Senior High School (Okayama), Okayama Sozan High School (Okayama), Rikkyo Ikebukuro High School (Tokyo), Ritsumeikan Uji High School (Kyoto), Sendai Shirayuri Gakuen (Miyagi), Senior High School at Otsuka, University of Tsukuba (Tokyo), Senior High School at Kyoto University (Kyoto), Shibuya Kyouiku Gakuen Shibuya Senior High School (Tokyo), Shibuya Makuhari Senior High School (Chiba), Shirayuri Gakuen Senior High School (Tokyo), Takada High School (Mie), Takatsuki Senior High School (Osaka), Tokyo City University Senior High School (Tokyo), Waseda University Senior High School (Tokyo), Yokohama Science Frontier High School (Kanagawa), and Zushi Kaisei High School (Kanagawa).

For more information about the Stanford e-Japan Program, please visit .

To stay informed of news about Stanford e-Japan and 91³Ô¹Ï¡¯s other programs, and follow us on , , and .

91³Ô¹Ï offers separate online courses for U.S. high school students. For more information, please see the , , and .

Related articles:

• Spring 2020 Session of Stanford e-Japan Online Course Begins
• Winners Announced for the Spring 2019 Stanford e-Japan Award
• 91³Ô¹Ï¡¯s Stanford e-Japan Instructor Waka Takahashi Brown Honored with the Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award
• Stanford e-Japan: My Window to the Wider World

Last fall, 91³Ô¹Ï provided me an opportunity to design and organize its first post-collegiate online course. The Stanford-Hiroshima Collaborative Program on Entrepreneurship (SHCPE¡¯s Japanese-friendly pronunciation, ¡°shu-ppe¡±) was conducted in collaboration with the Hiroshima Business and Management School (HBMS) at the Prefectural University of Hiroshima (PUH). HBMS offers the only Master of Business Administration (MBA) program in Japan¡¯s western region of Chugoku and Shikoku. Interacting with amazing individuals on both sides of the Pacific, this unique experience brought me priceless moments.

Innovation in Itself

SHCPE, a course to help nurture entrepreneurial thinking, was an innovation in itself. The program was born out of Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki¡¯s vision to design and implement a social challenge to help accelerate Hiroshima¡¯s regional growth. Harnessing the resources of Stanford and Silicon Valley, the new online class was launched to empower the students and to revitalize the business sector in Hiroshima. 91³Ô¹Ï created the curricular content and HBMS provided the learning environment designed to maximize the academic experience for the students. As the course¡¯s curriculum designer, I leveraged the expertise of my fellow 91³Ô¹Ï online instructors and applied design thinking, a method developed by Stanford faculty, practiced widely in Silicon Valley, and popularized globally to understand the end-user, challenge our assumptions, and reconstruct alternative perspectives to generate innovative ideas.

Bridging Silicon Valley and Hiroshima

SHCPE¡¯s 18 MBA students in Hiroshima met every Saturday morning for three hours from September 28 to November 16, 2019 to connect online with Japanese entrepreneurs, professionals, and scholars in Silicon Valley. The first virtual class focused on discussing the mindset expected for the course as well as the conceptual framework. In the following six weeks, we welcomed guest speakers who shared their diverse experiences. What were their prior experiences, expertise, and insights? What resources did they have to achieve their goals? What were the major promoters and impediments to their journeys? Through active exploration of these questions, the students were exposed to real-life case studies to analyze Silicon Valley¡¯s ecosystem and think critically about entrepreneurial competence and qualification. The course was conducted entirely in Japanese.

The guest speakers engaged and energized the HBMS students. Akira Onozato spoke about the evolution of Silicon Valley over the past three decades. His diverse experiences as a serial entrepreneur painted a rich picture of the San Francisco Bay Area¡¯s growth cycle. Akira¡¯s story provided a great segue to Rika Nakazawa¡¯s lecture on the mindset and culture surrounding startups. Rika highlighted grit, tolerance of failure, and branding as important assets of successful entrepreneurs. Dr. Fumiaki Ikeno spoke on the landscape and trends in the medical device industry. He pointed to Japan¡¯s declining productivity and economic competitiveness and discussed the persistent fear of failure as a major impediment to promoting entrepreneurship. As an active venture capitalist on both sides of Pacific, Seiji Miyasaka explained the funding schemes and financial cycles surrounding the investment climate of startups. Using case studies, he highlighted the role of investors who act as coaches to aspiring entrepreneurs. Tatsuki Tomita¡¯s definition of a startup was shaped by his own experiences of starting multiple companies. His discussion of the pivot pyramid provided a visual guideline for how startups can experiment with ideas and find their product-market fit. Tasha Yorozu shared her expertise as a legal counsel, walking through the steps of starting a business in Silicon Valley. Along with Jumpei Ishii, a visiting legal counsel from Japan, Tasha further discussed their observations of successful startup practices and common pitfalls. The diversity of SHCPE guests represented the vibrant Silicon Valley community. 

Active Learning and Knowledge Construction

While these professionals provided informative accounts of their expertise, SHCPE¡¯s ultimate goal was to help each HBMS student to develop a mindset of an active learner. The MBA students were constantly challenged to think critically about the weekly theme, and work in pairs or teams to discuss assigned topics. The experience offered a dynamic and interactive learning environment for the Japanese students in their 30s, 40s, and 50s who had been accustomed to traditional lecture-style formats. SHCPE¡¯s curriculum based on design thinking adopted an inquiry-based learning pedagogy, which engaged every student through weekly assignments and in-class discussions. During the first class, the students were informed that SHCPE would not teach them entrepreneurship. Instead, this course would provide them with the opportunity to reconstruct their knowledge of entrepreneurship and innovation based on what they observe, hear, and feel during the class. In addition, the students were required to provide feedback after each class, which was utilized to redesign the lesson plans for the following week.

This active and experiential mindset was envisioned by Dr. Gary Mukai, Director of 91³Ô¹Ï and a renowned Japan¨CU.S. educator. ¡°At 91³Ô¹Ï, we provide students an opportunity to own their learning experience. Education is about empowering the students,¡± Dr. Mukai asserts. This tradition comes from the American philosopher and education reformist John Dewey, who said, ¡°I believe finally, that education must be conceived as a continuing reconstruction of experience; that the process and the goal of education are one and the same thing.¡± SHCPE¡¯s inaugural curriculum aimed to implement this philosophy through direct, real-life interaction with founders and movers in Silicon Valley, and through the iterative process to deconstruct and reconstruct their knowledge on entrepreneurship.

Innovation Through Education

What SHCPE aimed to achieve was innovation through education. The weekly three-hour online class was roughly divided into three parts: guest lecture, class discussion, and interview. Prior to the interview session, a pre-assigned team of three students met with me in a separate online room and brainstormed their interview questions. For the majority of the students, it was their very first time to formally interview a person, and the experience brought a novel learning opportunity to think critically about entrepreneurial competence. Many commented on the challenge and the excitement of getting to know strangers by engaging them in a thoughtful conversation. The weekly interview highlighted the philosophy, aspiration, and raw sentiments of the guest speakers, evoking passion, energy, and empathy among the students.

SHCPE 2019 team with Ken-ichi Nakamura, President of the Prefectural University of Hiroshima

SHCPE strived to adopt the pedagogy of active learning and the toolsets of design thinking to implement Governor Yuzaki¡¯s vision of ¡°learning innovation.¡± The course appears to have succeeded in helping to realize his vision as one student reflected upon his experience:

This class does not intend to offer answers [to the question what entrepreneurship is]. Instead, it urges the students to constantly think on their own and engage themselves in learning. This is very different from the Japanese traditional pedagogy, which relies on rote memorization and mechanical process of practice problems. This class highlighted the fundamental difference in the philosophy of how we look at education, and I enjoyed this eye-opening experience.

SHCPE ¡¯19 concluded with much enthusiasm. 91³Ô¹Ï looks forward to continuing its partnership with HBMS to build upon the invaluable lessons learned from the inaugural program. With Stanford e-Hiroshima, an online course for high school students managed and taught by my colleague Rylan Sekiguchi, 91³Ô¹Ï will continue its efforts to empower the people in Hiroshima.

Acknowledgement

I am greatly indebted to Dr. Gary Mukai for providing me this invaluable opportunity. Special thanks go to Carey Moncaster, Dr. HyoJung Jang, Jonas Edman, Meiko Kotani, Naomi Funahashi, Rylan Sekiguchi, Sabrina Ishimaru, Dr. Tanya Lee, and Waka Takahashi Brown for their valuable comments on the preliminary curriculum. I thank all of my colleagues at 91³Ô¹Ï for their support and encouragement throughout the process.

My special gratitude goes to Akira Onozato, Dr. Fumiaki Ikeno, Jumpei Ishii, Rika Nakazawa, Seiji Miyasaka, Tatsuki Tomita, and Tasha Yorozu who took the time out of their busy Friday evening to participate in the virtual classroom. Their contagious enthusiasm energized the students.

Last but not least, I would like to express my deep appreciation to my collaborators at HBMS. I thank Professor Katsue Edo for his hard work and commitment to implement the program, Professor Yasuo Tsuchimoto for his technical expertise and dedication to administer the distance-learning, Professor Narumi Yoshikawa for supporting in-class discussions, and Kazue Hiura, Yoshihiko Oishi, and Kenji Okano for their capable assistance and thoughtful arrangements. Last but not least, my heartfelt congratulation goes to the 18 MBA students who successfully completed SHCPE ¡¯19. The inaugural class will always have a special place in my heart.

To stay informed of news about Stanford e-Japan and 91³Ô¹Ï¡¯s other programs,  and follow us on , , and .

Related article:

• Stanford Alumni Weekend (October 24¨C27, 2019) Feature: Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki & 91³Ô¹Ï¡¯s Dr. Mariko Yoshihara Yang and a New Online Course for MBA Students in Japan

When I first visited Kawasaki City, I was immediately struck by the multicolored character for ´¨or ¡°kawa¡± (river) in the Chinese characters for´¨Æé (Kawasaki) that appears on signs, buildings, posters, and even storm drain covers. I learned from Kawasaki Mayor Norihiko Fukuda that the multicolored ´¨ symbolizes the importance that Kawasaki City places upon diversity.

Kawasaki City is a large industrial city in the greater Tokyo area with a population of approximately 1.5 million, making it Japan¡¯s sixth most populous city after Tokyo. It is one of Japan¡¯s most ethnically diverse cities. Many Japanese multinational companies are based in Kawasaki. In 2014, the U.S. multinational company Johnson & Johnson opened the Tokyo Science Center in Kawasaki.

With the vision of Mayor Fukuda and support from Kawasaki City, 91³Ô¹Ï has launched Stanford e-Kawasaki, an online course that is offered to high school students in Kawasaki. Stanford e-Kawasaki¡¯s main course topics are diversity and entrepreneurship. Stanford e-Kawasaki Instructor recently noted, ¡°The Kawasaki students have shown strong interest in these timely and relevant topics and are always actively engaged in discussions. One of the great things about Stanford e-Kawasaki is that it provides a place where students feel free and encouraged to express themselves. It also provides an important opportunity for students to reflect on their own society by learning about the United States. I look forward to our continued learning together for the rest of the course.¡± The course began in fall 2019 and a closing ceremony will be held in March 2020.

Maiko Tamagawa Bacha

Like Bacha, Mayor Fukuda has also done formal studies in the United States. As a graduate of Furman University in South Carolina, Mayor Fukuda experienced life in the United States firsthand. Mayor Fukuda reflected, ¡°I am grateful to 91³Ô¹Ï at 91³Ô¹Ï¡­ for starting this program for high school students in Kawasaki City. I am encouraged to learn that the students are actively learning and engaged in discussions on topics related to diversity and entrepreneurship. I strongly hope that they will grow to be men and women of high caliber, who are keen to experience their lives with broad perspectives.¡± With the presence of many multinational corporations in Kawasaki, Mayor Fukuda witnesses the interdependence of Japan and the world every day and fully appreciates the significance of topics like diversity and entrepreneurship to the U.S.¨CJapan relationship.

The 91³Ô¹Ï staff would like to express its appreciation also to Hisashi Katsurayama from the Kawasaki Board of Education and Yoshitaka Tsuchihama and Miyuki Kitamura of Kawasaki City and for their unwavering support of Stanford e-Kawasaki.

To stay informed of news about Stanford e-Japan and 91³Ô¹Ï¡¯s other programs, and follow us on , , and .