Nishizato

Yesterday morning, H and I took a quick trip to Nishizato in Oguni. While there we stopped by the Nishizato Elementary School, which has a very unique design (see it here http://www.town.oguni.kumamoto.jp/ognhtml/Event/Nishizato.htm), a geodesic dome with small rooms radiating out from the base. Currently the school has only 10 students in grades 2-6. There are no 1st or 3rd graders. The school has a taiko group, though, in which all the students perform. Just walking around the inside of the building makes me think that it is a very inspiring space, despite the overall lack of resources for the students.

Walking away from such a unique building with such a tiny student population, I worried about the fate of the students. It's not that they will be denied any sort of fulfilling lives, but simply because of their geographic location they will necessarily not have as many doors open to them in the future. If they stay in this area they simply will not be able to progress through the schools that will allow them to attend the top schools like Tokyo University. Without access to cram schools and tutors, the chances are essentially zero that they would be able to overcome geography to attend such a school. The only possibility would be for them to leave after elementary school to attend a private junior high, which could then prepare them. Of course, this would also require moving to one of the large cities - Kumamoto City or Fukuoka - and living with relatives that would push them in cram schools to catch up.

These thoughts make visiting such a unique, inspiring school depressing at the same time.