Family Field Trip
Homeschool Intro Seminar Feb. 16,'08
"Knowing the Times"
It's been more than one year since we started our monthly homeschooling intro seminar.
On average, we have an attendance of about 4 to 5 Christian families every month.
On Feb. 16 (Sat) 2008, our theme was the paradigm shift of the world in which we live.
1 Chronicles 12:32
"And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment."
The Christian must know the times as the children of Issachar did, since we are facing a major paradigm shift that began in the late 20th century. Sometimes we might need to read books written by economists so that we can get enough information. Today we read and made a critique on a book about education written by a famous economist Kenichi Ohmae, who is also the author of best-selling books such as "The Mind of the Strategist" and "The Invisible Continent."
Because we are standing on the Christian worldview, we can have a clear understanding of what is going on in this world.
Again, we are persuaded that homeschooling is the most advanced method of education, since it can be greatly enhanced and promoted by the emergence of the information society.
The Consideration Needed In Promoting Homeschooling in Japan
The Consideration Needed In Promoting Homeschooling in Japan
THE TOTALITARIAN VIEW/GROUP-ORIENTED MINDSET
The totalitarian view has been nurtured in the Japanese society by Shintoism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Bushido (the way of the warrior). Japanese society has also been highly centralized since the begining of the Tokugawa Shogunate/regime in the 17th century. The modernization of Japan, carried out from the 19 century and onwards, was strongly influenced by German statism. Old idelologies such as Shintoism, Confucianism and Bushido, were incorporated into the Japanese version of statism. This statism is still the foundational ideology of Japan. Education plays a vitally important role in promoting statism in Japan. The government-controlled educational system in Japan aims to make Japanese children statists who believe that the state is their Messiah. Japanese people rely on the Shintoistic, Buddhistic, and Confucian civil government as their savior, although it almost always betrays their trust.
The Japanese society is basically totalitarian. Each individual person is regarded as a cogwheel, or at best, subordinate to the society to which he belongs. This leads to the centralization of power. The decentralized, bottom-up social system is quite foreign to the Japanese people and society.
In this context, the Japanese usually define themselves according to their society. Schoolchildren usually identify themselves according to the schools they attend. Men usually regard themselves as company-men as they hand out business cards.
The "I believe what my company/school/group believes" mindset is quite common among the Japanese. If one seeks freedom from the bondage of this mindset, others assume that he is dropping out of the race. They usually fear being different from others. Freedom and Independence are the most difficult concepts for the Japanese to understand and put into practice. In short, the Japanese people and society are quite socialistic.
DISINTEGRATION OF THE FAMILY
Because of sugar-coated socialism in Japan, families are regarded as secondary. This has been paving the way towards the disintegration of the family.
In Japan, fathers are intensely occupied with their work. Typical white-collar workers wake up early in the morning and leave for the office at around 7 am, returning home almost at midnight. Mothers often work part time while children attend the public schools. The family members can be together at home only at midnight. This includes many Christian families as well.
Christians often also disregard the value of the family at the cost of institutions such as companies, schools, and clubs. Japanese Christians are strongly influenced by the socialistic/statistic values. The activities of churches can also hinder the integration of Christian families. For most families, Sunday is the only day when all of the family members can be together. But church activities such as men's meetings and youth groups play a role in disintegrating the familes. Most people have no idea that family is the most foundational covenantal unit in society.
In my article "Why Japan?" I wrote about this subject :
So far within the evangelical circles, one on one evangelism was mainstream, and this resulted in individualism in the church. In terms of evangelism, the approach towards families are weak. Theology that backs up the covenantal nature of the family(such as a father/husband is a covenantal head of a family) is not well accepted and rooted among Christians in Japan, which leads to the weakness of the Christian families in Japan. In most cases, Christian families are not well integrated for the cause of the kingdom of God. Husbands mostly spend their time with their colleagues in the company, and wives are quite often out for part-time jobs. Children are mostly taken care of by public schools. Then the distinction between the Christian and non-Christian is blurred. This disintegration makes families weak in respect of being covenantal units not only in the ecclesiastical community but also in the Japanese society as a whole. In other words, Christian families do not function properly. Thus we see the difficulties in establishing Christian families as covenantal units in the society.
This leads to the fact that we have great difficulty in having strong leadership not only in families but also in the ecclesiastical community. Children cannot have their Christian father as their role model. They cannot learn leadership from their father. Then they grow up to be leaders who are not well grounded on the solid doctrines of the Scripture. They are moved by the humanistic, syncretic, or seclusive mind-set. The fact that we lack good leaders is one of the main causes of the failure of Japanese Christianity.
Fathers are not taking the responsibility for educating their children. They are too occupied with their work. This results in boys not being raised by their fathers, but by their mothers. This is one of the reasons for the feminization of the boys in modern Japan. Unless the fathers take charge of education, homeschooling will not succeed.
HOMESCHOOLING, THE NARROW AND STRAIT GATE FOR JAPANESE CHRISTIANS
When many people hear the term "Christian home education," they struggle to understand it. Because of the Japanese totalitarian mindset, even Christians regard the family as somehow subordinate to social institutions such as churches, schools, and companies. To them, it is quite natural that the government takes responsibility for their children's education. This is almost a religious belief. Even Chiristians trust the government in a religious manner to some degree. Many Christians fail to recognize the anti-biblical statism they have unwittingly adopted. They disregard the value of the family in favor of companies, schools, clubs, and even the activities of churches. Few pastors even have "Bible time" with their families.
These Christian families fail to realize that God has given them the Dominion Mandate. Failing to recognize God's call to the family leads to the lack of understanding of the value of the family. This results in the lack of vision for the future, especially in raising children. In this context, they regard education as simply a means for their children to get jobs and become part of the secular world.
Many Christians fail to understand the fact that the father is the covenantal head of the family, in the relationship between God and man. As I have written before, the responsibility of education lies mainly on the shoulders of mothers, whether they are Christians or not. In most cases, we see mothers in charge of their children's education whether they send their children to public schools or "church schools" (very small Christian schools run by local churches). Even in homeschool settings, mothers take the initiative.
As I have mentioned in my article "Educational Refugees," people pull their children out of public schools due to negative causes, such as bullying. They then face two alternatives: homeschooling and church schooling. Many Christian parents find the option of church schooling more attractive. The idea of church schooling fits the Japanese group-oriented mindset. By allowing parents to delegate their responsibilities to workers and teachers, the church schools blur the parental commitment to education. Church schools sometimes even go towards the direction of second-class public schools or "public schools located at local churches." These church schools are still modeled after public schools due to the humanistic and secular epistemology, teleology, and expectations from parents. (Those parents who delegate parental responsibilities to the church schools expect the schools to become alternative public schools).
Therefore, homeschooling is the most difficult alternative even for Christians.
THE PREREQUISITES FOR CHRISTIAN HOMESCHOOLING
Starting Christian homeschooling demands the following factors:
1) Each Christian laying his foundation on the freedom and liberty in Christ
2) Recognition of the fact that God has given the Dominion Mandate to families
3) Realizing that God has commanded fathers to teach their children
4) Parental commitment to educating their children
5) Fulfilling parental responsibility in educating and discipling children without delegating the core part of education (especially character building) to others, such as teachers of church schools
6) Understanding what the Christian family is and its value
7) Laying out the Christian epistemological and ethical foundation, making the antithesis between the Christian and non-Christian worldviews clear
8) Holding the vision of Christian education; namely, raising the next generation for the cause of the kingdom of God.
PITFALLS IN THE JAPANESE HOMESCHOOLING MOVEMENT
-Weak Christian Community in Japan
Homeschooled children need a Christian community in which they can grow, study, work, marry, form their families, and raise their children.
There are no Christian communities here in this sense. People say that Christian communities exist here, but in most cases, this only means that the church members live in the same neighborhood. There are few business owners, few homeschooling families, and many weak churches.
It is extremely difficult for boys to intern and receive job training from Christian fathers. Most of them go into the corporate track, which effectively makes them nothing more than 21st-century slaves.
Most of the Christians here are white-collar workers, enslaved under mortgage loans, and struggling to get financial liberty (or don't even think about financial liberty). This is one of the main causes of the weakness of Japanese churches.
Boys cannot learn to become dominion takers.
Girls are expected to become homemakers, and it seems to us that higher education for girls is something additional.
But there is a problem in Japan. Even though girls want to be homemakers, they cannot find spouses. The Japanese church has been failing to raise Christian men since the beginning of its history. One of the elders here described this situation as "one truckful of Christian ladies to one Christian man." We see many godly Christian ladies stay single all their lives working in the corporate track. Their financial status is often on the verge of the poverty line. Many of these ladies end up compromising and marrying non-believers; and in many cases, the married couples and their children never attend church any more.
One homeschooling mother told us, "I want my daughter to get a good profession, because she will most probably have to stay single her whole life. She has to be independent."
Another homeschooling mother said, "Unless we can find a spouse for our daughter, she cannot be a homemaker."
-Weak Theological Foundation
When we introduce homeschooling to Japanese, we first have to define what the family is. To do this, we have to explain what covenant is. The word "covenant" in Japanese, keiyaku, simply means "contract." The Japanese language is rooted in the Buddhistic/Shintoistic worldview. When Christians share their belief, they must start with groundbreaking work, which requires a great amount of time. The fact that the Japanese society has little Christian background makes the this groundbreaking work extremely difficult. In many cases, people start homeschooling with a poor theological foundation.
-Weak Teleology, Epistemology, and Methodology
When the homeschoolers here lack vision, methodology, and good examples, they mostly go toward either of the following directions:
1) "Being un-schooled," which results in them being uneducated with absolutely no academic discipline.
They will have a big risk of becoming NEET's--
Young people who are Not in full-time Education, Employment or Training (NEET). We see this phenomenon among grown-up Japanese homeschoolers from time to time, and this is a big stumbling block for the homeschooling movement in Japan.
2) "Public school system at home," with non-Christian curriculum with secular worldview
Homeschoolers cannot afford a Christian educational methodology in the Japanese language. Christian curriculum and textbooks are nearly nonexistent, partly because of the size of the market here. Children raised in these settings cannot become epistemologically self-conscious Christians. They cannot become good workers for the Kingdom of God because of their humanism-stained worldview.
CONCLUSION
Unless we can establish good alternatives, more and more Japanese homeschoolers may give up Christian homeschooling by going back to the public school system or joining some secular community.
If we fail to show the Japanese people workable plans, examples, and vision, they will not be motivated to start homeschooling here.
The hurdle is high, but resources are lean.
The homeschooling movement in Japan has been already distorted and thwarted by the group-oriented mindset of the Japanese, which appears in the form of institutions such as church schools and "hybrid schools."
Since last April, Paideia Network's homeschooling intro seminar has been dealing with subjects such as "Covenant Family," "Parental Discipleship," and "The necessity of a working Christian Community."
Japanese Christians have been failing all the tests given by the Lord so far. Throughout the history of Japanese Christianity, churches have been failing to obey the Lord, by compromising with liberalism, idolatry, and secularism.
For Japanese Christians, Christian homeschooling is the final test from the Lord. If we fail it, there will be no future for Christianity here.
.
Shu Suzuki
Homeschool Intro Seminar Mar. 17,'07
Today we had the monthly homeschool intro seminar. The topic was "The Way."
"The way" is one of the most important metaphors in the Bible. The Lord called himself "The Way."
John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Proverbs 4:14-18, 25-27
14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
We see the antithesis between the way of the wicked and the way of the just. We see the antithesis between the Christian worldview and the non-Christian worldview. This is the starting point of home education. Unless we see this antithesis, we cannot set the goal of our home education. We are demanded to take the way that leads to eternal life.
These are some causes for our failure to take the right way:
1) Relativism
Relativism denies absolutes. The modern world is plagued with relativism. But we see incoherence in relativism when people say "I'm absolutely sure there can be no absolutes." This is like a man who says, "I always tell a lie." Can you believe him or not? Unless we have the absolute value, which is revealed in the word of God, we cannot do anything.
2) Allowing neutrality
If we allow neutrality between the just and the wicked, we fail to walk in the way of the Lord. Between Christians and non-Christians there can be no neutral zone ethically and epistemologically. This is the foundation of Christian education.
3) Lacking the understanding of the significance of the Law of God.
The Law of God shows us God's will, and is for the walk of believers. This is called the third use of the Law. [ cf. Ralph Swanson, The Law of God (Scripture Truth Publications: 1978)P.30 ]
4) Compromise
When the antithesis is clear, we tend to fear confrontation with the opposing pressure from the world, and compromise. This happens quite frequently in Japan.
Matt 6:24
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.
5) Procrastination
We tend to procrastinate when we face the situation in which we have to make important decisions. The Bible is full of examples of failures caused by procrastination such as seen in Acts 24:24-25, Luke 9:57-61.
On the other hand, we see the wonderful example of the disciples of the Lord.
Matt 4:18-22, 9:9
6) Failing to see the consequences.
Whenever we make decisions, we always have to take its consequences into account.
7) Lack of vision.
Unless we have vision, we cannot do anything.
"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." Proverbs 29:18
Finally, we shared the command of our Lord.
Matthew 7:13-14
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Deut 30:15-19
15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.
19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
We have two courageous families who took their children out of the public schools recently, to obey the commandment of the Lord. They are thinking about homeschooling them. Since they receive negative reactions (sometimes persecution) from surrounding people including educational bureaucrats, they need lots of encouragement and prayer. We had a wonderful time of fellowship and encouragement.
Arts and Skills Day
Arts and Skills Day
On Feb. 24, we attended the Arts & Skills Day 2007 hosted by School Support Services of Christian Academy in Japan. We could meet English-speaking homeschooling families there. There were several workshops. Our children chose the class "Culinary Wonders" led by a professional chef. Our children have learned a lot from him. After they returned home, we had them write out what they learned from him. Here are some excerpts from their memos.
Health and Hygiene
-The first thing to do when you cook for someone else is to ask if they have any food allergies.
-The second thing to remember is “health and hygiene.” Always be careful to keep clean and not contaminate the food that is being cooked in the kitchen.
-When chefs have colds, many times, they will not be allowed to cook unless there is no other chef who can take his place. When you have a cold, wear a mask and cough towards the floor.
-Careful where you put your hands; you may accidentally put your hands on a sharp or hot object.
-Always wash your hands!
-When you walk, don’t walk like you usually do, walk “determined steps” so that you won’t slip or fall.
-Chefs actually wear something on their head as well as an apron, to keep the germs from contaminating the food.
-If you have a knife in your hand, face the edge forward as you walk.
-One of the things you can do to keep your fingers clean is to scrape out the dirt and nasty things under your nails with something. You can wash your fingers and scrub them against a towel.
Cooking Tips
-When you’re cooking meat, one of the things you can do is preheating the pan a little. Once you put the meat into the pan, the flavor will “stick.” I can’t remember what term he used for this, though.
-Garlic is a chef’s best friend! It is a quick way to add great flavor to the food.
-When marinating a chicken, you need vinegar, soy sauce, pepper, and salt, etc.
-Be creative when you’re cooking. If you find something in the fridge, use some creativity and combine it with something completely different to whip up a small meal/snack when you feel hungry.
-A marinated chicken should cook until all the soy sauce has glazed
In the afternoon, they held a "Show-case" where children did performances such as singing, reciting Bible verses, playing instruments, etc. We sang a piece of J.S.Bach as a family.
We enjoyed fellowship with other homeschoolers and Christian parents there.
Mrs. Flossie Epley, the director of School Support Services
IntroFeb17-07
The Second Homeschool Intro Seminar by Paideia Network
On Feb. 17, the monthly Homeschool Intro Seminar was held. The topic was about teachability, which is vitally important for getting wisdom. The text was Proverbs 9:7-12.
We also talked about the responsibility of the head of the family. It is the fathers' responsibility to protect their homes. Even if they cannot spend enough time with their children (as is the case with many Japanese fathers), they are still responsible for their own families. The father's role is important for laying the foundation for homeschooling, especially in setting the vision and goal.
We had a fruitful time with new people. We also had a young couple who is going to marry coming March. For them, this meeting was good preparation, especially in terms of their children's education in the future.
Homeschool Seminar
The first Homeschool Intro Seminar by Paideia Network
On
Jan 27, the Homeschool Intro Seminar was held in Chiba. This is the
first seminar for new homeschooling families, held by Paideia Network.
We
are starting from the ground-breaking work. Since we know the
importance of laying a good foundation for homeschooling, we are going
to study the
book of Proverbs, where we can learn the best methodology for
education.
Homeschooling is like building a house. The Lord also showed us that a good relationship between a husband and a wife is the foundation of teaching children.
The key verses for this seminar were:
Proverbs 13:24
He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him
chasteneth him betimes.
Ephesians 6:4
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
The Lord has richly
blessed us while we were learning from the book of Proverbs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homeschooling Mothers' Meeting in downtown Tokyo
On Jan. 23, we attended a homeschooling mothers' meeting held in downtown Tokyo. We met several non-Japanese-speaking mothers who are homeschooling their children in English. We enjoyed the variety in homeschooling as we introduced ourselves.
Mr. Inaba, the president of CHEA Japan
Mr. Inaba, the president of CHEA Japan
On Dec. 28, 2006, Mr. Inaba, the president of CHEA Japan, visited the
Educational Building. Pastor Dan Iverson (the pastor of Oyumino
Presbyterian Church) and I met him there. We had a constructive
conversation for the future of the homeschooling movement in Japan.
My friend Kevin Swanson
My friend Kevin Swanson
My good friend Kevin Swanson is the executive director of CHEC(Christian Home Educators in Colorado). He gives me lots of encouragement and advice. He himself is a graduate of homeschool. He recently published his book, "Upgrade: 10 Secrets to the Best Education for your Child." You can view more information about his book at his website.
With Kevin at CHEC Office:
The Mission Statement of Paideia Network
The Mission Statement of Paideia Network
We believe that the Lord has entrusted to us the special task of contributing to His Kingdom, as shown below;
1) Encouraging homeschoolers to have a vision in the Lord
2) Helping Japanese homeschooling families to equip their children with English skills, so that they can afford good methods for Christian education and be connected to the worldwide Christian community.
3) Establishing a strong relationship between Japanese-speaking homeschoolers and English-speaking homeschoolers The goal of Paideia Network is to become an "America-Japan Homeschooling Co-op Network."
