Tag Archives: education

Ten Years of Taking Leave

Posted on December 6, 2019 by

Looking back, it’s amazing to me now that I dared to even apply for a year of paternity leave while living in a foreign country. But I’ve never regretted the decision. As I told an audience of university students and … Continue reading →

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First Year Wall (Part 2) – The (not-so voluntary) parent-teacher conference

Posted on May 24, 2018 by

In mid-April, I went to a parent-teacher conference. Actually, it was more like an enforced PTA committee, which one parent per kid had to attend. As a group. We sat at our kids’ desks (tiny!) and introduced ourselves. This was … Continue reading →

Posted in education, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, Japanese law, Japanese society, parenting, school | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The First Year Wall (Part 1) – Gakudo and the Kid

Posted on April 26, 2018 by

Three weeks ago, our youngest daughter went to nursery school for the last time. The following Monday, she started gakudo (学童, short for 学童教育 gakudokyouiku, which is usually translated as “after school program”). Since both my wife and I work … Continue reading →

Posted in child safety, coming of age, education, Japan, Japanese, Japanese society, parenting, school | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Farewell, Nursery. Hello, Kindergarten

Posted on April 5, 2017 by

After turning five in January, our youngest daughter finally made to the end of nursery school (“nen-cho,” 年長). Or so we thought. We had heard rumors in previous years that the system might change. It turns out that in this … Continue reading →

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Home for the holidays (Part 2)

Posted on January 1, 2015 by

As I wrote a couple days ago, I’ve been spending the New Year’s holidays with my wife’s family in Kagoshima for a decade now. In that span of time, there have been five children born into the immediate extended family, … Continue reading →

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Year Two: Nursery School

Posted on September 24, 2011 by

Starting April 1st this year (the beginning of the school year in Japan), I went back to work and my daughter started her first year at a nearby private nursery school. Even prior to the official first day, we attended … Continue reading →

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