Creating classroom unity is an essential element in making elementary school education more effective. Doing that this year has proven especially difficult following school closures to contain the new coronavirus and now the reopening of schools where the "Three Cs" -- closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings -- must be avoided.
Some classes have overcome these difficulties and figured out clever ways to create unity, as illustrated in these two examples.
--Communication via video
To succeed in avoiding Three Cs, Akabane Elementary School in Minato Ward, Tokyo, divided classes into morning and afternoon sessions upon its reopening in June.
On the afternoon of June 25, a video showing 18 students in a third grade class was played in the classroom. They had attended the morning session, and they jumped and raised their arms to send messages of joy to the afternoon students, saying such things as, "Finally, we're together," and "Come on, class!" The school began having all the students attend classes altogether on July 1.
Akabane Elementary School held its opening and entrance ceremonies on April 6, but the school was closed until the end of May, and students were divided into morning and afternoon sessions until united classes resumed on July 1. Thus, they had to find another way to cultivate a sense of unity as a class.
So the third graders, who began to go to school twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays, decided to tell each other on video about how they were doing and what they had learned.
The afternoon group that watched the video expressed their gratitude to the morning group, saying such things as, "Thank you for your message. Let's keep up the good work." While holding up signs with hand-written messages, the students spoke to a camera provided by their teacher, Kazuki Kamimura, 34.
With such exchanges taking place in advance, things went smoothly when the students were reunited on July 1.
A 9-year-old boy in this class said: "There were some students I met for the first time. But I knew their faces and could feel their first impressions, so it was easy to talk to them."
"Watching the videos became a joy for the children, and some said they wanted to see everyone soon," Kamimura said.
While the school was closed, Kamimura had spoken to each of his students over the phone over the nearly two months. "But I was able to build a relationship of trust with the children as I continued shooting the videos toward the goal of teaching all 36 kids together," Kamimura said
--Message boards
Meanwhile, from June 2 to 11, Iwakurakita Elementary School in Kyoto City had set up message boards in classrooms and hallways for students in the second to sixth grades to exchange hand-written messages every other day. Divided class sessions were also taking place there.
Principal Kiyotaka Miura, 53, had proposed analog message boards, worrying that some households did not have an online communications environment. Some of the classes used sticky notes describing school events, while others used thought of Instagram and used hashtags like "#Whatifweplaytogether?" and posted messages under photos of themselves.
When the children arrived at school, they would stare at the message board and expressed thier exceitement that they want to reply soon. In some cases, children who are not good at speaking could express their feelings in writing.
"Even words that disappear on the spot online or social media can be seen on the paper message board as communication continues and class interaction deepens," Miura said.
--Learning environment 'cornerstone'
In building class unity, it is said that schools aim to create an environment in which students can study in a lively manner by eliminating anxiety at the beginning of the fiscal year when class lineups change. That is why children who happen to meet in one class are organized through various group activities.
For example, they discuss ways to get along with each other at class meetings and create an atmosphere in which they are comfortable learning with their classmates and teachers in charge of their class.
If these things don't go well at the beginning, some children may refuse to go to school, and classes may break down.
The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry on June 5 announced the comprehensive package of measures to secure education for everybody, which stipulates "The first week [of the new class] focuses on creating classes centered on its activities, creating an environment in which students can learn in a relaxed way."
Discussions and meetings, however, tend to become Three Cs situations and are strictly restricted nowadays. Furthermore, there is a strong tendency to put off class activities other than the regular curriculum, which tend to be seen as not conducive to academic achievement, by giving priority to ensuring the number of classes in each subject.
Yuki Hashitani, a professor at Nippon Sport Science University said: "Classroom building itself is indispensable as a basis for learning and living. If this is neglected at the beginning of the fiscal year when there are many anxieties and worries, both curriculum guidance and student guidance will fail."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
