Yoshiki Tanaka, the new superintendent of education, is determined to give back to Hokuryu Town and looks to the future as he speaks about his passion for education

Monday, January 20, 2025

Tanaka Yoshiki, who took up his new position as Hokuryu Town Superintendent of Education on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, spoke to us about his career history, his thoughts on education, and his aspirations for the future.

就任直後の多忙な中にも関わらず受けてくださったインタビューは、田中 教育長の教育に対する熱い情熱が感じられる素晴らしい内容でした。

Interview with New Superintendent of Education Yoshiki Tanaka

Profile of Yoshiki Tanaka

• Birthplace:Hokuryu Town Sakuragaoka
• year of birth:Born in 1956 (Showa 31), 68 years old
• Superintendent Tanaka was born and raised in Hokuryu Town, and graduated from Shinryu Elementary School, Hokuryu Junior High School, Fukagawa Nishi High School, and Hokkaido University of Education. He was in the same grade as Mayor Yasuhiro Sasaki in elementary, junior high, and high school. Superintendent Tanaka's mother was a teacher who worked at Shinryu Elementary School for over a decade and also ran a calligraphy school, and was loved by the townspeople.

Teaching career

• Health and Physical Education Teacher:Utashinai Junior High School, Fukagawa Junior High School, Uryu Junior High School, Chichibube Junior High School
• Vice Principal:Akabira Junior High School, Takikawa Municipal Kaisei Junior High School, Iwamizawa East High School
• principal :Iwamizawa Kamihoromukai Junior High School, Uryu Junior High School, Iwamizawa Municipal Meisei Junior High School
• after that :Member of the Iwamizawa City Board of Education for six years (acting superintendent of education)

Diverse talents

Superintendent Tanaka is an athlete, well versed in kendo, baseball, rugby, track and field, and skiing. He is also qualified as a ski instructor and baseball umpire.

I played kendo in elementary school, baseball in junior high school, rugby wing in high school, and track and field sprinting in college. After becoming a teacher, I worked as a ski instructor and also obtained a baseball umpire's license as the baseball team's umpire. I also played for the Hokkaido Teachers' team for four years as a member of the Fukagawa Rugby team, where I played until I was 35 years old.

Now is the time to give back to Hokuryu Town

Superintendent Tanaka says that he received a sudden phone call from Mayor Sasaki in December of last year, in which he was told of the mayor's passionate feelings.

"To be honest, it took a lot of courage to change my stage at this age," he recalled, adding that he politely declined at first.

However, after hearing the mayor's heartwarming speech that overturned his own feelings, he came to the conclusion, "I grew up in Hokuryu from the time I was born until I graduated from university, and my mother was taken care of by the people of Hokuryu, so I spent most of my life in Hokuryu. Now is the perfect time to give back to Hokuryu." And so he solidified his resolve.

Student guidance is a guidepost for children to live their own lives

Superintendent Tanaka says, "Student guidance is a guide to help children live their lives true to themselves."

He points out that while Japanese education has remained unchanged for many years, there are some areas that are currently undergoing change. If teachers change the way they interact with students, schools will change.

Children are important human resources who will build this town in the future. We believe that if they have the experience of playing and helping each other in school, they will return several decades later with relationships that are more than just peers.

Superintendent Tanaka emphasizes, "What is needed now is to develop Japanese people who will study on their own, rather than being forced to do so; it's most important to develop independent learners."

He said it is important for children to feel the joy of learning, not just to cram knowledge into their heads. He has been planning to start an initiative from next year that will help children build relationships where they can empathize with each other.

Education to think from a solution-oriented perspective

田中 教育長は教育の基盤が変われば教育自体も変わると考えています。物事を解決思考で考える癖をつけるために、年間４回程先生方を対象として、子どもたちへの指導を変えるための研修を行うことを計画していきます。子どもたちが将来北竜町に戻ってきて「僕たちが町を作るんだ」という基盤を、これから作れると述べています。

Peer support thinking started when I was a principal

It was only after he became principal that Superintendent Tanaka started to think about peer support. Until then, he had been a physical education teacher and had been involved in the sports club, but he began to learn about peer support after seeing the suffering of other teachers. He began to think that if teachers could work together with a variety of different skills, they could solve problems.

How to accept others when coaching

When he learned coaching, Superintendent Tanaka felt that his previous way of thinking was turned upside down. He says that accepting the other person does not mean completely accepting them or agreeing with them, but rather accepting them and thinking about them again, saying, "Oh, so that's what you think," is an important key point.

Peer support as a distinctive feature of Hokuryu Town

Superintendent Tanaka hopes to utilize the peer support system that has been implemented in Iwamizawa in Hokuriku Town as well.

Peer support is a program that teaches children how to deal with conflicts and problems, and it means "people who accept and support each other." As Hokuryu Town transitions to a nine-year compulsory education system, it is a good opportunity to introduce peer support, he said.

The importance of purposeful problem-solving thinking

While society as a whole tends to think about "what went wrong? what was the problem?", Superintendent Tanaka believes that "thinking positively, finding the good, and having a sense of purpose" is what leads to truly solving problems.

He also says that when it comes to children, simply finding and pointing out their faults is not enough; it is important to find and develop each individual's strengths.

The state of mind of children with developmental disorders

Superintendent Tanaka said that he will continue to explore ways to stabilize the minds of children with developmental disorders. He believes that it is necessary to understand the individuality of each child and provide guidance that is tailored to their own pace, rather than forcing them into a mold.

The current state of AI instruction in schools

Currently, the school is using AI drills, where AI analyzes the children's learning situation and provides appropriate learning plans. It changes the learning method until the children can solve the problem, asks repeated questions, and guides the children to deepen their understanding.

Problem-solving techniques and workshop-style training

Superintendent Tanaka has been conducting workshop-style training for problem solving in the past. The purpose is for teachers to gain awareness by playing different roles and thinking about the feelings of others in various situations.

Superintendent Tanaka said, "I don't know much about administration, but I have strong opinions about things on the ground.

"What I'm thinking about most right now is changing the way teachers think. I owe it all to this town for raising me. I haven't been able to give back to Hokuryu up until now, so I want to do everything I can to repay them," she said.
　

Superintendent Tanaka Yoshiki's educational spirit is to empathize with children's hearts, be considerate and gentle in accepting others, and move forward in a bright and shining direction with positive thinking!

With boundless love, gratitude and prayers for the great school education of these wonderful children who will carry the future of Hokuryu Town on their shoulders.

Related Articles and Websites

Hokuryu Town Portal

Appointment of Superintendent of Education (25th) ▽ Yoshiki Tanaka (68), new member of Hokuryu Town in the Sorachi District (Iwamizawa City Board of Education) [Hokkaido Shimbun Digital]

On Thursday, December 26, 2024, the Hokkaido Shimbun Press (Sapporo City) operated internet site [Hokkaido Shimbun Digital] posted an article titled "Election of the Superintendent of Education..."

◇ Reporting and writing by Ikuko Terauchi (Photography and editorial assistance by Noboru Terauchi)