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

Monday, January 20, 2025

Yoshiki Tanaka, 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 the future he aspires to.

Despite his busy schedule shortly after taking office, Superintendent Tanaka kindly agreed to this interview, which was wonderful and gave us a glimpse of his passion for education.

Interview with Yoshiki Tanaka, the new Superintendent of Education

Profile of Yoshiki Tanaka

• Birthplace:Sakuraoka, Hokuryu Town
• 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. Mayor Sasaki Yasuhiro and he were in the same grades 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 well-liked by the townspeople.

Teaching experience

• Health and physical education teacher:Kamui Junior High School, Fukagawa Junior High School, Uryu Junior High School, Chishibetsu Junior High School
• Vice Principal:Akabira Junior High School, Takikawa Municipal Kaisei Junior High School, Iwamizawa Municipal Toko Junior High School
• principal :Iwamizawa Municipal Kamihoromukai Junior High School, Uryu Junior High School, Iwamizawa Municipal Meisei Junior High School
• after that :Member of the Iwamizawa City Board of Education (acting superintendent of education) for six years

Diverse talents

Superintendent Tanaka is an athlete and is 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 as a winger in high school, and track and field as a sprinter in university. After becoming a teacher, I worked as a ski instructor and also obtained a baseball umpire's license as a baseball umpire for the baseball team. I also played rugby for the Hokkaido Teachers team for four years, and joined 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 that "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, and I spent most of my life in Hokuryu. Now is the perfect time to give back to Hokuryu," and he solidified his resolve.

Student guidance is a guidepost for children to live their lives as they wish

Superintendent Tanaka says, "Student guidance is a guide to help children live their lives as they wish."

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 shape this town in the future. We believe that if they have the experience of playing and helping each other during their school education, they will return decades later with relationships that go beyond just friends.

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, and the most important thing is to develop independent learners."

He said it is important for children to not only cram knowledge into their heads, but also to experience the joy of learning. Starting next year, he has been planning to start an initiative to help children build relationships where they can empathize with each other.

Education that teaches problem-solving thinking

Superintendent Tanaka believes that if the foundations of education change, education itself will change. In order to foster the habit of thinking in a solution-oriented way, he plans to hold training sessions for teachers about four times a year to change the way they teach children. He says that this will create a foundation for children to return to Hokuryu in the future and think, "We are the ones who will build our town."

Peer support thinking has been around since my time as principal

It was only after he became principal that Superintendent Tanaka began to think about peer support. He had been a physical education teacher and had been involved in the sports club until then, but he began to learn about peer support after seeing the struggles of other teachers. He began to believe that problems could be solved if teachers worked together with a variety of different skills.

Accepting others in coaching

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

Peer support as a distinctive feature of Hokuryu Town

Superintendent Tanaka hopes to utilize the role of peer support that has been implemented in Iwamizawa City in Hokuryu Town as well.

Peer support is a term that means "mutual support between people who have acceptance and empathy," and is a program that teaches children how to deal with conflicts and problems. As Hokuryu Town transitions to a nine-year compulsory education system, the town says that introducing peer support is a good opportunity.

The importance of purposeful problem-solving thinking

Society as a whole tends to think about problems, asking, "What was wrong? What was the problem?" However, Superintendent Tanaka believes that "thinking positively, finding the good, and having a sense of purpose" is what will lead to true problem solving.

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

Tanaka said he will continue to explore ways to stabilize the minds of children with developmental disorders. He believes it is important to understand each child's individuality and provide instruction that is tailored to each individual's 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 status and provides appropriate learning plans. It changes the learning method until the children can solve the problems, 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 aim is for teachers to gain insight by taking on 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 repay Hokuryu Town until now, so I want to do everything I can to help," she said.
　

Superintendent Tanaka Yoshiki's educational spirit is to be close to the hearts of children, to be considerate and kind to others, and to 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...

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◇ Interview and text: Ikuko Terauchi (Photography and editing assistance: Noboru Terauchi)