Week 3: Education

Tuesday, July 5
      On Tuesday, Kyle and I started off the day at the Akiyama Wellness Center, asset tagging all of the furniture and objects in the building. It was my first time doing something like this, and it was a good experience for me. We then moved over to the Methodist Church for a meeting with Mary Katagama, the president of Suzume No Gakko.
      Suzume No Gakko was started 35 years ago by a group of parents who felt their children were losing opportunities to learn about their cultural roots. It is a three week program that aims to spread awareness of Japanese and Japanese-American culture, as well as an appreciation for the San Jose Japantown community. The school has 1st thru 6th grade classes, each class focusing on a different aspect of JA culture. For example, the 1st grade theme is rice, while the 3rd grade theme is bamboo. In each grade, Nikkei heritage and culture is taught through various means: field trips to the tofu and manju shops, learning odori dancing, interviewing internees, or cooking common JA foods, such as spam musubi. Other ways of passing down Japanese culture include making miniature Japanese gardens, ikebana, and learning Japanese phrases. In addition to teaching about Nikkei heritage and culture, the Suzume No Gakko program also serves to instill a sense of community in the youth. Trips to the Yu-Ai Kai senior center are taken, during which the children give hand-made gifts to the seniors. The children also take a tour around Japantown, witnessing the behind-the-scenes workings of the manju shop and watching San Jose Taiko perform. Suzume No Gakko has become an important aspect of Japantown, and many of its students become greatly involved in the community.

Wednesday, July 6
      Today was particularly interesting because we spent the day at DeAnza Community College. We met with Tom Izu, the director of the California Historical Center, and Dr. Mae Lee, an Asian American Studies professor. Dr. Lee told us that Asian American studies is the exploration of who is/what it means to be Asian American. The program has its roots in 1968, being born out of the San Francisco State student strikes. She went on to explain that community college is best suited for AA studies, because its students are rooted in the community.
      After spending time with Tom and Dr. Lee, Kyle and I were fortunate enough to visit the APALI program. Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute, or APALI, is a program that aims to advance civic leadership education and to create a civic leadership pipeline from underrepresented communities.

Thursday, July 7
      Today there was no set plan to meet with anyone, so Kyle and I painted the front railing of the Issei Memorial Building. Previously, there were splotches of paint on several spots of the railing. After finishing, the front looked much nicer and cleaner than before. Before heading out, we went upstairs to help the San Jose Taiko interns, Patty and Andrew, make uchiwa for the taiko conference.