Tokyo Community School is not your “average” school. It aims to complement, and function as an alternative to, educational institutions seen thus far; and it also aims to constantly take on new initiatives and challenges.
A school that does not fit the description provided in Article 1 of the Japanese School Education Act is generally described as a “free school” or “alternative school”; and depending on the kind of education, an “international school”. Our school cannot be categorized into any such one group. What we propose and offer is a new educational model – a micro school – that provides a warm, family-like environment where children feel safe and supported in their learning, a community that allows people to connect, trust and learn from one another, a commitment to small classes to ensure high quality education and increased possibilities of diversity of experiences, and a combination of human interaction and interaction with technology to offer individualized learning for each child with his or her unique background of learning and experiences.
When children are unrestricted by the pre-existing educational idea that they are vessels to be “filled” with knowledge, they enjoy discovering the world, formulating questions and carrying out inquiry – and if they encounter a problem or are puzzled by something, they will think about it, communicate with others and develop their ability to engage with new problems by tenaciously coming back to the problem until they propose a solution, come to a new understanding, or give rise to a new concept. In such an environment they are able to develop their abilities to think and to act and engaging in the problem at hand, evolving as individuals who can continue to create new understandings and values.
Furthermore, this community provides a place of learning for adults as well as children. Parents, guardians and teaching staff engage in learning, together with the children and together with the changes that occur in our society. Our community is, indeed, a community that continues to learn.
Tokyo Community School is a place of continuous creativity where children and adults learn together.