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Teru Clavel
For Teru Clavel's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Nov 25, 2015
In an age of global terrorism, what should we tell the children?
As parents, should we shelter and protect our children from the horrors of terrorism, or does that promote the very ignorance it thrives on?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Apr 22, 2015
Culture, cost and proximity draw Chinese students to Japan
Who are the Chinese students studying in Japan? How do they get into Japanese universities, why do they come, and where do they hope to go after they graduate?
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 14, 2015
Love thy neighbor? Chinese nationals who call Japan home
Like tempestuous lovers, China and Japan have sparred for centuries but have remained interdependent in each other's economy, politics, culture, language and arts.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jan 18, 2015
A top 10 for non-Japanese parents considering local schools
Whether your children are already in the local system or you are weighing up your future schooling options, here are 10 issues for parents to keep in mind.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Dec 28, 2014
The year in education: After all the talk, can Japan walk the walk in 2015?
With ideas coming in thick and fast in 2014 and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe having effective carte blanche after his landslide election victory, it's now or never for key education reforms.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Dec 7, 2014
International schools in East Asia are as local as they want to be
International schools are not hermetically sealed off from their surroundings. The local culture can have a huge impact on everything from the schools' academic approach and parental involvement to community outreach.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 4, 2014
Designers illuminate us on their winter wonders
When you think of Japanese art forms, many cultural pursuits will come to mind. The grace of ikebana, perhaps, or the beauty of ukiyo-e woodblock prints. At this time of year it becomes clear, though, that holiday lighting displays — referred to simply as "illumination" — are where the country's masterpieces are being created.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 29, 2014
Working mothers: pioneering the way forward
We talk to five working mothers in an attempt to discover how some women are able to have a career and a family
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Oct 26, 2014
Japan struggles to keep up as China woos international students
Japan's efforts to increase the number of international students coming to its shores are being dwarfed by similar initiatives in neighboring China.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Sep 14, 2014
All-Japanese families take a chance on international schools
In a notoriously homogeneous society where parents can face criticism for going against the grain, what drives these parents to shun local schools and instead seek out what the education ministry calls "foreigner schools"?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jun 1, 2014
56 schools across Japan aim to nurture 'Super Global' leaders
The Super Global High Schools project, a key part of the Japanese government's plan to reverse two decades of economic decline and growing insularity among the young, tasks 56 schools with creating a new generation of global leaders.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
May 11, 2014
Returnees' experiences drive a will to give something back
The returnees profiled here highlight the potential that can be unlocked within individuals lucky enough to have the chance to live overseas and, crucially, receive the right support on their return to Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
May 4, 2014
Kikokushijo: returnees to a country not yet ready for them
Though the number of returnee students has tripled since 1977, and despite the recent government push to develop "global human resources," the existence of this group of globally educated young people has been largely ignored by policymakers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Mar 30, 2014
Osaka embraces English Reformation
While Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's controversial political antics have increasingly drawn criticism, little attention has been paid to how his leadership has prompted the most progressive reforms of English-language education in the nation.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Mar 30, 2014
Changing the system starts by challenging it
Just seven years after first participating in the JET program in Osaka, Matthew Cook from Danville, Virginia, is making great strides as a pioneer of English-language education reform in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / LEARNING CURVE
Mar 16, 2014
To get more out of your students, make the most of your space
Teachers need to know how to maximize their space to get the most out of their students, and schools should be designed to meet the needs of their specific range of students.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Mar 2, 2014
Thinking outside the usual white box
Imagine being a meter tall and dashing around the donut-shaped roof of your school. Or picture studying math while taking in the rich smell of timber in one of a variety of wooden houses connected by a single three-story atrium, or attending a zero-carbon wooden school in the forest.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Feb 16, 2014
Prepping for university straight from the crib
Aiko has just finished bouncing like a rabbit toward a white line. She has already identified photographs of fruit and will soon be told a story about a panda, after which she'll have to draw a picture and offer an ending. How she does with these activities could determine where she attends university, and nobody is more nervous than her parents being interviewed next door.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jan 19, 2014
China, South Korea face familiar woes in English quest
Japan isn't alone in its struggles with teaching English. China and South Korea have experienced similar frustrations, but their responses and results have been quite different.
COMMUNITY
Jan 19, 2014
Team-teaching rules can lead to confusing situations
At present, Japanese labor law restricts foreign native English-speaking teachers, referred to as ALTs (assistant language teachers) from team-teaching with Japanese classroom teachers. Students get the short end of the stick, as team teaching is considered a highly effective foreign-language teaching methodology.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world