Japanese early childhood teachers use the "mimamoru" approach, in which teachers let children develop their sense of right and wrong in a group-oriented environment where they are accountable to others. Cultural in nature, the "mimamoru" approach is based on teachers' beliefs that children are truly autonomous beings who can…

Japanese teachers consider clean-up time to be the group's responsibility, and they rely on the use of music and encouragement to make clean-up time an appealing activity. The children's positive feelings also may be partially explained by the fact that teachers consider clean-up time to be an extension of play, saving toys and activities for the…

This article describes an innovative teaching approach that can offer the changes needed for school improvement. When entering an Education: Basic and Interactive (EBI) classroom, one will see students focused on accomplishing self-guided tasks and eager to move on to the next challenge in their self-paced learning. The EBI Project described here…

Today's children may be exposed to violence in their environment, through the media, at home, and in school. Some children live in countries at war, while others survive in neighborhoods where street gangs prevail. Most parents and children used to assume they could depend upon schools to be safe places, free from abuse and violence. Now it seems…

Describes a typical day in a Japanese third-grade classroom, focusing on the need to address social and academic growth. Shows how although students work in groups of 6 or 7 and take on responsibilities as a group, students' individualism is not suppressed. Describes the teacher's goals of developing students' thinking skills, ability to express…

Presents an account of the project approach used by American first graders to study Japan. (BB)