On Friday, September 18, Okinawa AMICUS International will hold its Fourth Open Lesson Study Conference.

I believe that making a better school begins with creating better lessons. Children spend most of their school day in the classroom. Lessons in which every child feels safe expressing their ideas, deepens their learning through interaction with others, and thinks, “I want to learn more” or “I want to try this myself,” provide the foundation for creating a better school.

At this conference, we will not present lessons prepared only for this special occasion. Instead, our teachers will open their regular lessons—the lessons they develop every day together with their students. We hope that visitors will have an opportunity to see our English immersion education in practice and observe how children from diverse backgrounds learn together.

Opening our classrooms is also an important opportunity for us to reflect on our own teaching practices. By receiving honest feedback and comments from visiting educators and sharing our experiences and knowledge with one another, we hope to further improve the quality of our lessons.

We sincerely hope that this conference will provide an opportunity for educators from different types of schools and different regions to come together, consider how we can better support children’s learning, and learn from one another.

All of us at Okinawa AMICUS International warmly welcome your participation.

Ken Oshiro, Headmaster