In Search of Kingdom Living

For my Human Development and Learning class, we’ve been looking into various developmentalists and their respective theories about learning. One of the more interesting assignments is to read this fun/little book called Totto-Chan: the little girl by the window.

from Amazon.com – This engaging series of childhood recollections tells about an ideal school in Tokyo during World War II that combined learning with fun, freedom, and love. This unusual school had old railroad cars for classrooms, and it was run by an extraordinary man-its founder and headmaster, Sosaku
Kobayashi-who was a firm believer in freedom of expression and activity.

In real life, the Totto-chan of the book has become one of Japan’s most popular television personalities-Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. She attributes her success in life to this wonderful school and its headmaster.

The charm of this account has won the hearts of millions of people of all ages and made this book a runaway bestseller in Japan, with sales hitting the 4.5 million mark in its first year.

When I finished the book, I wondered why Christian education is so stale in comparison to Totto-chan’s school. From our services, to sunday schools, to small groups – a very common comment is to depict them all as BORING. And yet, the content is absolutely exciting – there’s so much drama in the biblical narrative. It’s really the means of communicating the content that is boring and ineffective.

Here’s a few quotes from the book that outlines the educational method/philosophy of the school:

The headmaster “believed all children are born with an innate good nature, which can be easily damaged by their environment and the wrong adult influences. His aim was to uncover their “good nature” and develop it, so that the children would grow into people with individuality” (p. 191).

A typical day would consist of the teacher making a list of all the problems and questions that needed to be studied that day and then each student proceeds to do whatever they liked in any order. Interestingly, students start with their favorite subjects and finished their other subjects because they had all day to finish. “This method of teaching enabled the teachers to observe – as the children progressed to higher grades – what they were interested in as well as their way of thinking and their character. It was an ideal way for teachers to really get to know their pupils” (p. 29).

their daily school life somehow instilled in them that they should treat each other with respect. “They mustn’t push people smaller or weaker than themselves; that unruly behavior was something to be ashamed of; that whenever they came across litter they should pick it up; and that they should try not to do anything that annoyed or disturbed others” (p. 72).

He did not like the modern educational models with the emphasis on writing and head knowledge. He believed this educational approach would atrophy a child’s sensual perception of nature and intuitive receptiveness to the still small voice of God, which is inspiration” (p. 80).

I imagine a church that can similarly engage children/students/people in a creative manner, not because of manipulation or marketing techniques, but rather because the gospel message demands it. How else can you describe the Christian narrative, except to begin with the words – that was wonderfully creative.