Satellite for Personal Cosmos Photos

I was amazed by the news today.

"The Kansai Space Initiative, a non-profit organization set up in 2008 to promote the participation of local Japanese companies and citizens in the development of space, has come up with the idea of launching a tiny satellite equipped with an electric billboard and a camera so private messages can be photographed with Earth as the backdrop.

The KaSpI-1 would be a 50kg microsatellite, similar in size to the Sohla-1 microsatellite that was built by a group of companies in the Kansai area and is scheduled for launch on Wednesday."

Even if they are a non-profit organization, they need to get funding for this idea. I wonder where would they get that!

Read more about the topic in dailyme, KansaiWindow, Daily Yomiuri or in Japanese in the Kaspi website.

Obama speech book a big hit in Japan

Obama speech textbook has become a big hit in Japan.



The 95-page paperback features Obama's speeches in English from the 2004 Democratic National Convention and during the Democratic Party primaries, in which he defeated Hillary Clinton. They are accompanied by Japanese translations.

The 1,050 yen ($12) book, which includes a CD of the speeches, tops the bestseller list on bookseller Amazon's Japanese Website

"His speeches are so moving, and he also uses words such as 'yes, we can,' 'change' and 'hope' that even Japanese people can memorize,"

"In Japan, we don't have politicians who have such a positive influence. That's why we have to turn to a foreign president for someone in whom to place our hopes."

"Readers have sent in postcards saying that when they heard the speeches, they were so moved and cried even though they don't understand English very well."

Reuters

Ala-asteen pääsykokeet

Tänään aamun lehdessä oli juttu siitä, kuinka vanhemmat jonottavat tuntikausia, jotta saavat jättää hakemuksen ala-asteen pääsykokeisiin, jonka läpäissestä arvotaan ala-asteelle pääsijät.

Miksi vanhemmat jonottavat?
Hyvä kysymys, sillä ei ole mitään vaikutusta pääsykokeen läpäisyyn tai arvontatulokseen. Vai onko sittenkin - kuten rehtori Inada selittää:

"People who come early to submit an application for admission tend to be more educationally minded," Inada said. "As a result, such people's children are more likely to pass the exam. That's why I think such a rumor has spread."

Tai ainakin se osoittaa kuinka paljon vanhemmat välittävät lapsestaan.

Parents form such lines at schools and post offices because they are indicative of the love they feel for their children--a love that will be shown clearly in front of post offices and primary schools this autumn.

Miksi ala-asteelle on pääsykokeet?
Ei kaikkiin ole, vain yksityisiin. Mutta niihin on tunkua, koska normaaliin systeemiin ei luoteta.

According to a national association of private primary schools comprising 175 schools nationwide, the number of applicants for private or national primary schools has been increasing each year because of concerns over cram-free education in public schools and other reasons.

Ja mitä tästä kaikesta seuraa?
Se, että koulujen väliset erot Japanissa ovat eritäin suuret. Toisin kuin Suomessa, jossa peruskouluun luotetaan ja erot koulujen välillä ovat maailman pienimmät. Tästä tietysti seuraa se, että kiinnostus Suomalaista koulujärjestelmää kohtaan on suuri.

Katso myös

Pisa 2006 results Table 4.1a

How Do We Educate Our Children

Links to Riikka's book

Riikka's book is getting quite nice publicity in Japan.

Amid concerns that declining academic abilities of children in Japan, there is increasing interest in the learning method of Finland produced a world-class achievement.

日本の子供の学力低下が懸念される中、世界トップ級の学力を生み出すフィンランドの学習法に関心が高まっている。「フィンランドメソッド（方式）」をうたう読書法や作文の書き方、算数ドリルといった学習関連本が相次いで出版され、教育関係者ばかりではなく、一般家庭にも普及し始めた。 (http://www.iza.ne.jp/ 2008/1/11)




This magazine promotes Riikka's two books. (Link in English)


Here is a collection of blogs and other links where it is mentioned - they are all in Japanese, but followed by an automatic translation to English by google.


ウィメンズブックストアゆう 子育て・教育
Women's book store ranks Riikka's book #4 in Parenting / Education category (out of 353 books!) (Link in English)

ユーモア、川柳、名言 フィンランドの教師は学歴が日本よりも高く、尊敬されている。給料は低くてもなり手が多い。
This blog comments that Teachers in Finland are respected and have higher education than in Japan. (Link in English)

とくとみぶろぐ 著者が最初にクラス担任になったときは異例の33人クラスだったそうです。
This guy says "Riikka's first class had 33 students, which is not unusual for a class. I was very surprised by that, I think of my elementary school class was 40." (Link in English)

創ぶろ So-Blog Books サポートチームとして、看護師、ソーシャルワーカーなどが、学校にいるのがうらやましい。
This blog says "The support team, nurses and social workers, are the envy of the school. ... Interestingly, this was read at a stretch." (Link in English)

岩辺泰吏の午後の歩き方 新書版で読みやすい本だ。沖永良部の旅の往復で読んだ。
This blog recommends the book as easy to read. "I read in a round-trip journey." (Link in English)

タカサタガマヤ フィンランドの教育力
Here is another blog, but I could not really follow the automatic translation.

日々燦々 － はぁ～、のんびり のんびり -
フィンランドニュースで、こんな本の紹介記事を見つけました。
まだ読んでないのですが、早速買って読んでみたいと思います。
もし読まれた方がいらっしゃいましたら、感想教えて下さい。
This blogger "saw the introduction of this book. I do not read it yet, I would like to buy and read it. If you read already please tell us feedback." (Link in English)

こんな本いかがっすかあ
書店従業員の読書日記
And finally the blog Oh yes sir I like this book - Reading Diary bookstore employees. (Link in English)

Happy Monday

Today was Japanese Coming-of-Age-Day, another Happy Monday holiday. &;-)

I have to say, the system is quite nice. Additionally, if a national holiday falls on weekend, the following Monday becomes a holiday.

Because the weather was nice, I put on warm clothes and went out riding my bicycle.

Past a temple, and a girl celebrating her coming of age.


I found my self in a tight space between 4+2 lanes of highway and 4+4 lanes of a major road!


The gates to the Imperial Palace look nice


And the temples along the way are beautiful


Or to be precise, the beauty of Tokyo is hidden in the details...


Samuli

Rising sun

Sunrise from behind Mita

Roppongi on sunrise

Mt Fuji on sunrise (behind Ebisu)

Härän vuosi 2009

Picture: Suzuka Yoshida

Hyvää alkanutta härän vuotta!
Härän vuotta pidetään pohdinnan, sadonkorjuun ja varovaisten päätösten aikana.

Happy new year of the Ox!
The Ox is the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work.

あけまして
おめでとう
ございます

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Another year has passed.

In January and February we visited Finland Village to play in the snow and


to go skiing.


March brings spring light and occasinally the kids sit down and read in peace and quiet - honestly.


April is hanami season and the whole Tokyo blossoms in pink.


In May the school year is almost over.


Summer vacation starts in June and Linnamäki amusement park is a must!


In July we enjoyed sunny days in a rented apartment in Helsinki.


In August Samuli stays one or two weeks in Finland while working at the head office .


In September we are back in Tokyo - but Disneyland is not as much fun as Linnanmäki...


October ends with Halloween!


Eating outside is still possible in November.


December always goes by preparing for Christmas and New Year holidays.



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our friends!

Ahdas paikka - Low ceiling

Olen kyllä tottunut siihen, että kolautan pääni ovenkarmeihin tai metron kädensijoihin, mutta tämä vessa oli hieman ahdas...

I am used to hitting my head on doorframes or handrails in subways, but the ceiling on this toilet was really low...

Samuli

Highly recommended: "The power of Finnish education"

Riikka's book has been well received in Japan. Finnish Chamber of Commerce and Finnish Tourist Board both recommend it. (To my understanding with the same text, in English and in Japanese).

The secret of the book might be that it was written
- by a Japanese journalist
- from a Japanese point of you
- based on Riikka's "insider information" from the system

Now we also know a bit more about what is in the book, as we received the table of contents in English (see below).

ROSA


The Power of Finnish Education

Contents

Introduction 3

Ch. 1 PISA rated world No.1 in scholarship 15

Why world no.1 in scholarship? 16
Highly qualified teachers promote scholarship 19
The Finnish Education System 28


Ch. 2 The development of excellent teachers 31

Why I became a teacher 32
One-year experience before entering the Department of Education 37
Nurturing highly qualified teachers at the Department of Education 43
From group education to individualised education 49


Ch. 3 Teaching children in ways that they easily understand 53

My first time as home room teacher – of 33 students! 54
Smooth Start to get to know new students 59
Student grouping and flexible scheduling 63
Why mathematics is necessary 70
Pre-graders thoroughly study Finnish 74
Arts and crafts are very popular with children 79
How to teach history 81
Openness to parents is fundamental 82
Children deciding classroom rules 84
The difference between good teachers and not-so-good teachers 87


Ch. 4 Effective on-site support system 93

My image of an ideal teacher 94
School responsibility and parental responsibility 97
Parents’ day questionnaire 102
The support team strongly supports teachers and students 106
What is Special Education? 113
Standards of child evaluation 117
How to deal with children’s problems 120
Taking care of a slow learner 124
How to deal with children who don’t speak 127
A support team result 130


Ch. 5 Teachers must be multi-talented 133

Summer holiday without homework 134
Reusing textbooks 137
Homework is children’s work 139
How to deal with children’s questions 143
The shock of 9-11 148
What we teach in Religion classes 152
Are field trips a nightmare for teachers? 154
Dog owners are good at raising children 159
Children’s problems create monster parents 164
There is no school in the world that doesn’t have bullying 168
Girls bullying is difficult to deal with 172
Nurture pride to overcome bullying 176


Ch. 6 What I felt living in Japan 181

Visiting Japanese elementary school 182
Busy, but a little lonely, Tokyo life 184
Japan – observations of a mysterious country 188
A miracle that Japanese school bestowed on my son 191
I am my children’s Finnish teacher 195
The future of Finnish education 197
A socially supported education system 201

Endword 204