Social Area / Education Program

The course begins with the question, "What is education?", and after examining the historical evolution of the concepts of "education" and "children," it focuses on seven Western modern educational thinkers—Comenius, Locke, Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Mann, Dewey, and Steiner—each receiving one lesson. Students are assigned a short report (approximately 1000 words) discussing "the problems of modern education" and a report (approximately 3000 words) on reading all volumes of Rousseau's *Emile*, with opportunities for group discussions to deepen the discussion on each topic.

This seminar examines education from a historical perspective. Because education is intertwined with various aspects of our lives, the research topics chosen by the seminar students are diverse. For example, some students study educational inequality, gender, sex education, and Christian girls' schools. Based on these themes, each student researches, analyzes, and discusses historical events. In the spring semester, we read and discuss texts on a common theme, and in the fall semester, students write seminar papers based on their individually chosen themes.

I chose education studies because I wanted to be involved with future educators. When I was in high school, I attended N High School, a correspondence high school. There, I had the experience of being exposed to new forms of education. I believe that many people will experience these new forms of education in the future. I want to play a part in that, which is why I am studying education studies. "What you learn is less important than how you use what you learn." In that respect, I think education studies is a program that is easy to apply. When you enter society, there will definitely be opportunities to use what you have learned. Why not learn about ever-evolving education together?