Hullo! I taught in Japan for two years. Some days, I was attached to a preschool. I was baffled at how they just expected me to play onikokko with the kids. But I guess that’s Japanese preschool education for you. Hugs, I hope things get better soon. Do you have to go back tomorrow?

—/ Also just to share with you something I wrote last Dec. I married a Japanese lady, so our son is bicultural

In a previous life, I worked as an Assistant Language Teacher in Kumamoto City, Japan. I was occasionally attached to a kindergarten for a day. What really shocked me was that the Japanese kids played and played throughout the entire day. I should know, because I was always unceremoniously cast as the demon for their favourite game “鬼ごっこ”. Maybe I would play some light games and introduce to them how to say colours in English, but that’s it. They don’t even study the hiragana alphabet in preschool!

I confess that I was judgemental, but you must remember that I hail from Singapore, where seven-year-olds are expected to know the past tense and recognise various Chinese characters in their first year in elementary school. School isn’t a place for kids to learn from scratch; it's an arena for them to outperform one another.

This focus on unstructured play in Japan baffled the hell out of me.

Guess what? My bicultural son is enrolled into a Japanese kindergarten for this month. When I picked him up today, he leapt off from his tricycle and hugged his friends goodbye. Later, he told us about how he had picked up acorns earlier today. His teacher thoughtfully packed some acorns for him to bring home, so we know that he’s recounting something authentic.

You know, I’m sure he is happy studying at PCF Sparkletots but can I cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die say that he is leading a carefree life? I doubt so. At the end of the day, I just want his kindergarten to nurture his joy and carefree spirit. He has plenty of time to become an “economic unit” in time. There’s no rush.

Attaching the various goals of preschool education that I encountered on the following newsletter 👇

Zapped you my signature 108 sats. Hope it helps somewhat!