Where, oh where, are we to obtain the proper education for our children? If there is one thing each of us have in common or should have in common it is that our children are, or should be, bilingual children, at least.

Should not educational curricula depend on the nature of the beast!?

Those of you who cannot afford international schools perhaps envy those who can. Don't. This column is equally directed to both types of parents. It is also directed to Japanese parents who must also understand that the curriculum of the Japanese school system is substantially inconsiderate with respect to who your children are and where they are or should be or could be going.

Begin here: No matter what school your child goes to, go to the educational authority of that school and ask the following question:

Should the curriculum of the school be based on an understanding of where the students are and who they are and be built from there, or should it be something decided and fixed upon up or out there, to which the children must conform or be conformed? Or, even better, ask the first part of the question without offering the alternative.

Then, when the answer is "yes, of course," which will be the answer of any educator, ask them the following:

If the school is an international school, ask them what percentage of the children are of bilingual or multilingual backgrounds? Then, when the answer is a pretty hefty percentage (as it must be, with rare exception), ask them why their curriculum is essentially a monolingual curriculum when the children are or should or must be bilingual or multilingual. If they seem puzzled by the question, ask them if they are familiar with the current research regarding bilingual education. The answer will be "no," or "yes, but....."

If the school is a Japanese school, ask them why it is that the curriculum is so antiquated. For example, the preschools are generally not very educational, and the children are not taught hiragana until grade one and katakana until grade two, even though most of them already know it not from kindergarten but from home. Is the purpose to turn the children off from education just when they are getting started? If your child happens to be non-Japanese, ask them what kind of program they have to develop your child's academic proficiency in Japanese. If there is really no program, ask them why not! Is it not the responsibility of the school to create a program suitable for the children it "serves"?! Should that not be the responsibility of a public school, as well as a private one?! The answers here, too, would be either "no," or "yes, but..."

What follows the "buts" in each of the above examples would be essentially the same, i.e., some reason or excuse why the person you are speaking to and/or the institution they are representing cannot or will not do anything about it.

When will Japan wake up and do something about the fact that there are thousands of non-native Japanese-speaking children --about 17,000 by Ministry of Education estimates-- attending the public schools with highly insufficient curricula for them. The acknowledgement of that figure (probably an underestimate) is practically the extent of their service to the special needs of those children.

Those questions are just the beginning. I don't think it would take too long for any of us to realize that there is something really wrong with the educational options we are presented with, perhaps especially for children of international backgrounds, but really for all children. Then, when we know that, where do we go or what do we do on behalf of our children?

This column will address some of these issues. Do we have a motive beyond the mere exchange and development of ideas? Yes. We feel we have right, an obligation, and a responsibility to inspire the development of educational alternatives and/or internal change to what exists out there right now. Contact us please, with your responses, questions, ideas, and experiences.

I may be reached by e-mail at johnsdavis@hotmail.com or by snail mail c/o Head Office, United for a Multicultural Japan.