The 2023-2024 academic year saw JASH forge a partnership with Houston Independent School District (HISD) to prepare 8th grade students from six (6) New Education System (NES) schools — Fleming, Forest Brook, Henry, Key, McReynolds, and Sugar Grove Middle Schools — for a special trip to Japan courtesy of the HISD DYAD Travel Program.
Through custom curriculum implemented over six (6) modules, JASH together with HISD’s Nutrition Services Department provided students with an introduction to Japanese history, culture, customs, foods, and etiquette. In the weeks leading up to their trip, students folded origami, tried Japanese calligraphy, mastered chopstick use, and made their own onigiri.
The exposure events culminated in a field trip to 99 Ranch Asian market, where the students completed a scavenger hunt to collect ingredients for a traditional Japanese dish, followed by lunch at restaurant Yokushi Robata. The menu consisted of seaweed salad to start, followed by takoyaki (fried octopus), ramen, and okonomiyaki.
JASH was on hand to provide coaching and explanations as the students ate. HISD Superintendent Mike Miles also joined the lunch and shared with the students his own experiences growing up half-Japanese in America. Superintendent Miles was eager to hear what the students had already leanred about Japanese culture, and he even quizzed some students on Japanese language as they ate.
“This is part of the NES program, but more than that, it’s part of kids learning to grow a broader perspective, not just culturally, but on how things work in the world.”
-Mike Miles, HISD Superintendent
JASH Executive Director Patsy Brown shared a like perspective noting how cross-cultural understanding broadens horizons.
“When you’re able to experience a culture firsthand, it opens your eyes to potentials you might not be able to see if you’re just studying about a culture in classroom.”
-Patsy Brown, JASH Executive Director
In the end, the DYAD Travel Program sent 172 eighth grade students to Japan in six separate groups, the final of which returned stateside on June 3.
It was truly a rewarding experience for JASH to work with the students of Fleming, Forest Brook, Henry, Key, McReynolds, and Sugar Grove Middle Schools. Special thanks are owed to Daikin Comfort Technologies for donating luggage tags for the students, to Daido for providing the ingredients for onigiri exposure lesson, and to Miwa Sakashita for supplying all participants with their very own set of chopsticks.
We look forward to continuing to provide HISD students with opportunities to engage with Japanese culture.