What was your dream when you were a child?

For some reason, my dream was to be a teacher. 

I wrote I wanted to be a “kindergarten teacher” in my graduation yearbook of kindergarten in awkward letters I had just learned. And I wrote “elementary school teacher” when I graduated from the elementary school. Then I wrote “ junior high school teacher” and “senior high school teacher” when I graduated from each school. (I didn’t think I wanted be a professor when I graduated from college though.) 

Why did I want to be a teacher? I guess it’s because I loved my teachers at each occasion and felt comfortable at each school. And I met teachers who I could admire.  That’s the reason for my dream. 

Now I am a teacher as I had wished for a long time.  My first school to work at was Shonan girls senior high school (currently known as Shonan Gakuin senior high school). And I had a class under my charge at Yokosuka Nobi junior high, Yokosuka commercial senior high and Yokosuka Sogo senior high school. I taught Japanese language arts and was in charge of basketball club.

When Mr. Kumagai, (our previous principal) was the principal for the Yokosuka Sogo senior high school, I worked with him as the vice-principal. After I left the school, I worked for Kitashitaura junior high, Ikegami junior high and Mabori junior high school as the principal.

In the all schools I was in, there were always wonderful relations with lovable students, kind parents and supportive local community.

Mikuni kindergarten will mark 60th anniversary this year. Since the foundation, our school has been supported by our leaders, graduates and their parents and taking root in order to do our duty as an educational institution in the place surrounded by a rich nature on the border of Hayama and Yokosuka.

The last year, Mr. & Mrs. Kumagai wrote our school song, “Wonderful Mikunikko” for the 60th anniversary.

The character of our school that we can make a good use of an educational circumstance with a rich nature and Mikunikko, our students, are full of energy all year around is greatly expressed in the lyrics. There is also the word, “Jump to the world” in the 4th verse of the song.

While I have been in the field of education for about 40 years and facing to many students, I always keep to raise people who are independent and have self-determination in mind. That is my educational motto.

In the 100-year life, kindergartens have a great educational mission. It is that we educate children to cultivate the basic skill to go through the long life using their knowledge.

The Mikuni’s features are shown in our website and introduced in my blog named “Encho Tsurezure Tayori” (the meaning is the principal’s casual daily message.” as well.

* Sorry, it’s not available in English. We hope you can use a google translation or something to read it in English. 

“Mikuniikko, Jump to the world”  is the wish of all teachers and staffs in Mikuni.

Principal Kyoko Takahashi

Mikuni Kindergarten