Message

Meeting "The World"

I have been able to experience living and backpacking in Australia, Canada, and the United States. All of these countries are multi-ethnic, giving me the opportunity to meet people of dozens of different nationalities.

The most valuable part of living abroad was not seeing the sights, but meeting this wide variety of people and having the chance to both listen and speak in English.
I realized that the world I had lived in (both physically and mentally) was too small, and this motivated me to think about how interesting the world really is, and how much I wish to explore more of the unknown, leading to an intellectual curiosity, not just for the world but for everything. The things a person is interested in and thinks about shape their opinions, which in turn leads to a desire to share this with others.

Beginning with International Exchange

This company was started, not as an "education business" but as an "international exchange business.”

Urban areas in what are called "immigrant countries" are filled with people of diverse nationalities and backgrounds. In an effort to provide a similar environment here in Japan, we have held various international exchange events to introduce cultures from around the world to Japan, and vice versa.

Some of these activities have paid off, we see some people deciding to study abroad and others entering international marriages.
As a person who strives to be a "bridge to the world," this makes me truly happy.

Interest in foreign countries is a motivation for learning English, so our "English Education” business got started as another "bridge" to facilitate going abroad.
In the English conversation school business for adults, I saw many people expanding their interest not only in English but also in going overseas, and I was glad to be a part of that. However, I sometimes felt there were problems / dilemmas for adults starting to learn English in terms of "time," "the pace of improving language skills," "inflexible values," and "keeping a positive attitude toward new things".

Opening an International Preschool

So, the idea of a school that could provide "language education," "global education," and "the desire to communicate" started to take shape.
And from this CGK International School came to be.
(At the time of opening it was called "Bilingual Preschool Cosmo Global Kids.)

To have a conversation, even before language skills you need "critical thinking skills" or the ability to think for yourself. Language is the tool to finally communicate the opinions created this way, but without the interest and motivation of a "spirit of inquiry", deep thinking will not happen.

Young children, without fixed ideas yet, find everything they experience on a daily basis to be fresh and stimulating. At CGK, they experience as many unknown worlds as possible, and their interest in these new worlds leads to a lively curiosity.

Then, in our non-passive, active learning we nurture in them the ability to think, move, and create on their own. The children become so absorbed in these activities that they even forget to laugh, they learn to express themselves freely using various tools, especially English, while taking positive action to try new things.

This method of learning a language, which is a tool for conversation, is completely different from past methods where students studied only to pass exams. Language expression, which is acquired from the children's desire to express themselves, is not learned from classroom lectures, but from daily life, and learned this way, improves quickly.

At CGK, we focus on "global education," and how to "grow as a person" resulting in an environment that nurtures "real global kids" who happily enjoy learning every day. In order to establish such an environment, CGK was created as a place that provides quality childcare and education from infancy.

To be the best place for children to grow, we are constantly introducing new things such as global education, food education programs, extracurricular class programs, and a variety of events.

Continuum Education from Preschool to High School

When the Preschool first opened, we did not offer less than full-time, five-day-a-week courses, because we wanted to provide a high quality, all-round education that included non-cognitive skills.

When making decisions about CGK, including services and system policies, I always keep in mind that I want CGK to be a place where everyone can feel confident and proud to be involved. And because we have continued to work hard in this regard, CGK is always moving forward.

For example, it’s a heavy responsibility to take care of an infant, and childcare cannot be sacrificed for saying to parents that the child's English will be improved. For this reason, all of our Japanese caregivers are bilingual, but we have placed great importance on quality childcare by requiring them to be certified childcare professionals. Naturally, we have been working diligently without compromising on important matters.

The next step is to open an elementary school, which will be more directly related to the children's future career paths. We decided to open an elementary school because in a confident and responsibly way we have already established a system that provides quality education while taking into account the hopes and fears of parents.

The educational activities that can be offered vary depending on the children's age, and the older they become, the less restrictive these activities are. Many of the ideal educational plans we have cannot be provided in Preschool. However, in the future, as we progress to elementary, middle, and high school, I think that both children and educators will be able to work more freely and actively.