Blogging from Japan

<p>Kim Wilding is packing her bags and prepping her blogging skills.</p><p>The superintendent/principal of the 174-student Dunham School District south of Petaluma will travel to Japan next week as part of a group of 160 American educators participating in the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund exchange.</p><p>"I have been talking with my parents, teachers, students -- what do they want to find out about Japan, what would they like to know?" she said.</p><p>Questions from students in the kindergarten through sixth-grade district range from how long is the school day for Japanese kids to what do they wear to school?</p><p>Wilding plans to blog from Tokyo and the town of Miyazaki on the southernmost of Japan's four largest islands, where she will divide her time.</p><p>"I have a Webcam, and I'm taking that with me. I'll blog, and they'll see what I'm doing and correspond by email if they have questions while I'm there," she said.</p><p>Wilding will be gone about three weeks, using accrued personal leave from the district. Her expenses are paid by the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund, based in Tokyo, and sponsored by the Japanese government.</p><p>"From our perspective, I think what is fantastic about this program is that it gives students a glimpse into a different world, a different country -- especially as we focus on different aspects of a curriculum, some of these things can get lost," said Chris Powers, director of the education abroad program at the Institute of International Education, which helps administer the exchange for the Japanese government.</p><p>"I think we have a lot to consider when we look at the rest of the world," he said.</p><p>More than 6,000 educators have visited Japan through the program since it was established in 1997. For this exchange, more than 1,700 applied.</p><p>Dunham kindergarten teacher Dan Gurney, who traveled to Miyazaki four years ago through Sebastopol's sister city program, said world travel can be eye-opening for educators.</p><p>"We need to look up and see what other cultures are doing," he said. "We can't know that without going and paying some visits. If we fail to do that, we fail to do that at our own peril. As a nation, we must know what others are doing, especially if they look like they are doing it better."</p><p>For his kindergarten students, Gurney will lead geography discussions on Japan, talking about the weather and topography of the nation.</p><p>Wilding hopes to establish a sister school while in Miyazaki so students can gain pen pals and a glimpse at the wider world.</p><p>She will also focus on math and fine arts curriculum in Japanese primary campuses, she said.</p><p>"I'm very interested in mathematics education and what the Japanese do before the kids even get to school," she said. "They are so much stronger mathematically than we are. What is it that they do, and what can I do? What can I bring back?"</p><p>Despite months of planning -- including a practice round of packing -- Wilding says she's remaining open to letting the experience guide what she will come away with.</p><p>"There are things you don't know until you get there," she said.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Kerry Benefield at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com.</p>