The Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award recognizes exceptional teachers who further mutual understanding between Americans and Japanese. EngageAsia administers the Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award, which is funded by the United States-Japan Foundation. The 2019 Award focused on the humanities and the 2020 Award will focus on Japanese language. It is named in honor of Elgin Heinz for his commitment to educating students about Asia as well as for the inspiration he has provided to the field of pre-collegiate education.

“Waka walks in the footsteps of Elgin Heinz as a key leader in educating the next generation about the U.S.–Japan relationship,” stated David Janes, Chair of the Board, EngageAsia. Heinz was born in China in 1913 and taught in the San Francisco Unified School District for 40 years. Challenging Americans’ lack of knowledge about Asia was central to Elgin’s life’s work. Janes has overseen the Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award since its inception in 2001. Daniel Tani, Director of Foundation Grants at the U.S.-Japan Foundation, and Janes formally presented the award to Brown.

In addition to teaching Stanford e-Japan for the last five years, Brown previously served as instructor for SPICE’s Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP). The RSP is an online course that introduces Japanese society and culture and U.S.–Japan relations to high school students in the United States. Current RSP Instructor and Manager Naomi Funahashi is a 2017 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award recipient.

Waka Brown, Professor Daniel Okimoto, and Miles Brown (husband of Waka)

Prior to joining SPICE, Brown taught Japanese language at Silver Creek High School in San Jose and served as a Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. Brown obtained both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford University.

In her acceptance speech, Waka noted: “As a Japanese American growing up in Kansas in the 1970s and 80s, and then as a Japanese American woman working in Japan, I’ve felt the need and immediacy for fostering cross-cultural understanding for my entire life. I feel extremely fortunate that I am able to work toward this goal through my professional work. My students and their knowledge and passion humble me. I am constantly in awe of them and their accomplishments. It is a true honor to receive the Elgin Heinz Award, and I am grateful for the opportunity to use these funds to foster connections between the future leaders in U.S.–Japan relations.”

Through Stanford e-Japan, Brown has engaged Japanese high school students from throughout Japan in an intensive study of U.S. society and culture. Since its first session in 2015, over 200 Japanese students have successfully completed the course. Some of her students have matriculated to universities in the United States.

In a very meaningful moment of the ceremony, Ryoga Umezawa, one of Brown’s former Stanford e-Japan students and now a university student at the Minerva Schools at KGI in San Francisco, expressed his gratitude to Brown, noting that the online format of Stanford e-Japan eased his transition to the online format of his university studies and also noted that the knowledge he gained from Stanford e-Japan has been invaluable to his transition to life in the United States.

The ceremony ended with a duet by Norman Masuda, an inaugural recipient of the Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award in 2002 (Japanese language category), and Irene Nakasone, instructor of kutu (Okinawan koto). Nakasone played the kutu and Masuda, the sanshin (Okinawan shamisen). They performed “Akanma Bushi” (red horse folk song), which was symbolic to the occasion as it is a congratulatory classical piece from the Yaeyama Islands, Okinawa Prefecture.

Irene Nakasone and Norman Masuda play a duet at the 2019 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award ceremony.

For more information on the Stanford e-Japan Program, visit stanfordejapan.org. The Spring 2020 application period is open now until January 8, 2020. To be notified when the next Stanford e-Japan application period opens, join our email list or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

• Stanford e-Japan: My Window to the Wider World
• The Yanai Tadashi Foundation and Stanford e-Japan: Cultivating Future Leaders in Japan
• Honoring High School Students from Japan and the United States: A Glow for Global Peace
• SPICE’s Waka Takahashi Brown Receives 2019 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award

Stanford e-Tottori is a distance-learning course sponsored by the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education and the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) at Stanford University. Tottori Governor Shinji Hirai and Superintendent Hitoshi Yamamoto of the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education were instrumental in its establishment. Offered for the first time in 2016, Stanford e-Tottori presents a creative and innovative approach to teaching Japanese high school students about U.S. society and culture. Stanford e-Tottori Instructor Jonas Edman recently wrote these reflections on his work with students in Tottori.

While visiting Tottori Prefecture during the summer, I came to realize that Tottori, which once seemed like a distant and isolated place in my mind, has become a central part of my life’s neighborhood. In early August, I attended the closing ceremony for the third-year course offering of Stanford e-Tottori. On the same day, I attended the opening ceremony for the fourth-year course offering of Stanford e-Tottori. During the ceremonies, student representatives from several high schools in Tottori—Seishokaichi High School, Tottori Nishi High School, and Yonago Higashi High School—offered very meaningful messages. While listening to them, I felt so fortunate to be living in a time when technology affords me the opportunity to work in real time with students on the other side of the Pacific.

We are now in the midst of the fourth-year course offering, and I am already noticing significant growth in the English abilities and critical thinking skills of my 30 students. We have discussed topics ranging from studying at universities in the United States to the popularity of Japanese manga (comics or graphic novels) in the United States. My colleagues Rylan Sekiguchi and Naomi Funahashi led a very engaging discussion on studying at universities in the United States, and my students shared thoughts on what they perceive to be similarities and differences in studying at universities in Japan. The discussion of manga led to feelings of pride among my students, having come to realize the prevalence of Japanese manga in the United States. Tottori is very famous for its manga artists.

Whenever I work with my students in online classes from Stanford on topics like manga, I feel like I have been transported back to Tottori as I see the 30 familiar faces of students whom I first met in Tottori. This inevitably prompts me to reflect upon several key observations that I have made during my several visits to Tottori. First, while traveling in Tottori, one can almost feel that Tottori is the least populated prefecture in Japan. Perhaps correlated with this fact is how I have always been struck by the attention the students receive from their teachers. This infectious dedication to educating the next generation of leaders has had a ripple effect across the Pacific to us at SPICE and my guest speakers for Stanford e-Tottori. For example, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Takeshi Homma, who hails from Tottori, puts his heart and soul into his talk on “Entrepreneurship and Silicon Valley” each year. Second, Tottori is known for its nature and agriculture, and the importance of preserving the environment seems foremost on people’s minds. This is a global mindset that I wish others in the United States and Japan would share. Our online class on the environment has always prompted spirited discussions. Third, since I spent 16 years of my youth in Tokyo, I cannot help but notice the slower pace of life in Tottori. Magically, the slower pace helps me to take notice of each valuable moment that I spend with my students not only in person but virtually as well. Topics like aging and population decline are ones that have drawn interest and critical attention not only in Tottori but across Japan.

• Inaugural Stanford e-Tottori Day
• Honoring Stanford e-Tottori students
• From Sand Dunes to Detective Conan

This fall, the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) began its ninth offering of Stanford e-Japan, an online course that introduces U.S. society and culture and U.S.–Japan relations to high school students in Japan. Stanford e-Japan is made possible through the support of the Yanai Tadashi Foundation, Tokyo. The fall 2019 Stanford e-Japan online course has continued the tradition of enrolling students from various parts of Japan; engaging students with leading American and Japanese academics, entrepreneurs, and community leaders as guest speakers; and encouraging students to study in the United States.

The 28 students of the fall 2019 cohort were selected from among a competitive group of applicants from throughout Japan. The selected students represent the prefectures of Chiba, Ehime, Gunma, Hiroshima, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Nara, Okayama, Saitama, and Tokyo. Stanford e-Japan Instructors Meiko Kotani and Waka Brown have noted that their students not only continue to learn important content and perspectives from the guest speakers but also important perspectives from their fellow students. Brown recalled, “…last year, I was particularly struck by the impact a student from Okinawa had on the other students in his cohort as he shared insights on the U.S. military presence in Okinawa from his personal experiences.”

The fall 2019 course recently featured guest speaker Suzanne Basalla, who has become a regular speaker for Stanford e-Japan. Basalla is Chief of Staff at the Toyota Research Institute in Silicon Valley and a former officer (Lieutenant Commander) of the U.S. Navy. Following her naval career, Basalla served as Director for Japan in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and as Senior Advisor to U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos, serving at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo from 2010 to 2012. During her talk with the students, she touched upon her work with security-, economic-, political-, and cultural-related issues in the U.S.–Japan relationship and also offered keen insights into her current work as a leading entrepreneur in Silicon Valley.

Speakers like Basalla as well as Instructors Brown and Kotani have been encouraging Japanese students to consider studying in the United States. Many Stanford e-Japan alumni have enrolled in summer programs in the United States, spent a year studying abroad in the United States, and several have enrolled in four-year colleges in the United States. Among the latter are Jun Yamasaki (Fall 2017 Stanford e-Japan cohort) and Hanako “Hannah” Tauchi (Spring 2017 Stanford e-Japan cohort), who are recipients of Yanai Tadashi Foundation Scholarships. The following is noted on the scholarship’s website.

[The] Yanai Tadashi Foundation Scholarship aims to provide promising young people with leadership potential the opportunity to study at world-class universities in the United States. The scholarship enables recipients to mix with an internationally diverse student body to cultivate their entrepreneurial skills and enhance their global perspective, encouraging their development as future drivers of a better society.

Yamasaki, a freshman at Northwestern University, and Tauchi, a freshman at the University of California, San Diego, recently commented on how Stanford e-Japan helped them as high school students to prepare for undergraduate studies in the United States. Their comments follow.

Yamasaki: As an institution, Northwestern places a great emphasis on interdisciplinary studies and learning—a characteristic that is apparent in both its research and the academic interests and aspirations of its students. The structure of the Stanford e-Japan program itself encouraged me to examine the U.S.–Japan relationship through multiple perspectives, ranging from sports to entrepreneurship. In addition to furthering my understanding of the dynamics of the U.S.–Japan relationship, Stanford e-Japan helped me identify the intersection between my past interests and the potential future needs and topics pertaining to the U.S.–Japan relationship, and construct my future goals accordingly. This in turn has allowed me to better plan out how I can take full advantage of Northwestern’s unique characteristics and offerings, which I am extremely thankful for. 

Tauchi: The Stanford e-Japan Program was an amazing opportunity for me both to consider undergraduate studies in the U.S. as a realistic option and to improve my English skills overall. As a student who was schooled in Japanese for my entire life, the course—lectures, reading assignments, discussions, and essays—was at first quite challenging, but looking back the half a year I worked on the program, I would definitely say that the program is one of the most important experiences that I had during my high school life. Offered by one of the most renowned colleges in the world, I could feel and imagine how college life in the U.S. would be like. Of course, the contents of the course—things that students do not normally learn in Japanese high school—were all interesting and motivated me to learn more about the U.S.–Japan relationship and beyond. 

Kotani and Brown hope that Stanford e-Japan alumni like Yamasaki and Tauchi will continue to play roles in U.S.–Japan relations beyond their college years. Kotani recently shared that “the Stanford e-Japan guest speakers like Suzanne Basalla, with such fascinating careers, are such excellent role models for the students. My hope is that many alumni of Stanford e-Japan will consider working for businesses in places like Silicon Valley and other organizations in Japan and the United States that focus on the U.S.–Japan relationship.” Brown, who will be recognized with the Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award at a ceremony at Stanford University on December 5, 2019, has noted that, “I feel so honored to be recognized with the 2019 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award for my work as the Instructor of Stanford e-Japan and am especially looking forward to seeing one of my former Stanford e-Japan students, Ryoga Umezawa, who is studying at the Minerva Schools at Keck Graduate Institute in San Francisco.”

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To stay informed of SPICE-related news, join our email list and follow SPICE on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

• Honoring High School Students from Japan and the United States: A Glow for Global Peace
• SPICE’s Waka Takahashi Brown Receives 2019 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award
• Yanai Tadashi Foundation and SPICE/Stanford University

A team of Stanford experts has produced a series of videos aimed at benefiting children detained at the U.S. border. Intended for lawyers who work with detained migrants, the videos describe how to interview young people using techniques informed by scientific knowledge on trauma. 

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To ask such questions in a sensitive way, the videos recommend giving children and teens as much control as possible: For example, attorneys are encouraged to explain that they want to help; familiarize themselves beforehand with what they need to say so that they can speak warmly instead of reading from a list; praise interviewees for their effort rather than the content of their answers; and tell kids they can take breaks or end the interview at any time, or skip answering questions if they wish.

This summer, SPICE Director Dr. Gary Mukai was interviewed at Stanford by The Education Newspaper of Japan about his long experience working with American and Japanese students. In particular, the two-part feature highlighted his impactful work in education and U.S.–Japan relations over his 40-year career.

In Part 1 of the “close-up” interview, Mukai shares his educational philosophy derived from 40 years working with students in Japan and the United States. In Part 2 of the interview, he talks about Stanford e-Japan, the Reischauer Scholars Program, and SPICE’s other Japan-focused projects and online learning courses for high school students.

“I feel honored to be interviewed by The Education Newspaper,” reflected Mukai. “And I’m grateful for the opportunity to share about some of the cross-cultural work we do at Stanford University to promote mutual understanding between students in the United States and Japan.”

Read the two articles here:

• Part 1: 米スタンフォード大学 ゲイリー・ムカイ博士に聞く（上） (in Japanese; full article behind paywall)
• Part 2: 米スタンフォード大学 ゲイリー・ムカイ博士に聞く（下） (in Japanese; full article behind paywall)

To stay informed of SPICE-related news, join our email list and follow SPICE on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Upon seeing the printed agenda for the “Inaugural Stanford e-Tottori Day” on August 23, 2019, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Takeshi Homma, whose hometown is in Tottori Prefecture, remarked that he never thought that he would see Tottori high school students at a ceremony at Stanford University. This prompted me to recall the initiative that Homma took several years ago to introduce me to Tottori Prefecture, the least populated in all of Japan. His vision was to bridge his ancestral home with his current home, the United States, through the establishment of an online class on U.S. society and culture for high school students in Tottori. Through Homma’s vision and the support of Tottori Governor Shinji Hirai and the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education, Stanford e-Tottori was established over three years ago. Jonas Edman has been the Instructor of Stanford e-Tottori since its inception.

The inaugural Stanford e-Tottori Day honored Ayaka Ikei of Seishokaichi High School and Yua Kodani of Tottori Nishi High School for achieving at the highest levels in the course. It began with remarks by Takuya Fukushima, Office Director of the English Education Advancement Office, Tottori Prefectural Board of Education. Fukushima commented on the significance of Stanford e-Tottori to the students who have participated, noting their growth not only in terms of their English communication skills but also their understanding of U.S. society and culture. Fukushima, as a graduate of Hiroshima University and also someone who has studied at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Ohio State University, knows well the significance of the U.S.–Japan relationship. During his remarks and much to the delight of the audience, he shared a television news program that featured a class that Edman taught in person in Tottori in July.

Rie Kusakiyo makes opening remarks at Stanford e-Tottori Day. She is Advisor for Educational Affairs at the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco.

The highlight of the program was Edman’s introduction of his student honorees, Ayaka and Yua, and their heartfelt presentations, which included their aspirations for the future. During the question and answer period, their passion for helping others surfaced. Ayaka would like to go into the field of education and Yua into the field of medicine. Edman expressed how proud he is of their accomplishments and presented them with plaques.

Visiting Scholar Kenichirou Oyama, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, noted, “I was very impressed by the presentations of the two young high school students. In addition, as I am from a provincial town myself, I feel strongly that this program offers hope for young students who live in provincial areas.” By “hope,” Oyama was referring to the fact that students in more rural areas generally have fewer educational opportunities than students in metropolitan areas like Tokyo.

Edman shares a similar sentiment. “The fact that Tottori is quite isolated is what makes the teaching of Stanford e-Tottori so rewarding for me. Making Stanford scholarship accessible to them really captures the heart of SPICE’s mission.” Earlier this year, Edman facilitated a joint online class between his students in Tottori and Japanese language students at Nueva School in Hillsborough, California, whose teacher is Yoko Sase. It was remarkable for Edman to observe how much the students shared and learned from each other. During their trip to the San Francisco Bay Area, Ayaka, Yua, and Fukushima had the chance to visit Nueva and met several of the students with whom they had previously met only virtually. Through Stanford e-Tottori, more students, entrepreneurs, and scholars in the United States are also learning about Tottori.

The fourth Stanford e-Tottori course will commence this fall with the highest enrollment to date.

To stay informed of SPICE-related news, join our email list and follow SPICE on Facebook or Twitter.

• Honoring Stanford e-Tottori students
• From Sand Dunes to Detective Conan
• Seeing the World Beyond a Grain of Sand: SPICE's Online Course for Tottori Prefecture
• High School Students in Tottori Prefecture Spreading Their Wings