Enjoy this short video snippet about Dalton Tokyo from our 2024 Expo.
Transcript
Dalton Tokyo
ISTimes Global: (00:00) Hello, we’re here with Melissa from Dalton Tokyo. Hi, how are you?
Dalton Tokyo: (00:04) Good morning. Good, thank you. How are you?
ISTimes Global: (00:06) Oh, welcome to uh the Expo. I’m fine. How are you?
Dalton Tokyo: (00:09) I’m I’m fine. Thank you. I’m first time here, so it’s a little nervous.
ISTimes Global: (00:12) Oh, great. Uh well, before the big crowds uh come in, we would love to ask you a few things about your school and have us discover all about um Dalton.
Dalton Tokyo: (00:23) Sure.
ISTimes Global: (00:23) So, um how long has Dalton been here in uh Tokyo?
Dalton Tokyo: (00:28) We just opened in 2019. So it’s a new school and from this year we finally have uh first through six years of students in our school.
ISTimes Global: (00:37) So So junior we’re a junior and senior high school. So we start um junior high first, second, third year and then high school first, second, third.
Dalton Tokyo: (00:40) So this current year would that put your first graduating class?
ISTimes Global: (00:45) That’s right. This is going to be our first graduating class this year. So we’re very excited about that.
Dalton Tokyo: (00:48) Wonderful. Well, um I personally don’t know too much about your school. Could uh you tell us a bit about the the background of the school and maybe what are some of the programs that really help it uh stand out?
ISTimes Global: (00:53) Sure. Um as I said, we’re a new school and we just opened in 2019 and our school is founded on the Dalton plan, which was founded by uh Helen Parkhurst um in America over 100 years ago. So it’s a it’s a very old um philosophy and it has a lot of rich history and um as some of you may know, there’s a very famous Dalton school in New York based around and there are lots of Dalton schools internationally that also are based around the plan and the plan focuses really on freedom and cooperation, independent thinking and is very student centered learning. So students are free to pursue their own interests and really deepen their understanding and learning about things they are interested in. So we really want to um install a a love of learning and let them pursue their own interests and um their own passions.
Dalton Tokyo: (01:00) Oh, that’s great. And what are some of those uh passions that they can uh pursue here either in the classroom or offside of the classroom.
ISTimes Global: (02:01) Well, we offer um the a thing called inquiry lab, which uh different theme labs. So right um, you know, as junior high school students, they don’t have a lot of experience and they’re not really quite sure which path they want to take. So we aim to expose them to a lot of different um different things and different interests and passions and uh we have theme labs where they can take every Friday um and they sign up for things that seem interesting to them and they can challenge those and experience different um paths that they can take.
Dalton Tokyo: (02:09) Oh, that’s great. And uh does um Dalton focus on any sports or uh particular um hobbies outside of
ISTimes Global: (02:42) Oh, we do have clubs and extracurricular. We have volleyball, basketball, badminton, we have um uh flower arrangement and tea ceremony. We have a variety of clubs and extracurricular activities that students can pursue. Um and we’re not really strict on clubs and extracurricular activities. So they’re free to change clubs and really experience what they a lot of different things and find out what they want to do and who they are.
Dalton Tokyo: (02:50) And what are some things that you find that really draws families to Dalton, not just here in Tokyo, but in general?
ISTimes Global: (03:11) Um I think it’s the freedom the students have. Uh we do have a school uniform, but um most days, almost all day students are free to dress as they like. Um they can, you know, do their hair how they like, they can, you know, pierce their ears or they really have a freedom to express themselves and really learn who they are and what they want to be.
Dalton Tokyo: (03:28) And um how do the students respond to that once they’re in uh school? I I suspect that’s especially in Japan, a lot of the schools are a bit more conformist. So um how do they react when they’re once they’re in this much more uh free
ISTimes Global: (03:50) Um the students really really love their school life. They’re really happy and they we have um friends. We have a house system where the grades, one class um one house is a mixture of first through sixth grade students all together in the same house every day. And they do various activities. Um we have a Dalton fest upcoming soon and right now they’re making different plans for the festival like uh roller coaster or haunted houses or um some of them are doing food booths and things like that. And they get to interact with um all grade levels of students and really make a lot of friends and learn from each other in the older grades.
Dalton Tokyo: (04:07) Uh you said that they work on all the grade levels or is the junior and the senior uh junior high school and senior high school? Are they separated in the building or
ISTimes Global: (04:46) Oh no, they’re all together. All the students use the same classrooms. Um their house classroom, they’re all in the same room together and they interact all the time throughout the day.
Dalton Tokyo: (04:57) Okay. Well, that’s great. And um I heard this is your graduating year. So as you had you had just mentioned that. So that’s obviously very exciting. Um what do you hope that this graduating class will be taking when they leave your school? What is what kind of impression, lasting uh impression you hope that um Dalton will have uh in their lives?
ISTimes Global: (05:07) What we really hope for them is that they our motto is to go forth unafraid and to be able to explore their passions and not be afraid um to not to be afraid to make a mistake, take a chance and when you see an opportunity, grab it and just really have the confidence to go forth and be successful in their life.
Dalton Tokyo: (05:29) That’s great. And uh congratulations on your first graduating class.
ISTimes Global: (05:51) Thank you very much.
Dalton Tokyo: (05:55) That’s uh Dalton Tokyo. Come and check it out.
About Dalton Tokyo
- Student-centered education with “freedom” and “cooperation”
- Academic freedom encourages students to pursue their interests
- Students are empowered to be leaders and problem-solvers
- Aims to give students an individualized learning experience
- Actively incorporates new methods and tools
- Cooperative relationship between students and faculty
- Guided by the Dalton Plan
- Prepares students to face the future with confidence
