Book by Maya Yoder

Crossing the Bridge

Maya Yoder

Crossing the Bridge

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my peers at the San Francisco Japanese School (SFJS), especially those in my grade who graduated this year and are continuing on their own paths. I also dedicate this to the teachers and staff of SFJS to show appreciation for what they have done for the program.

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I want to thank my parents for connecting me to a community that has allowed me to take pride in my Japanese culture. I also want to thank all my friends and teachers who participated in the making of this project.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Conclusion

Work Cited

Authors Bio

Preface

As I prepared to graduate from SFJS this year, I reflected on all the time I spent attending school each Saturday. On the one hand, I felt relief that I had finally finished 11 years of supplemental school work. But what I felt most was a sense of sadness that this time in my life had come to an end. I, like many other immigrant kids, moved to the US, not knowing what to expect in my new environment, and not knowing what was expected of me there either. SFJS provided a welcoming community of peers who shared similar experiences and feelings as me. The SFJS experience was an important part of my development, helping me to learn from my heritage culture while I was trying to adapt to a new culture in America.

Considering that “cultural heritage” is “an expression of the ways of living developed by a community and passed on from generation to generation, including customs, practices,

places, objects, artistic expressions and values”(Heritage for Peace), I decided to create this book to recognize how SFJS has served in creating a stronger Japanese community in the US.

I interviewed some of my peers at SFJS who gave me their insights into the environment and experiences that it creates. I got permission from the school to take pictures, so I could showcase the unique environment at SFJS. I had a hard time deciding how to arrange the photos, graphic design elements, and text in order to create an accurate representation of the community. Through these struggles, I was able to get an even better understanding about how much this experience has influenced my life. I hope that this book can help more people understand the importance of heritage schools like SFJS for multicultural kids like me, trying to find themselves in a new culture.

Walking through the small gates of the local middle school that served as our weekend campus, I entered San Francisco Japanese School (SFJS) for the last time. I bowed at the teachers greeting the students at the front gate. It still didn’t feel real that this was my last day of attending SFJS. No more cramming for the kanji test in the morning or staying up until 3am to finish my essays. No more exchanging my bento with my friends or fooling around with them during break time.

When moving from their home country to a new country, immigrant kids can struggle adjusting to their new environment. Learning a completely new language is already difficult enough. There is also the added struggle of being thrown into a new culture without any way to ease in. On the other hand, multicultural kids, kids of multicultural backgrounds, can also struggle with feeling connected to their heritage culture, as they spend more of their formative years in their new country. This situation can cause many of them to develop an identity crisis based on their confusion about habits and values influenced by their heritage culture.

Communication in the Real World, published by the University of Minnesota, defines cultural identity as “socially constructed cate-

gories that teach us a way of being and include expectations for social behavior or ways of acting” (“Foundations of Culture and Identity”). The most common aspect of identity among heritage kids is their relation to their ethnic and national identity to their home country. For those living in America, their self-identification is complicated. Because their relatives and roots exist in a place thousands of miles away, they often face issues with their identity and discovering who they are in the context of the dominant American society. With this constant confrontation between the mainstream culture and traditional culture, immigrant and multicultural kids can feel lost. I always felt that it was unfair that I had to attend an additional day of school every week, but having finally made it to graduation, I could appreciate the positive impact that SFJS had on my life.

I thought about my experiences there, how it influenced me during my formative years, how it taught me more about my heritage and about myself, and how it helped me to develop a more confident self identity. Through my experiences at this school, I believe that I was able to mold these two influences into my own personal identity in a better way, by adding the best parts of my heritage culture to the lessons I was learning in my new culture.

Chapter 1

Heritage schools, defined by the California Department of Education (CDE), are “Schools and programs that operate outside of compulsory education to offer instruction in the culture, traditions, or history, and language of a country other than the United States” (“Heritage Schools”). There are many heritage schools of different languages and cultures across America. The majority of heritage school classes take place on Saturdays. Some heritage schools are supported by the national government of the heritage country while others are run by local community organizations. The CDE has requirements for what heritage schools must offer, like education in a foreign language, education of tradition/ culture, and even culturally enriching activities.

SFJS is a Japanese heritage school in the Bay Area with classes held every Saturday. It was founded in 1968 and was created to help Japanese kids in the Bay Area to “grow into active players in the international society”(SFJS Website) as well as prepare those who intend to go back to Japan to continue their Japanese

curriculum education. SFJS receives support from the Japanese government with curriculum guidance and textbooks as well as financial support for the administration of the school campus.

SFJS follows a similar system to schools in Japan. The curriculum uses textbooks approved by the Japanese Ministry of Education and all classes are taught in Japanese. The school year starts in April and ends in March. Elementary school has 6 grades, Middle school has 3 grades, and high school is shorter with only 2 grades. (In Japan they have 3 grades in high school. SFJS is one year shorter since some of the older students graduate from their US high school in the 2nd year.)

Class periods are divided into Japanese language, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. The Social Studies classes generally focus more on Japanese culture and have more of an international perspective. The Japanese classes are much more comprehensive. Subjects like Math and Science may have commonalities with the American curriculum

but are taught with different tools and methods. According to Maranda N. Fulco of the Georgia College & State University, Japanese mathematics lessons focus more on problem solving and “typically includes an environment that encourages productive struggle and has high levels of communication and cognitive demand” (Fulco). This is different from American teaching methods which focus more on memorization of procedures, and less on developing the students’ conceptual understanding. Even though there are similarities with American schools, SFJS uses a Japanese approach in developing their students’ knowledge, thinking, and problem solving skills.

In SFJS, students are required to take many tests throughout the year. One of the most stressful of these tests is the weekly kanji tests. They test a student’s ability to read and write specific

kanji , a Japanese writing system that uses Chinese characters. As the years go by, the kanji taught in class become increasingly intricate and challenging. Many students have negative opinions about the kanji test. Aloha Kato, a recent graduate of SFJS, states that these tests were her least favorite part of school. She reflects, “Every single week we had a test on kanji, and I couldn’t memorize all of them” (Kato).

In addition to in-class lessons and frequent testing, SFJS also assigns a large amount of homework each week, which causes a lot of complaints from students. Generally, the homework that is assigned comes from the Japanese language and Math workbooks that are distributed at the beginning of the year. Aside from workbook assignments, there are also essays assigned multiple times throughout the year.

SFJS tries to provide the same amount of teaching and knowledge to their students as if they were going to school in Japan. The curriculum can be difficult for its students to manage in addition to their compulsory classes

at their American schools. But because of SFJS’ authentic approach, their students can get the benefit of a truly Japanese educational and cultural experience through the school.

Chapter 2

Acrowd of Students moves like a herd towards the pavilion, located in the heart of the campus. As they arrive, they line up with their respective classes, making sure that they are lined up as straight as a pin. The student council members call everyone to attention. They call out the morning greeting. “Stand up. Straighten up. Bow.” The students shout “good morning” in unison. Another day of SFJS is about to start.

SFJS not only provides a unique educational experience to their students, it also fosters an environment for Japanese kids where Japanese kids can be part of a community with similar culture and values. It allows students to experience the social and cultural aspects of a Japanese school and feel part of the Japanese community.

Kotone Takada, an American born Japanese, found that one of the aspects of Japanese culture integrated into SFJS’ environment were the strict rules. Since she never experienced going to school in Japan, she was sometimes surprised by the things

that were taboo in SFJS. She talked about an experience she had with her friends getting caught when eating a snack during break time. She says, “the fact that we had to hide it was surprising”(Takada)

Kato, who had gone to schools in Japan before moving, found these rules familiar, and much different from the more laid-back rules in her American school. She commented on the differences between the two different school systems: “SFJS compared to American schools, It’s really strict, but I feel like compared to schools in Japan, it’s actually a lot more loose” (Kato). For her, SFJS is more of a hybrid between the two countries’ school systems. But since she was used to the stricter Japanese system, it was easier for her to adjust to the environment at SFJS.

SFJS holds various extracurricular events that are a familiar part of schools in Japan. These events range from sports day to the school play festival to the annual food bazaar.

During sports day, students are divided into teams based on their classes and

compete in different sports, like dodgeball, basketball, or volleyball. When preparing for these special events, each class creates their own customized T Shirt to represent their team. Students also compete for which team has the best T-shirt design. Last year, the winning design was a shirt inspired by the Kit Kat candy bar, which phonetically in Japanese is written as Kitto Katsu (which means “we will win”). Aside from the T-shirt contests, the sports competition is equally as competitive. Teams will spend days and weeks practicing and strategizing before the competition. Takada noted how the level of competitive spirit increases as kids move to higher grade levels. “It gets pretty intense once you’re in the upper classes. You’re upper class, so you don’t want to be beaten by a freshman.” Through the sports day competition, everyone becomes closer knit and develops stronger connections with their classmates. Ryuto Tsuruoka, a current student at SFJS, mentioned

that his favorite memory he had at school was sports day. Aside from winning, he thought that the opportunity to get closer to his classmates was another positive aspect of sports day. He says “It fosters our sense of community. You’re in competition with other classes within your grade and get to spend time with them”(Tsuruoka).

The Gakugeisai, the school play festival, is held near the end of the year after the students finish their final exams. Preparation for the Gakugeisai starts 3 months before, since a lot of work is required to get ready for the final performance. The story, script, costumes, and set are all created by SFJS students. Towards the end of the school year, preparation for this event becomes the focus at school for the students. Kato believes that preparing for the Gakugeisai helps students get closer to one another: “I like the Gakugeisai because my classmates collaborated together to make a full 10 minute skit.” The

festival is held in late February , with each class presenting their skit to the whole school. While there is lots of anxiety building up to each performance, it is one of the most enjoyable events for students each year, because they get to share the results of their hard work with the whole community.

Cultural events like these give students a sense of the social customs of Japanese schools. Takada found that these events were unique, as they didn’t exist in her American schools. “All the events were kind of strange, but I liked the uniqueness of it all. It was kind of like an escape from American school and something different.”

Even the annual food bazaar is a different experience compared to a food sale at an American school. SFJS students are able to buy and sample different Japanese dishes provided by local Japanese restaurants. Students can buy foods ranging from fruit sandwiches, to chicken

karaage, to curry rice, or Japanese snacks that are hard to find in the States.

Heritage schools like SFJS can often provide a more inclusive environment for immigrant and multicultural students that can help them to develop their social self more easily than they can in their American schools. Within the heritage community, they often feel more comfortable and confident because they are in a familiar environment with others who share a similar background and values. Many SFJS students feel that the social interactions at their American schools can be quite different. According to Takada, “Since everyone is Japanese, I feel like I can connect with people in a way that I can’t in my American school.” Takada mentions how the demographic makeup at SFJS contrasts to her predominantly White and Hispanic school. “Sometimes I’ll be the only Asian among my friends, but in SFJS we’re all Asian so race doesn’t really affect me.” However, the question is how does being in a place surrounded by those of similar heritage benefit students. One of the main benefits of everyone having the same cultural background is that it helps students find a sense of belonging that they might not have in their American

school. Because of this, heritage schools can create a closer, more supportive community. Tsuruoka states,“It’s a tight knit community. Even when you don’t know everyone’s names, you’re familiar with everyone’s face to the point where you just see someone outside of school and you can say hi.” On a deeper level, Takada believes that the reason for the tight knit SFJS community also has to do with the common values Japanese people have. She says, “I think Japanese people are very focused on togetherness. As a community, we help each other without question and are supportive in a different way. It’s different to how Americans view their interactions with other people”(Takada).

Heritage schools can also help their students to build confidence and develop their personalities in a more familiar and safer environment. Kato moved from Japan to America in the 2nd grade and started attending SFJS in 4th grade. She ran and won a position on the student council in middle school and became the student council leader in her high school years. In recalling her motivation to run for student council, she said, “I couldn’t talk to people, so I really wanted to change

Teacher’s Desk and Projector

my personality, and be able to talk in front of people” (Kato). Through her position as a student council member, she made morning announcements, facilitated school events, and even created new social events. Kato’s favorite part of being a student council member was being able to connect with more students at SFJS: “ a lot of people that I didn’t even know talked to me. It led me to meet people I didn’t know, even from different grades.” She was able to experience this opportunity because she felt comfortable taking a risk to do something new within the SFJS community, something that she wouldn’t feel confident doing at her American school. She says, “I feel like it’s more inclusive in SFJS. At least for me, I was able to talk with almost everyone”(Kato).

For immigrant kids, the transition to life in America can be a confusing undertaking. At such a young age, they are forced into an unfamiliar environment, while they are still

trying to figure out who they are. SFJS helps immigrant kids transition more easily in an environment that is like Japan, while still including some aspects of the American system. Through shared cultural values and common backgrounds, SFJS can create a close community that is hard to find elsewhere. The SFJS community is like a bento box, with many different types of people(food), with a common theme, tightly and neatly packed together. With the community’s support, students are better able to adapt to their new environment and succeed.

Chapter 3

Although education and community are key reasons for heritage school enrollment, what makes them especially important for multicultural kids is how they can help foster their cultural identity. For multicultural kids in America, it is especially important, due to the dominant influence of American culture. It can be easy to lose connection with their heritage culture and lose their home country ties. Because of this dominant influence, they may feel pressured to assimilate to their new environment while ignoring the ties to their heritage culture.

According to Mary Zheng, Bridgewater State University, acculturation is defined as “the process in which an individual learns and adapts to the norms of a different culture”(Zheng). She states that this is not the same as assimilation which requires one to completely adopt those cultural norms into their own identity and life. Acculturation can have positive impacts on development of heritage youths.

Further, Jean S. Phinney, a psychology professor who conducts research on identity

development, states that heritage individuals who acculturate “strive to achieve or maintain a positive social identity, thus boosting their selfesteem” (Phinney). Assimilation on the other hand may lead to cultural bereavement. Cultural bereavement, as defined by Jay Patel from the University Maryland Department of English, is a “form of psychological grief caused by the loss of one’s culture”(Patel). Through assimilation, immigrant kids risk losing their heritage cultural identity, which can lead to regret and lower self esteem.

Many of the kids in SFJS continue to hold on to their heritage values and culture as part of their identity instead of letting go of them completely. The school’s promotion of Japanese heritage in its space helps students to maintain a positive attitude and acceptance of their Japanese identity and allows students to go through a process of acculturation. Because of the school’s strong emphasis on maintaining their Japanese heritage, SFJS’ students are more likely to adapt to American cultural norms, while still maintaining their Japanese identity.

Tsuruoka expresses that SFJS provided him with a place where he can reinforce his mixed Japanese and Indian Identity, as he has the opportunity to meet other mixed people like him. He states, “I feel like a lot of people talk about identity crises with being of two different cultures. I feel like when you go to somewhere like SFJS, you don’t really feel that because there’s diversity within the community”(Tsuruoka). Because of this, he doesn’t feel as alienated from his identity. A community to find people common to you can whelp multicultural people achieve a strong sense of ethnic identity leading to a more positive sense of one’s ethnic group, which in turn is a “source of personal strength and psychological well-being”(Phinney).

How do the kids at SFJS define their identity through the acculturation process?

Many SFJS students define themselves as either Japanese or Japanese-American. Takada defines herself as Japanese American. “I feel a little disconnected with my Japanese side since I lived here for so long, and also, I haven’t actively tried to be more like Japanese.” Because she’s been living her whole life in America, she feels less connected with Japanese culture compared to

other SFJS students. But she still feels the need to balance between her Japanese and American identities in her life outside of SFJS. One situation where Takada notices a difference is how families react to sleeping over at a friend’s house. She was surprised to see how other cultures’ families were more open to her staying

Kotone Takada (Former SFJS Student)

over at a friend’s house. This is different from the reaction that many Japanese people have of not wanting to be a burden to other families. With experiences like this, Takada learned that it is important to understand how other cultures can have completely different values compared to her Japanese values. Tsuruoka adds on to this point, as he noticed the differences between the cultures. “Some aspects of Japanese culture are obscure to Americans, and some aspects of American culture are obscure to Japanese. For example, social etiquette can be very different.” He mentioned how he was surprised by his American friends who were foreign to the idea of taking their shoes

off at home, a common norm in Japanese households. multicultural kids must figure out what parts of their culture they can display and what parts they conceal, so they don’t appear to look weird.

Kato, when asked the question about how she identifies, had a different perspective compared to Takada due to the fact that she lived in Japan for a majority of her life. When asked the question, she responded that she feels more Japanese. However, she mentioned that recently, she has been feeling more American. Although she identified as full Japanese when first coming to America, she started to become

more connected to American culture. She says, “Few years ago, I would say I was a hundred percent Japanese, because my Japanese is a lot better than my English. But nowadays, I feel like I’m losing some of my Japanese”(Kato). With kids who immigrate to America in their childhood years, there is often a shift in how they identify themselves depending on how long they live in their new environment. Language can also play an important role in shaping one’s cultural identity. Bonny

Norton, a professor of the Department of Language and Literacy Education at British Columbia University, describes the link between a linguistic language and identity. She states that language is “theorized not only as a linguistic system, but as a social practice in which experiences are organized and identities negotiated”(Norton).

Tsuruoka agrees with this statement. In his experience, he identifies more with his Japanese and American side over his Indian side because of the difference in language proficiency. “When you don’t know the language, it’s harder to connect with the culture. If you don’t know the language, you can’t talk to people, so you can’t connect, relate, or learn as much of the culture.” Making personal connections is the most important way to associate with another culture. When they are more proficient in their heritage language, multicultural kids identify more with their heritage culture

as a result. With proficient language skills, it is easier for multicultural kids to stay connected to their relatives in their home country and interact with others of the same heritage. Takada feels that SFJS has helped her in being able to communicate with her family in Japan.

She says, “If I didn’t go to SFJS I wouldn’t be able to communicate with them at all. Even though I can’t communicate everything that I want to, it’s enough to allow me to have a meaningful relationship with them”(Takada). Communication is key to developing social connections which is why language education is a key part of heritage school curriculums and a key benefit for its students. Zheng, in her study about the connection between ethnic identity and resiliency, highlights the importance of social interaction for racial/ethnic identity development. Zheng states it is because they “contribute to the individual’s understanding of cultural differences in the daily interactions they partake in with their peers’’(Zheng).

Aloha Kato (Former SFJS Student)

Therefore, having these social interactions can help “crystallize” one’s sense of identity.

Tsuruoka believes that being a part of multiple cultures also made him more open minded towards different groups of people.

He asserts that by experiencing different cultures, “you get a much broader view of the world and can understand and accept people’s nuances”(Tsuruoka). He believes that if he didn’t get to experience American culture, he would not have been familiar with issues like mental health or feminism. Different cultures hold different values, norms, and practices, but mono-cultural people may not be exposed to those different ways of thinking.

Aside from helping form a strong cultural identity and create a more open mind, being multilingual and multicultural has other benefits as well. Having the ability to speak multiple languages and understand multiple cultures can also create more possibilities for people coming from multicultural environments. Kato believes that with her ability to speak both Japanese and English, her future has more opportunities. She says, “Being able to speak Japanese, I have the opportunity to work in either Japan or America. I can even go to college in either country”(Kato). Multilingual and multicultural can be superpowers that help you succeed in a cosmopolitan society. With the World becoming more interconnected, the power to communicate and build bridges between nations becomes more of a necessity.

Left: Ryuto Tsuruoka (Current SFJS Student) Right; Stuudent Hakamas During Graduation

Conclusion

SFJS has an official school song in which the lyrics emphasize the importance of meeting and creating connections through a bridge to the world. The chorus repeats the lines “いつ か世界の架け橋に、 ” (Nakamura), “one day, on a bridge to the world”. The lyrics are especially meaningful to SFJS students because of how SFJS acts like a bridge for their journey of cultural identity. Whether they are coming from Japan to live in America, or they are American born wanting to stay connected to their Japanese roots, SFJS provides a bridge for students to cross in support of their cultural journey.

When asked “Where do you see yourself 10 years from now”, Kato paused to think for a moment. Then she answered, referring to the SFJS school song: “In the school song, there’s a lyric about a wish to connect America and Japan. So after ten years, I’m hoping that I’ll do a job that’s connecting Japanese culture and American culture in a positive way” (Kato).

Finally graduating from SFJS after 11 years, it feels like I’m closing a big chapter of my life. Although I sacrificed much of my personal time to attend the program, I am grateful for the experiences that SFJS taught me throughout those years. Moving to America at 6 years old was a scary and confusing experience for me. However, SFJS provided me with a familiar setting and helped me find a way to integrate myself into this new environment at my own pace. This unique opportunity helped to shape many aspects of my cultural identity and helped me to develop stronger roots, so I can grow into who I am today with more confidence. Through these 11 years, I experienced lots of change and faced many new challenges. SFJS helped me to maintain and strengthen my ties to my Japanese heritage that were important in defining my true identity. Even though my time at SFJS has come to an end, I believe that I will use the experiences and knowledge I gained to continue to grow in the future.

Works Cited

“About.” サンフランシスコ日本語補習校, sfjs.org/about-sfjs/.

[Author removed at request of original publisher]. “8.1 Foundations of Culture and Identity.” Communication in the Real World, University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing Edition, 2016. This Edition Adapted from a Work Originally Produced in 2013 by a Publisher Who Has Requested That It Not Receive Attribution., 29 Sept. 2016, https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/8-1-foundations-of-culture-and-identity/.

Zheng, Mary. (2021). Studying the Relationship Between Ethnic Identity and Resiliency: A Broad Approach. In BSU Honors Program Theses and Projects. Item 499. Available at: https://vc.bridgew. edu/honors_proj/499

Fulco, Maranda N. The Comparison of Japanese Mathematics Education and United States Mathematics Education. Georgia College & State University, https://www.gcsu.edu/sites/files/page-assets/ node-808/attachments/fulco.pdf.

Phinney, Jean S. Ethnic Identity, Immigration, and Well-Being: An Interactional Perspective. The Society of the Phycological Study of Social Issues, http://cretscmhd.psych.ucla.edu/events/PhinneyPaper. pdf.

Patel, Jay. “To Assimilate or to Acculturate?” To Assimilate or to Acculturate? | Department of English, University of Maryland, 2012, https://english.umd.edu/research-innovation/journals/interpolations/spring-2012/assimilate-or-acculturate.

Norton, Bonny. Language and Identity. University of British Columbia, https://faculty.educ.ubc.ca/norton/.

“What Is Cultural Heritage.” Heritage for Peace, https://www.heritageforpeace.org/heritage-for-peace/ what-is-cultural-heritage/.

Author Bio

Maya Yoder is a Junior at Mountain View High School. She attends Freestyle Academy, and is specializing in Design as her Elective. Aside from Freestyle, she enjoys creating art, playing Lacrosse, and spending time with her friends an Family. Maya was a former student at SFJS and graduated in March of 2023. She wishes to continue Design in the future.